The spotlight is back on McMinnville Electric System.
In late 2013, city officials unsuccessfully attempted to regulate how long MES board members could serve, putting an end to reappointments that resulted in lengthy stays by members of the power board. Recently, how those members are monetarily compensated is being questioned.
Alderman Mike Neal requested of Melissa Ashburn, who is a legal consultant for the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, her opinion on the legality of MES compensating its board members with $300 per month
According to Ashburn, it’s perfectly legal as long as the compensation is accounted for appropriately.
“All members of the board shall serve as such without compensation, but they shall be allowed necessary travel and other expenses while engaged in the business of the board,” she said. “The legality of these payments depends on how they are accounted for or treated by these board members. If these payments are not treated as expense advances, and administered under the travel and expense policy, the payments are compensation and improper under the law.”
McMinnville Electric does not require its members to submit proof of travel expenses. Instead, members in attendance at board meetings are given compensation of $300.
MES general manager and CEO Rodney Boyd says past audits of the company’s financials have never deemed the practice inappropriate and he has asked for his own opinion.
“I’m not sure where this is coming from,” said Boyd. “I’ve asked our statewide Tennessee Municipal Power Association for its opinion on this. MTAS gave its opinion, but that’s just one person’s interpretation. We have a difference of opinions here. I think state law is very clear we can pay our board members $300 per meeting.”
When the city created McMinnville Electric System in 1939, the compensation was $25.
Boyd defended today’s amount of $300.
“When we were created in 1939 by ordinance, our founding Mayor and Board of Aldermen at that time realized that this is an important position, that this is an important board, and that people should be compensated for the time they spend attending to the organization. If you take $25 back in 1939 and you go on the government website and put it through the cost of living calculator, it comes up to $425 today.”
Neal unsuccessfully attempted to restrict term limits on the board in 2013. At that time, Mayor Jimmy Haley recommended the reappointment of Jeff Golden to the MES board. Golden was re-appointed to four more years, making his stay on the board 36 years if he completes the term.
No timeframe is known for Tennessee Municipal Power Association determination on the issue.