MTAS - About Us
Consulting firms specializing in municipal government are nothing new, but there's nothing else in the country quite like MTAS. If you are an official of a Tennessee town or city, MTAS is your resource. An agency of The University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service, MTAS provides technical assistance to cities and towns across the state: their governing bodies, mayors, city managers, city recorders, and city department heads. MTAS consultants will assist in the development of practical and individual solutions for your city.
Established in 1949 by the Tennessee General Assembly, MTAS is funded by a direct state appropriation and a portion of the local share of the statewide sales tax. Almost all of MTAS's services are prepaid; the cities we serve don't get a bill. As the name implies, MTAS is a technical assistance provider with consultants who specialize in most areas of municipal operations. MTAS annually completes more than 1,000 major municipal management projects and provides an average of 6,000 other services each year.
The mission "to provide continuing service to Tennessee municipalities in the form of technical assistance" is approached independently of academic research and teaching. MTAS consultants provide assistance in city halls throughout the state. MTAS also produces publications on a wide range of municipal topics, houses a technical reference library in Knoxville, and serves as a clearinghouse for information on a broad range of municipal issues. MTAS works in cooperation with the Tennessee Municipal League, an organization providing Tennessee cities with unified representation at the legislative level.
Who Can Use MTAS?
MTAS services are available to any incorporated municipality in Tennessee.
What Can MTAS do for You?
MTAS consultants, all with prior experience in local government, deliver the technical assistance services. They maintain regular contact with city officials, providing suggestions, ideas, and information through field visits or telephone conversations. This personal touch is an important part of our total MTAS effort to provide practical assistance when it is needed. MTAS provides some services on a regular basis and others to fulfill one-time requests. Consultants also work closely with our sister agency the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS).
MTAS will:
Explain accounting responsibilities
Steer goal setting
Devise citizen participation approaches
Provide legal opinions
Evaluate personnel strategies
Address wastewater problems
Guide solid waste decisions
Evaluate network security
Answer public works questions
Review organizational & operational functions of city fire departments
Advise on police administration issues
And more....
Bingham Consultants
In 1994, MTAS launched a fund-raising campaign to endow a visiting consultancy in honor of the late Herbert J. Bingham, executive director of the Tennessee Municipal League for 36 years. He retired in 1982. Bingham consultants are municipal experts on par with Bingham himself, joining MTAS usually for three to six months. These distinctive consultants bring with them nationally recognized experience and leadership skills.
Municipal Management Internship Endowment
The purpose of the Municipal Management Internship Endowment is to honor retiring city managers and to partially or fully fund summer internships for cities, utilizing the earnings the endowment will accrue. The summer internship is a program facilitated by MTAS.