The changes have support from a narrow majority of the town’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.
By Cassandra Stephenson [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
A bill rewriting the Town of Mason’s charter to shift responsibilities from the mayor to a newly created town administrator is inching through Tennessee’s legislature.
Not all of Mason’s current elected representatives support it.
Rep. Debra Moody, a Covington Republican and the bill’s House sponsor, said the legislation was brought to her by leaders of the roughly 1,400-person town, which is anticipating growth thanks to Ford Motor Company’s BlueOval City manufacturing plant located nearby.
“This is their local proposal to us for getting ready for that growth,” Moody told members of the House Private Acts Committee on March 9.
Mason’s Board of Mayor and Alderman narrowly approved a resolution supporting the proposed changes in February in a 4-3 vote.
The new charter’s supporters said the proposed shift to a town administrator model was recommended in a 2024 review from the state’s West Tennessee Planning initiative for communities surrounding BlueOval.
Mayor Eddie Noeman said that he views the change as “personal,” and stated that the town “is not ready yet,” according to the minutes of Mason’s Feb. 3 meeting.
Noeman did not respond to requests for comment.
The House Private Acts Committee advanced the bill, with one vote of opposition from Rep. Justin Pearson, a Memphis Democrat.
“I understand making sure that Mason, in particular, is prepared for growth,” Pearson said. “But to my colleagues, I also think that is a little bit concerning how close that vote is … being a 4-3 decision. It isn’t an overwhelming majority of people who want these changes that are being offered in Mason.”
The bill will next be heard by the House’s state and local government committee. Should it ultimately pass in both the House and Senate, the new charter would need to be approved by two-thirds of Mason’s board of Mayor and Aldermen to go into effect.
A turbulent history
Mason’s charter is a sensitive topic for the majority-Black and Democrat community, who in 2022 faced a request from state Comptroller Jason Mumpower to cede its charter and dissolve its 153-year-old township, turning over governance to the majority-white and Republican Tipton County.
Mumpower sent letters to Mason’s 1,337 property owners in 2022 urging them to encourage Mason’s officials to “relinquish its charter” due to the town’s debt and financial mismanagement under previous town administrations.
Then-Vice Mayor Virginia Rivers called the comptroller’s actions “akin to a hostile takeover.”
But Mason’s elected leaders pushed back, coming to an agreement with Mumpower that kept Mason under local control and laid out a plan to right the town’s finances.
Several months later, Noeman defeated Rivers and two other candidates in a contentious race to be Mason’s next mayor.
Noeman — a businessman who also previously served as an alderman and vice mayor — pledged during his campaign to bring business to the town.
In August, Noeman backed a contract with private prison corporation CoreCivic to reopen the West Tennessee Detention Facility and operate it as a detention facility for immigrants. The board approved the deal after a chaotic meeting, during which Noeman engaged in a personal shouting match with an opposing constituent.
Local debate
Alderman Alethea Harris presented the proposed charter revisions at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s Feb. 3 meeting, noting previous recommendations that the town administrator model would make the town “more efficient and streamlined to plan for upcoming urban growth with Ford’s arrival,” the meeting minutes state.
The board voted on the issue twice in 2025, unanimously supporting that goal each time, she said. But drafting issues prevented a bill from moving forward in the state legislature that year.
Rivers said that the proposed changes were reviewed by University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service.
“The Town will still own the Charter,” Rivers said, according to the minutes. “We’re just trying to make corrections and move forward.”
Rivers did not respond to a request for comment.
Noeman and Alderman Carolyn Catron suggested having a town hall meeting to explain the charter revisions to residents, but others noted that the meeting’s agenda was public.
Catron said the charter changes would leave the mayor with little power, and Noeman said the addition of an administrator would add extra cost to the 2-square-mile town’s budget.
The board ultimately approved the resolution with support from Rivers, Harris, Alderman Mary Mason and Alderman Trowanna Broadnax.
Noeman, Catron and Vice Mayor Reynaldo Givhan voted against the resolution.
Proposed charter changes
Under the proposed bill, Mason’s mayor would serve as the “executive head” of the town, preside at all meetings, serve as the town’s official representative and spokesperson, build partnerships with civic groups and advocate for Mason’s interests.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen would appoint a town administrator, who would serve as a town employee at the board’s will.
The town administrator would be responsible for day-to-day operations and business, preparing a recommended municipal budget, presenting reports to the board, recommending public service improvements and projects, and overseeing purchasing and cash flow.
The administrator would also recommend employee positions, suggest qualifications and job descriptions, as well as employing, promoting, disciplining and firing employees. The board would appoint all department heads, who would be hired and fired at the board’s will.
The new charter language would also specify that the mayor “does not have any oversight of the Town Administrator” and “shall not impede, interfere or undermine” the administrator’s job or function. The mayor would have “no oversight” and would not be responsible for the town’s day-to-day operations, according to the bill.
Other Tennessee towns have instituted this type of government. Atoka, a town of about 10,600 also located in Tipton County, gives similar authority to the town administrator in its charter. But Atoka’s charter lacks language specifically barring mayoral interference with the administrator’s work.
The proposed changes to Mason’s charter also positions the town administrator as a buffer between aldermen and town personnel, limiting direct contact between town employees and aldermen to “information-gathering purposes” that assist aldermen in their “collective responsibilities,” the bill states.
