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Mason Vice-Mayor Virginia Rivers acknowledges the city has had poor management and financial scandal in the past, but says the current administration has turned the situation around. Lipscomb is a Black man and as Sir Josh Black has regularly taken on race and politics in his comedy, which is not unusual. On Friday, the Fire Department suspended Joshua Lipscomb for 16 days for violating several of Metro Nashvilles civil service disciplinary rules, including the violation of any written rules, policies or procedures of the department of which the employee is employed; any failure of good behavior which reflects discredit upon himself, the department and/or the Metropolitan Government and conduct unbecoming an employee of the Metropolitan Government.. It is home to Gus World Famous Fried Chicken, a small counter-serving Black-owned restaurant that rose to fried chicken fame after Oprah Winfrey stopped by. The town is serious. Virginia Rivers, vice-mayor of Mason, Tenn: This is akin to a hostile takeover.(Photo: John Partipilo). Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. He is trying to conquer and divide us. 2001 state examination of the towns finances found numerous accounting errors in tax and court collections. It's akin to a hostile takeover and it's not hard to figure out why here, why now. (To contact The Equity Alliance go to [emailprotected]), by Charlane Oliver, Tennessee Lookout March 30, 2022, (To contact The Equity Alliance go to info@theequityalliance.org.). Virginia Rivers, vice-mayor of Mason, Tenn. Highway 79, which links Blue Oval to Memphis, runs right past Masons small central district its city hall, fire station, police station, an abandoned gas station and the remnants of a grocery store that burned down three years ago after a semi truck veered through it. The towns financial problems stretch back even further: a2001 state examination of the towns finances found numerous accounting errors in tax and court collections. On Feb. 2, the morning after Nashvilles Metro Council voted in favor of a controversial pilot program to install. The hostility has been followed up with violence. We were very concerned with this attempt at a takeover of this predominantly Black town, she said. After fraud allegations emerged in 2015, nearly the entire town government resigned, leaving a newly elected junior alderman, Gwen Kilpatrick, to assume the office of mayor. Town officials wont cede their charter, and they plan to fight any effort to take over the city financially, Rivers said. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.

The Equity Alliance will obstruct, disrupt and call out those who stand to benefit from Masons plight. Mason is in a deep hole, she said. Mason, Tenn. has had financial difficulties in the past and Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower has the right to assert financial control. Dave Chappelle, anyone? Martin, the presiding judge, set a deadline of April 11 for attorneys representing Mason to file additional written arguments, and the state until April 12 to respond. The recent financial history in Mason is in dispute, in part because annual audits that would provide a true picture of payments Mason has paid towards its debts are late. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

MASON, Tenn. The Tennessee Comptroller issued an unusual appeal last week to residents of this small, majority Black town, which occupies fewer than two square miles in rural west Tennessee. If, the court says, both those requirements are satisfied, the court looks at a third factor: Did the speech impact government efficiency, via whether the speech had a detrimental effect on relationships with coworkers, impair discipline or create extra work for the governmental agency via the fielding of calls from members of the public or damage to the perception of the office. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Richard Pryor? (Photo: John Partipilo), Calvin Blades, 75, in glasses, listens during a recent community meeting. . There is no time to waste., State comptrollers, responsible for financial oversight of local government, typically communicate directly with elected local leaders and not their constituents. Chancellor Anne Martin, who presided over the hearing, asked Urban if the prison closure was a relevant factor in creating the financial takeover plan for Mason why wasnt the $5.6 billion investment by the Ford Motor Company in a soon-to-be-built Blue Oval City campus also taken into account as a positive factor.. Mumpower bristled at a suggestion by Vice-Mayor Virginia Rivers the states approach is motivated by race. The predominantly Black town is home to descendants of formerly enslaved people who worked farms nearby and now, most of the elected officials are Black. It's akin to a hostile takeover and it's not hard to figure out why here, why now. The hearing marks the latest step in an ongoing dispute between the Tennessee Comptroller and elected leaders of Mason, a rural west Tennessee community of under 1,500 people. Mason, located in the southeastern corner of Tipton County, now finds itself with some of the most coveted real estate in Tennessee.

A church is not a building the community of Mason is not the city charter. Anita Wadhwani is a senior reporter for the Tennessee Lookout. The opportunity for growth is at their doorstep and I dont want the people of Mason to lose that opportunity, he said. Town leaders are accusing Mumpower and other state officials of big-footing a long-ignored, largely Black community now that major investment is heading its way. Under his pseudonym, he sometimes tweets about serious issues. There is no time to waste.. The remainder of employees police, fire, utility and public works keep basic city infrastructure running. Is it within the statute for the state to tell the town that anything over $100 has to be approved by the Comptroller?We think its an overreach., Theres nothing a town can do, even a town of under 1,500, theres nothing a town can do under $100, he said. Charlane Oliver is a grassroots movement leader, public relations consultant, and co-founder and co-executive director of The Equity Alliance.

The Comptroller initiated a public airing of the dispute, releasing its letter to residents to reporters statewide but county officials, with outside assistance, have begun their own counter-messaging. The white leaders who caused Masons financial woes didnt have to clean up their own mess. If you need to fight, I will fight with youDont sign away your charter. Less than two weeks ago, Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower sent a letter to the residents of Mason urging them to surrender the town charter. And CSX railroad runs directly through the town on a route that will take it straight to the Blue Oval campus. We saw nothing in law that caused the Comptroller to take step and we wanted to make sure the citizens of Mason are represented.. Hes a funny guy but his tweets arent always so.

In my opinion, its time for Mason to relinquish its charter, Comptroller Jason Mumpower, local residents to encourage your local officials to do whats necessary to allow Mason to thrive. For more than a century the town was led by White elected officials. She has served as political analyst for WZTV Fox 17 and provided communications consulting for political campaigns at all levels, from city council to presidential. The states Water & Wastewater Financing Board is currently investigating. This is our home. Anita Wadhwani is a senior reporter for the Tennessee Lookout. She is a graduate of Columbia University in New York and the University of California at Berkeley School of Journalism. Sir Josh Black has addressed subjects as varied as Memphis Nobody on earth loves anything more than a Memphis man loves Memphis; theres more dreadlocks in Memphis than in Jamaica and Miami combinedbachelorette parties in Nashville, hot chicken and former Mayor Megan Barry. CSX railroad runs directly through the town on a route that will take it straight to the Blue Oval campus. They are about to be bypassed if their city leaders dont make responsible decisions.. That changed in 2016, when fraud and mismanagement allegations led to the resignations of nearly all City Hall officials, all of whom were White. Ford Motor Co. has now begun weighing in on the comptrollers issue with Mason and 11 Metro Nashville councilmembers have written to the Fire Department supporting Lipscomb.

You are in a nice little spot, a sweet spot, and a lot of people want your land, Sweetlove said. Mumpowers letter has infuriated Masons part-time elected officials, who insist they have no intention of ceding their towns 153-year-old charter which would subsume the largely African-American, majority Democratic community under the governance of Tipton County, which is predominantly white and Republican. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Mumpower points to a 20-year history of fiscal mismanagement, including two major fraud investigations that resulted in criminal indictments. Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

At the top of Black History Month, the State Senate didnt hesitate to expel Memphis Senator Katrina Robinsonthe first expulsion in the Senates history. He also points to a history of financial accounting challenges that include town officials missing their annual audit deadlines each year since 2001. . These same white supremacist bullies turn a blind eye to, corruption in their own party and state government. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter. But in both the Mason and Lipscomb cases, Tennessee stands to suffer in the court of public opinion. DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy. On Thursday, a standing-room-only crowd of Mason residents crammed into the pews and stood leaning against the walls of Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church at a meeting called by city officials to address Mumpowers criticisms. The Tennessee Lookout is your watchdog, telling the stories of politics and policy that affect the people of the Volunteer State. His grandfather, Thomas Lipscomb, was an assistant chief in the department. The way our state bullies Black leaders is rooted in this notion that we are incapable and incompetent of managing million dollar budgets, negotiating deals, leading institutions, and knowing whats best for our people. My heartfelt request is let us help you. Government isnt working for the people who live in Mason now and people and companies are not going to invest in Mason, Mumpower said. We were born and raised here. In 2011, a former Mason town clerk pleaded guilty to embezzling $100,000 in taxpayer funds. Bozos Hot Pit Bar-B-Q, a half block away, is a destination for barbecue fans; the White-owned restaurant was featured in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.. Masons elected officials, led by fiery Vice Mayor Virginia Rivers, have pushed back and the case has garnered national attention. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The Comptrollers office perhaps thinks new leadership is like the old leadership, Turner told the judge. The Nashville Fire Department may have the right to suspend Lipscomb. This wouldnt be the first time Tennessee has taken over the finances of a county or municipality but even so, its rare: The comptrollers office can only name two occasions, and in neither was the town or county asked to surrender its charter. Its true Mason has in the past had a number of financial difficulties, which Mumpower uses to justify the takeover. A monthly payment of more than $9,000 toward the debt a payment that would occur before any other monthly expense would be paid would eliminate that burden in just over two years. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Rivers and most of the current town leadership is Black, a change from most of Masons past when the town was run by white mayors and aldermen and when white city employees embezzled money and subsequently resigned. Virginia Rivers, vice-mayor of Mason, Tenn. Its akin to a hostile take-over and its not hard to figure out why here, why now.. She said she would issue a ruling in the case by April 15. by Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout April 6, 2022. Things probably have not turned out as Mumpower might have expected. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. Gloria Sweetlove, president of the Tennessee State Conference NAACP, said she showed up at the town meeting to offer support, and to marshall resources. (Photo: John Partipilo), CSX Railroad runs through Mason and straight to the site of the future Ford Blue Oval City. Mason also has the highest property tax rate in Tipton County, funds used in large part to employ 26 people on the towns payroll. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and Elbert Williams, a leader of the Brownsville NAACP, was lynched not far from Mason. Its offensive and difficult to respond to such a short-sighted comment as that, he said. Town of Mason files suit against Tennessee Comptroller, Comptroller to take over majority-Black town of Mason, ahead, Town of Mason officials, Tennessee Comptroller to meet over.