Pillar 2 of 5
Money Where It Belongs
"We don't have a money problem in Coffee County. We have a capture problem — and a discipline problem. We are leaving federal, state, and visitor dollars on the table every single year."
17 actions · Grant capture, fee correction, procurement discipline, fiscal reserves · Zero tax increases on existing residents
The playbook — proven in Tennessee
Bradley County rebuilt reserves without a tax increase. Robertson County cut its debt significantly. Coffee County can do the same.
Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis vetoed a tax increase when he took office. Then he balanced the budget anyway — and rebuilt their reserves substantially over four years, going from a fund balance that was declining to one that was growing. Not by raising taxes on the people who already live there. By bringing discipline to the spending side and capturing every available state and federal dollar.
Robertson County Mayor Billy Vogle cut the county's debt significantly over five years — earning a better bond rating — without raising the property tax rate in FY26. Two counties. Same playbook. Different geography, same result.
Coffee County starts from the same position: a lean budget, a declining fund balance, and a lot of grant dollars still sitting in Washington and Nashville waiting for someone to ask for them. The capture problem is fixable. That's the work of Pillar 2.
Sources: Bradley County CAFR (2020-2024); Robertson County bond rating reports. Authority: TCA 5-9-401 et seq.; TCA 5-6-108.
17 Actions — Capture, Correct, Discipline, Protect
A16 — Week 1
Make sure the county's idle money is working as hard as it should
A Day-1 directive to the County Trustee to review Coffee County's investment portfolio. Tennessee law authorizes a range of investment instruments (TCA 9-4-101 et seq.). A review and potential repositioning toward higher-yield authorized instruments is a zero-risk opportunity. The Trustee is a constitutional officer — this is a review and recommendation, not a directive to change policy unilaterally.
Authority: TCA 9-4-101 et seq.; TCA 9-4-603; CTAS Model Investment Policy.
Day 1 Executive Review
A17 — Day 1 directive
Day 1: every department starts the FY28 budget from zero — justify every dollar
A zero-based review directive issued Day 1 for the FY28 budget cycle — Cheryl's first budget as mayor. Every department she supervises starts from zero — not from last year's number plus an increment — and justifies every line. FY28 begins July 2027. Launching this Day 1 means ten months of fresh data before the commission adopts the first budget Cheryl owns. This is methodology, not a promise of specific savings.
Authority: TCA 5-9-401 et seq.
Day 1 Executive
A18 — Month 1
Sit down with every department in 60 days — what works, what doesn't, what to cut
Every department under the mayor's supervision gets a baseline review in the first 60 days. The goal is to build the baseline — not to promise savings that Coffee County, which already runs the lowest per-capita expenditure of any comparable peer county, may not have. The baseline becomes the foundation for every future budget decision.
Authority: TCA 5-6-108; TCA 5-6-101.
Month 1
A19 — Month 1
Find out where Coffee County stands on pay and benefits compared to our neighbors
A Day-1 directive to the Personnel and Benefits Director to pull a current compensation and benefits comparison against peer counties. Benefits are the second-largest expenditure after salaries. The deputy pay retention problem and jail staffing issues driving the FY25 deficit both need data before they can be solved.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106; TCA 5-6-108.
Month 1
A23 — Month 2-3
Update building permit fees — they haven't been updated in years
Building permit fees in Coffee County have not been updated in years. Developers pay these fees — not residents. A fee schedule review and inflation adjustment is the cleanest available revenue correction: not a tax increase, a fee correction for work the county is already doing. I will direct a review of the current fee schedule and bring a commission resolution to update it.
Authority: TCA 68-126-101 et seq.; TCA 5-1-118.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A25 — Quarter 1
Ask the Commission to require every grant dollar shown as a budget offset
A commission resolution requiring that all grant revenue be shown as a specific line-item offset in the budget — not absorbed into the general fund without public attribution. Every dollar of external grant revenue should be visible to commissioners and to residents. This is a transparency and budget discipline item with no fiscal cost.
Authority: TCA 5-6-108; TCA 5-9-401.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A26 — Month 1-2
Ask the Commission to fund a dedicated grant writer
My first appropriation request to the commission: a dedicated grant coordinator position. Coffee County has 40+ mapped grant opportunities across USDA Rural Development, Community Development Block Grants, ARC, OLDCC/DCIP, and state programs. We do not currently have the staff capacity to pursue them. A single grant coordinator at $60-80K salary has the potential to capture $500K-$1.5M in Year 1 based on comparable planning district experience. I will recommend this position. The commission appropriates it.
Authority: TCA 5-9-101.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A27 — Month 2-3
Put a Fund Balance Reserve Policy in writing — protect the reserves we have
Coffee County's fund balance is declining. The Comptroller recommends 15-20% of expenditures as a healthy reserve. We are above that today — but the trajectory is wrong. A written fund balance reserve policy codifies the floor before we need it. Bradley County's experience is instructive: they wrote the policy when they were rebuilding, and it held. I will propose this commission resolution in the first 90 days.
Authority: GASB 54. Peer: Bradley County (Davis, 2020-2024).
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A28 — Month 2-3
Take a hard look at every no-bid contract — and fix the rules so we don't keep doing it
Coffee County's FY25 audit finding was a direct result of a no-bid procurement failure ($152,732 ARP overage). Day-1 directive: internal reporting requirement on all sole-source contracts. Month 2: findings report. Month 3: commission resolution to raise the competitive bidding threshold and strengthen the sole-source justification requirement.
Authority: TCA 12-3-1201 et seq.; TCA 5-6-108.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A47 — Week 1
Open the door to the State Comptroller's Local Government Audit team — clean-hands posture from Day 1
A proactive cooperative posture with the Tennessee Comptroller's office from Day 1. Coffee County's FY26 audit — covering the predecessor's last full fiscal year, the year following the FY25 operating deficit — will be conducted during Cheryl's first months in office. Cooperative engagement before the audit starts differs from the waiting-for-findings posture of the past. All communications are transparent and on the record.
Authority: TCA 9-3-104; TCA 5-6-108; TCA 5-6-112.
Mayor Convenes
A52 — Week 1
Week 1: call CTAS — one phone call answers the hotel tax, Adequate Facilities Tax, and visitor-revenue questions all at once
The County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) is a free resource available to every Tennessee county mayor. A single call to CTAS resolves four open revenue questions at once: (1) Coffee County's current hotel/motel tax rate, (2) remaining headroom under the 2025 Public Chapter 372 cumulative cap, (3) Adequate Facilities Tax eligibility under TCA 67-4-2907, and (4) procedural path for any rate adjustment. Sevier County's model — where a lodging tax outside city limits funds both tourism and schools — is the directional peer.
Authority: TCA 67-4-1402; TCA 67-4-2907. Peer: Sevier County (Waters, 2007) — 3% lodging tax outside city limits.
Mayor Convenes
A53 — Week 1
Get on the state's radar for the new K-12 construction fund — Hickerson and East Coffee tell the story themselves
Tennessee's new K-12 construction fund (funded by sports betting revenue) is new — the rules are not yet final. Establishing a relationship with the state Department of Education NOW, before the Notice of Funding Availability drops, means Coffee County has institutional knowledge of the criteria and a personal contact when the window opens. Hickerson Station (built 1948) and East Coffee Elementary (built 1963) are compelling applications. Coordinated through the school board and the Superintendent of Coffee County Schools.
Authority: TCA 49-3-1002. State K-12 fund: approximately $80M/yr statewide pool.
Mayor Convenes
A54 — Week 1
Open the door to the state's economic development agency — workforce dollars, infrastructure planning, and growth-framework coordination
Tennessee Economic and Community Development (TNECD) has programs Coffee County has not fully accessed. ThreeStar funds workforce and economic development directly — a potential general fund offset. The Infrastructure Planning Grant (up to $500K, 5% local match) funds the kind of growth infrastructure capacity study that is a prerequisite to replacing the 5-acre rule with an infrastructure-based zoning framework. Day-1 relationship establishment.
Authority: TCA 7-84-701; TCA 4-3-716. Programs: ThreeStar up to $250K; Infrastructure Planning Grant up to $500K.
Mayor Convenes
A55 — Week 1
Make sure the county's hazard mitigation plan is current with TEMA — federal disaster funds depend on it
An approved and current hazard mitigation plan is a prerequisite for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds after any federally declared disaster. Coffee County's NRI tornado risk score is 86.29 — elevated. If the plan has lapsed, HMGP eligibility is at risk the next time a declared disaster hits. A Week-1 check with TEMA costs nothing and protects the county's ability to access millions in federal disaster recovery funds. Safe Room grants: $500K-$2M (25% match).
Authority: TCA 58-2-111; Stafford Act §404. FEMA BRIC cancelled April 2025; HMGP remains active.
Mayor Convenes
A56 — Week 1
Open the door to our congressman's district office — USDA and federal infrastructure dollars need congressional voice
Congressional co-advocacy is the single biggest accelerant for USDA Rural Development and OLDCC/DCIP applications. Coffee County is in TN-04. USDA Rural Development's Tennessee State Office responds faster with documented congressional interest. Humphreys County's USDA Community Facilities loan for a new high school ($23.8M) is the peer model for what federal partnership looks like when all the right relationships are in place.
Peer: Humphreys County — USDA CF Direct Loan for new school construction (2021-22).
Mayor Convenes
A61 — Day 1-30
Direct the Finance Director, Codes office, and engineering consultant to assess which unincorporated commercial corridors qualify for a Central Business Improvement District — 60-day report
Until last week, only cities in Tennessee could form Central Business Improvement Districts. The Jeff Burkhart Act (HB2258/SB2442), passed unanimously 85-0 in the House and 31-0 in the Senate, extends that authority to counties. On Day 1, I will direct the Finance Director, the Codes office, and our engineering consultant to assess which of Coffee County's unincorporated commercial corridors — Hwy 41, areas near Tullahoma city limits, Bonnaroo-adjacent zone — qualify. Report due in 60 days. CBIDs are property-owner-funded; zero general fund impact.
Authority: HB2258/SB2442 (Jeff Burkhart Act), passed unanimously; awaiting governor signature.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A62 — Day 1
Day 1 call to THDA to position Coffee County for the first round of the Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot
Last week the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot (HB2509/SB2410) — a Speaker Sexton and Caucus Chair Faison top-priority bill, passed 79-7 in the House and 32-0 in the Senate. The state will make one pilot available per grand division. The first counties to call get the first look. A Day-1 call to THDA costs nothing. The program provides state-backed loans for housing at or below 150% of area median income — which means housing teachers, first responders, and healthcare workers can actually afford. That's a retention problem Coffee County has right now.
Authority: HB2509/SB2410 (THDA Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot); awaiting governor signature.
Day 1 Executive
Vote May 5, 2026 — Early Voting Ends April 30
"Bradley County vetoed a tax increase and rebuilt their reserves anyway. That's the playbook."