State Briefs | Tennessee Town & City - Tennessee Municipal League

First group of offenders graduate at Riverbend

History was made as five offenders became the first cohort to earn college degrees at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI).

Graduating with their associate of science in business administration from Nashville State Community College, the group joins over 200 other men and women who...

Tennessee receives GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 43rd year

Tennessee has received the highest form of recognition awarded for government accounting and financial reporting for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the D...

Tennessee marks all-time low unemployment in July 2023

Tennessee recorded its lowest unemployment rate ever in July 2023 with a seasonally-adjusted rate of 3.1%. The rate is 0.1% lower than the previous historic, all-time low of 3.2%, a figure the state had reached again in June. The 3.1% rate is the lowest recorded since the federal government began...

State July revenues $153.3M more than estimated

Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson announced that Tennessee July revenues were $1.65 billion, which is $153.5 million more than the budgeted estimate and $46.3 million more than the state received in July 2022. The growth rate for July was 2.89%.

“July total...

Year-round playscapes to replace pools at seven state parks

Seven Tennessee State Parks will be receiving learning playscapes, a new year-round outdoor recreation feature. Cove Lake State Park near Caryville and Jacksboro, David Crockett Birthplace State Park

Incentive program sees removal of 25 million invasive fish from Tennessee waterways

More than 25 million pounds of invasive carp have been removed as part of a million-dollar incentive program in Tennessee. The most recent count comes in June as commercial fishermen worked to remove carp from reservoirs at Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, Cheatham Lake, Old Hickory Lake, and Pickwick...

Defense bill poised to provide record funding to Y-12

A new bill before Congress would provide recording funding approval for uranium processing facilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. The latest defense spending bill would

Tennessee RiverTowns program announces application openings

The application period for new enrollments to the Tennessee RiverTowns Program is now open through Sept. 9, 2023.

Tennessee River communities are the beating heart of the Tennessee RiverLine. All Tennessee River communities – counties, cities, towns, and consortium thereof – are invited to apply...

Nearly 180 city police departments awarded Violent Crime Intervention Fund grants

Nearly 180 municipal police departments will share in more than $93.5 million in Violent Crime Intervention grants being distributed to law enforcement agencies across Tennessee.

VCIP grants are administered through the state’s Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OJCP), which utilizes grant...

TNECD announces expansion of Site Development Grant program

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development has announced an expansion of the state’s Site Development Grant Program, which aims to prepare rural industrial sites to attract new businesses and investment to Tennessee.

The changes are designed to mitigate the time and risk...

Tennessee June revenues more than $283M over estimates

Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson announced that revenues for June were $2.3 billion, which is $283.3 million more than the budgeted monthly revenue estimate.

State tax revenues were $38.7 million more than June 2022 and the overall growth rate was 1.74%. ...

Tennessee ranks third in CNBC's Best States for Business

Tennessee was ranked third in CNBC’s recent poll of America’s Top States for Business. Tennessee rose from sixth place last year, and moved up in rankings for workforce, infrastructure, cost of doing business, technology and innovation, business friendliness, education, and access to capital...