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State law moves Tellico Village utilities under TBOR; POA begins accounting changes and plans $80 refund
Summary
Board president Mike Lackey said legislation passed to place Tellico Village utilities under the Tennessee Board of Utility Regulators (TBOR) with an effective date in July; the POA is shifting utility funds into a water and sewer account for transparency and the board voted to refund an $80 water fee with staff to deliver a formal proposal in July.
The Tellico Village POA is preparing for a regulatory transition after state legislation moved the community’s utilities into a TBOR regulation pathway, board president Mike Lackey said.
Lackey said the POA had been engaged in legal action with the Tennessee Public Utilities Commission and pursued an alternative via the Tennessee Board of Utility Regulators (TBOR). He said state Rep. Lowell Russell sponsored the bill and Gov. Lee signed it on May 7; Lackey said the board expects local county approvals to follow and estimated the earliest final approvals could be Aug. 3, while cautioning timelines may change.
Accounting and reserves: Lackey said the board is implementing new accounting guidance (GASB and FASB) and decided to isolate utility tank installation fees into the water and sewer account to align with expected regulatory requirements and recommendations from local utility authorities. He said Tellico Area System Services and the Loudon Utilities Board apply similar accounting to sewer accounts, and the board moved reserves accordingly to improve transparency for future projects.
Refund approved: The board voted to refund an $80 water fee. Lackey said staff is working through processing details and will present a formal refund proposal to the board in July.
Why it matters: Shifting regulatory oversight and corresponding accounting changes affect how utility revenues and reserves are tracked and may change administrative oversight for utility operations. The refund affects customers who paid the installation fee and will be processed according to a staff proposal.
Quotes: “The bill as such, we had to reach out to Lowell Russell, our state representative, to get a bill passed…It was signed by governor Lee on May 7 and will be able to go into effect on July 1st of this year,” Lackey said. “Staff is currently working through the details of how those refunds will be processed. A formal proposal from staff will be presented to the board in July.”
