They say charity starts at home and that could be true when it comes to financial support in retaining the Driver Testing Center.
Officials in Morrison and Viola have each provided the city of McMinnville with a one-time donation of $500. Those funds will be divided between the city and county as a reimbursement for each paying $24,000 a year to keep the facility.
Morrison Mayor Sue Anderson said she is glad to help.
“We are very interested in keeping the Driver Testing Center open,” said Anderson. “We think it’s very helpful for the community and surrounding communities. We have got to stick together. Morrison was happy to help. We hope others step up to the plate and help out.”
Viola Mayor William Ramsey relayed those same sentiments and added his confusion as to why the state would cut funding to the center while it has some $800 million in financial surplus.
“I really don’t understand why the state is doing this,” said Ramsey. “It’s obvious this is a valuable service and much needed in this community, as well as surrounding communities. It makes no sense for them to withdraw funding when they have such a large surplus.”
The city recently entered into a one-year agreement with the state to pay $4,000 a month in rent on the building in order to keep the facility open through June 30, 2018. Warren County approved a measure to reimburse the city half its cost.
McMinnville Mayor Jimmy Haley expressed gratitude for the support and relayed favorable comments from other communities that wish to help.
“I’ve had several of the surrounding counties' executives and mayors discussing their options about helping to co-fund the Driver Testing Center," said Haley.