By: Jacob Yang

Earlier this year, the black city of Mason, Tennessee nearly lost control of their financial autonomy after going against the state. It led to racial awareness being spread across the country.

For the past 2 decades, Mason has suffered financial instability, which has increasingly worsened under the current mayor. So, when a new Ford plant was projected to open outside of the town opening 18,000 jobs, residents were overjoyed. However, just as the small town began making profit, Tennessee decided to formally take control of Mason’s finances.

After the new Ford plant opened, the state comptroller, Jason Mumpower, gave Mason two options: give its financial management over to Tennessee, or to pay $600,000, which was due immediately (keep in mind that the small city was already in a lot of debt). However, since new job opportunities were being created, Mason went with the latter option.

The town had to pay ~$22,000 every month for water, sewage, and gas. Mr. Mumpower also regulated and had to approve every $100 spent in bills. As a result, vice mayor Virginia Rivers and the legislative body of Mason filed a lawsuit against Tennessee, charging for racial injustice and power abuse. Now, the city is only required to pay back $5,000 a month, a $464,000 decrease from the prior 600 thousand. In addition, the need for approval changed from $100 to $1,000.

Mason had many supporters as well. KD, a Virginia resident, raised over $18,000 from over 300 donators for the town. As for Mumpower, he, after the lawsuit, stated that, “Mason will operate on a balanced budget … and eliminate improper borrowing.”

Mrs. Rivers says that she is not entirely happy about the plan, but it is very much better than before.