The Origins of the
Rutherford Neighborhood Alliance

The Rutherford Neighborhood Alliance is an outgrowth of Referendum Now!, a citizen group organized by several Murfreesboro citizens to force a ballot initiative in 1999 to counter the development of a costly taxpayer funded Commerce Center.  The Commerce Center Project involved, among other things, the issuance of municipal bonds to pay for properties that were owned by local business leaders.  The petition drive was successful in that enough signatures of registered voters were collected to place the issue on the ballot.  Subsequently, the Murfreesboro government decided to stop work on the Commerce Center Project rather than face a certain defeat at the polls.

Referendum Now! began to dissolve after the City Council decision to drop the Commerce Center Project.  However, several members continued to meet at the local Hardee’s to discuss issues of the day.  The group decided that the community could use a citizen organization that was non-partisan and endorsed ethical and voter responsive government.  That the organization be non-partisan was very important to this nucleus of about a half-dozen people; Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and Republicans.  The organization’s goals were set around many cups of coffee and the Nashville Neighborhood Alliance was kind enough to provide the RNA with a copy of their bylaws as a basis upon which to write our own.  The Tennessee Secretary of State approved the RNA charter application on May 7th of 2002.

The Rutherford Neighborhood Alliance was in business!
RNA – A few issues 
 
Referendum NOW! - Opposed the city funding the building of a conference center; Resolved when Hammond took it on as a private enterprise (Embassy Suites & Conference Center)

UGB – sewer extension; Christiana & Farrer Brothers, Salem Pike development
 
BERC Study – County fiscal problems (growth not paying for itself)
  • RNA studied and advocated for Impact fees on new development
  • Member and past president Steve Schroeder served on the County Alternative Revenue Task Force which settled on an Adequate Facilities Tax; county commission agreed unanimously (2X) to request a Private Act to implement; local state representatives (Ketron, Tracey, Rowland, etc.) did not support the county in introducing this legislation
  • Member and past president Steve Schroeder a presentation and testified about alternative revenues before TACIR (Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations)
 
County Legal Department — 2009 to present
  • RNA advocates for an in house Legal Department 
  • Legal Services Agreement: RNA studied the contract and gave commission enough information for them to rescind their approval until after a new P.A. for Co. Atty could be written and approved by the State Legislature which would then make the LSA legal.
  • RNA provided input to the commission on the writing of both the Private Act and the LSA

County Comprehensive Plan – Member and president Susan Allen served on the Task Force; attended all meetings of the Task Force and Planning Commission discussions regarding future land development outlined by the Plan.
 
Murfreesboro 2035 Comprehensive Plan – Member and president Susan Allen served on the Steering Committee; wrote the Murfreesboro Vision Statement and attended follow-up meetings with the consultant and city officials.
 
County Trustee
  • March 2018 - Informed Commission and Trustee that State Law (TN Code Annotated) was not being followed re: Delinquent tax collection
  • Trustee has stated he will comply with Tennessee Code Annotated and report to the Commission starting June 2019 (no explanation why this was not done in 2018)
 
Solid Waste
Ongoing study concerning how solid waste will be handled in the near future