CROSSVILLE CITY COUNCIL REJECTS WATER MERGER PLANS
The Crossville City Council has opted not to pursue a merger with the West Cumberland Utility District.
In Tuesday’s work session, Finance Director Nathan Clouse shared preliminary data indicating that a merger could potentially reduce utility rates for customers and benefit district employees. However, detailed financial figures were still being developed.
Despite these possible advantages, council members expressed no interest in moving forward with the proposal. As a result, Mayor RJ Crawford instructed city staff to formally decline the merger and cease any additional resource allocation toward further analysis.
Separately, the council heard a pitch from Ross Colona, Assistant Director for Local Government at the Tennessee Comptroller’s office, who promoted the creation of a regional Cumberland Plateau Water Authority as a major opportunity aligned with the state’s push for consolidated water systems over individual municipal operations.
Colona raised concerns about Crossville’s practice of charging higher rates to customers outside city limits, stated that a regional authority would leverage economies of scale to prevent rate increases for city residents, but acknowledged he could not guarantee specific future water sources.
Those interested in listening to the work session can do so here: https://crossvilletn.granicus.com/player/clip/929
