John Coffelt, Editor

The Manchester Finance Committee moved during the Jan. 21 meeting to withdraw all the city’s funds from Old National Bank and disperse those funds to three “local” banks.

Finance Director Anthony Burrows requested the change several months ago naming problems with Old National following its shift from Capstar Bank.

Burrows made the recommendation in a memorandum read during the meeting. In that document he suggested that the city move funds to Peoples Bank and Trust, Coffee County Bank and First Vision Bank.

“Due diligence was performed to assess each bank’s level of safety and quality of services,” Burrows said. “Utilizing all three local banks is recommended to minimize risk to the city and to diversify the city’s cash assets.”

Burrows said the amount of funds deposited to each bank and the type of account structuring at each bank will be based on the “operational strength and weaknesses of each bank” as assed by his office.

Burrows estimated that $6.8 million will be placed at Peoples Bank, $4.4 million with CCB and $2 million with First Vision. The city currently has accounts at the three banks, so the action taken will be to close out the Old National Bank accounts and move the funds to the other ones.

“Each three banks we do use now, and there is already seven-figures in those banks at this time,” Burrows said.

“We are using each bank according to its strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “One bank pays maybe a little better on interest; one bank is stronger and has less risk, so they can hold a larger holding of our money… but they weren’t well suited to do our day to day … for payroll and wire transfers.”  

Burrows called all of them “good banks.”

Mayor Joey Hobbs noted that the distribution of funds, while not even, will also be affected by the city’s roughly $5 million in remaining American Recovery Act money that will be spent by the end of 2026. 

Hobbs suggested the city adopt long term strategy of money handling similar to the county’s where money not needed immediately is invested in low-risk investments that for the county results in roughly $1 million in additional revenue from interest.

The Finance Committee approved the recommendation 3-0 and because the process involves moving money into a pre-established framework the matter will not go before the entire board. The three-member Finance Committee is made up of Vice Mayor Mark Messick and Aldermen Thomas Crosslin and Donny Parsley.  

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.