TOP PHOTO: Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Jason Mumpower was the guest speaker at the Rotary Club luncheon held at the LaFollette United Methodist Church on Tuesday.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Jason Mumpower was the guest speaker at the Rotary Club luncheon held at the LaFollette United Methodist Church on Tuesday. He was there at the invitation of State Representative Dennis Powers.

Mumpower is a member of the Bristol Rotary Club, an Eagle Scout and has held an elected position since he was 23. 

Powers said he had worked with Mumpower for the last 11 years and that it has been a great working relationship.

Mumpower was a guest speaker for the South Campbell County Rotary four years ago when he was deputy comptroller. 

“I’m so glad to be back here. I would come back just for the food,” Mumpower said.

He spoke about what the comptroller’s office is and does in the state of Tennessee.

“In Tennessee, my predecessor Justin P. Wilson called himself the money cop. We audit all local governments, counties and cities,” Mumpower said. 

There are 95 counties and 345 cites in the state.

The comptroller’s department has eight offices across the state. It also has an office of state finance and manages the state’s debt portfolio.

“As Tennesseans, you have the lowest debt per capita. It saves you as tax payers a lot of money and interest costs,” Mumpower said.

The comptroller’s office also has property assessment offices around the state. 

“We house the open records council. You can contact our council and they can help you obtain your public records and it’s also where you would report any concerns about open meetings,” Mumpower said.

The small business advocate is housed at the state comptroller’s office.

“If you’re starting a small business, that’s hard enough. If you call the small business advocate, they will help you navigate that,” Mumpower said.

He also spoke of how Tennessee was one of the seven states in the nation to grow during the pandemic.

“That’s of course because Tennessee has a lean and mean government and we are also have a sales tax based economy. Out of 95 counties, 93 counties showed financial growth during the pandemic,” Mumpower said. 

He spoke about positives for the state such as Ford motor company investing in a huge automotive plant in middle Tennessee and Smith and Wesson relocating from Massachusetts to Maryville in Blount County.

“We will feel those positive repercussions from these investments,” Mumpower said. 

Mumpower closed with mention of pandemic relief federal funds being awarded to communities across the state.  He urged rotarians to speak to their government leaders about the use of these funds. 

“When thinking about this federal money coming down to your community, urge your local leaders to use this in a transformative way. Upgrade your water and sewer, upgrade your broadband, the state will match those federal dollars,” Mumpower said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 10/13/2021-6AM)

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