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Community Enhancement Grants
Please call my office anytime at 615-741-7462. We are happy to assist you.
Please call my office anytime at 615-741-7462. We are happy to assist you.
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By State Representative Susan Lynn Published by The Wilson Post
The high cost of gas, food and utilities is leaving little left in our wallets to help others that are in need. In
that vein, I’ve received several comments on how the Community Enhancement Grants provided for in last
year's budget are making a difference for many charitable and government agencies right now.
Last June, searching for a way to refund much of the large budget surplus to the taxpayers, the state
legislature passed a combination of two sales tax holidays, a 1/2 cent reduction in the sales tax on food, and
the Community Enhancement Grant Program in the final budget.
As I deliver the checks to the many organizations that applied and qualified, I can’t help but reflect on the
fight for accountability that I and just four of my House colleagues waged over this program.
Several of us fought for a greater reduction in the sales tax on food; believing it would be more beneficial
for all. However, the majority preferred to form the CEG Program; a program that gives money to directly aid
charitable and government agencies that help the poor, educate our students, provide emergency
assistance or better our community in someway.
A first draft of the CEG Program was highly objectionable as it proposed giving individual representatives
sole discretion to decide whom to give $100,000 to in their district. In fact, I and my four colleagues refused
to take part because there was no degree of accountability - even though that meant the money would go to
another legislative district.
In the end, we fought for and won a respectable process administered by the Secretary of State’s office.
One which outlined eligibility, stated a purpose and criterion, created an open and impartial application
process which provided fair notice and easy access to applications, and one that mandated an audit
provision making organizations accountable for the taxpayer’s money.
Since compromise brought us this program, I am proud that I stood for principle. By making sure that a fair
process and accountability reigned, no political influence determined who received a grant in my district.
Rather, I saw to it that every organization that applied for a grant from the 57th district, and qualified, has
received CEG Program grant money.
I don’t think we should ever repeat the Community Enhancement Grant Program. From the beginning I
believed the best way to refund your money to you is through a food tax reduction. But as these tough
economic times affect not only individual giving but the funding local governments usually provide to
community agencies, many of those organizations are grateful that the CEG Program was aptly timed to aid
them just as they are themselves struggling to help so many others who are in need.
To see a complete list of CEG grant recipients in the 57th District please visit my web site at www.
repsusanlynn.com/cegprogram.html.
The high cost of gas, food and utilities is leaving little left in our wallets to help others that are in need. In
that vein, I’ve received several comments on how the Community Enhancement Grants provided for in last
year's budget are making a difference for many charitable and government agencies right now.
Last June, searching for a way to refund much of the large budget surplus to the taxpayers, the state
legislature passed a combination of two sales tax holidays, a 1/2 cent reduction in the sales tax on food, and
the Community Enhancement Grant Program in the final budget.
As I deliver the checks to the many organizations that applied and qualified, I can’t help but reflect on the
fight for accountability that I and just four of my House colleagues waged over this program.
Several of us fought for a greater reduction in the sales tax on food; believing it would be more beneficial
for all. However, the majority preferred to form the CEG Program; a program that gives money to directly aid
charitable and government agencies that help the poor, educate our students, provide emergency
assistance or better our community in someway.
A first draft of the CEG Program was highly objectionable as it proposed giving individual representatives
sole discretion to decide whom to give $100,000 to in their district. In fact, I and my four colleagues refused
to take part because there was no degree of accountability - even though that meant the money would go to
another legislative district.
In the end, we fought for and won a respectable process administered by the Secretary of State’s office.
One which outlined eligibility, stated a purpose and criterion, created an open and impartial application
process which provided fair notice and easy access to applications, and one that mandated an audit
provision making organizations accountable for the taxpayer’s money.
Since compromise brought us this program, I am proud that I stood for principle. By making sure that a fair
process and accountability reigned, no political influence determined who received a grant in my district.
Rather, I saw to it that every organization that applied for a grant from the 57th district, and qualified, has
received CEG Program grant money.
I don’t think we should ever repeat the Community Enhancement Grant Program. From the beginning I
believed the best way to refund your money to you is through a food tax reduction. But as these tough
economic times affect not only individual giving but the funding local governments usually provide to
community agencies, many of those organizations are grateful that the CEG Program was aptly timed to aid
them just as they are themselves struggling to help so many others who are in need.
To see a complete list of CEG grant recipients in the 57th District please visit my web site at www.
repsusanlynn.com/cegprogram.html.
| Grant Recipients 15th Judicial District Child Advocacy Center Charis Health Center Cumberland University Encore Theatre Company General Robert H. Hatton Camp # 723 Habitat for Humanity of Wilson County Hendersonville Chamber Foundation Humane Society Of Sumner County Lebanon-Wilson County Library Mt. Juliet Help Center Mt. Juliet HS Band Mt. Juliet Police Dept. Mt. Juliet-West Wilson County Senior Citizens Service Center Mt. Juliet-Wilson County Public Library Powerhouse Youth Project Prospect, Inc. Ridley Temple Foundation Tennessee Sheriff's Assoc., Inc. Williamson Chapel Historic Complex Wilson County Board of Education Wilson County Business and Education Coalition, Inc. Wilson County Convention and Visitors Bureau Wilson County Emergency Management Agency Wilson County Promotions Inc. Wilson County Sheriff's Dept. |
CEG Program
| Community Enhancement Grants are backed up by the accountability Taxpayers deserve |