Like many small towns, Sassafras found itself with too many bills to pay and not enough revenue to cover them. Mayor Baker decided to take matters into his own hands.
(prHWY.com) June 25, 2012 - Seattle, WA -- It is a simple fact of life that small towns all over the country are facing hard times. Services are being cut back and schools are being shuttered. However, there is a bright spot for one small town nestled in the Mississippi valley.
Billy Bob Baker is the mayor of the small town of Sassafras, Mississippi. With a population of 1,743, Sassafras is located on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. Like many small towns, Sassafras found itself with too many bills to pay and not enough revenue to cover them.
Mayor Baker decided to take matters into his own hands. He put his training as an accountant into practice in an effort to
create a debt management program that could pull his beloved little town of Sassafras out of the predicament it found itself in. Due to the reluctance of the town's voting body to spend money on a debt management service, however, Mayor Baker did this all in secret and at his own expense.
"It really didn't cost me very much at all, considering I am already trained in this very aspect of financial services. I also must complete continuing education credits each year in order to keep my certifications so I already owned the latest materials that I used to create new ways to manage our town's budget and debt," stated Mayor Baker.
Using his strong knowledge of budgets and debt management, Mayor Baker managed to draft a general budget for Sassafras. This budget included a certain level of flexibility that was built in so unexpected items, such as a broken water main line or the complete overhaul of the town's fire truck, could be accommodated without throwing the town into financial ruin like the sort that had been experienced in the past. With a series of flow charts that showed the likely revenues that would be experienced by the town as well as a few worst case scenarios, Mayor Baker brought his findings, and the town budget, to the governing body for approval.
"I knew that the people of Sassafras would never agree to have their taxes raised. However, I also knew that the town couldn't continue on as it had in the past. Due to some creative debt management strategies, I was able to meet all of the town's basic needs without needing to raise taxes. I have even built in a small fund for those unexpected expenses that sometimes crop up," shared an obviously proud Mayor Baker.
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