The news: If you’re on Town of Mason water, boil it before you drink it. The town issued a boil-water alert on Tuesday, Oct. 27, “due to experiencing no water and low water pressure.” The alert is in effect “until further notice,” according to the notice signed by Town Administrator Terry Leggett.

Is it over yet? We couldn’t find a notice lifting the alert as of Thursday night. Questions? Call Mason City Hall at (901) 294-3525.

Meanwhile, the money: Two weeks earlier, on Oct. 14, staff from the state Comptroller’s Office met with the Mason board at a special called meeting. According to the minutes:

  • The budget isn’t balanced. Comptroller staff said items are missing from the FY27 budget, including the administrator’s salary. They asked the board to review it and send it back.
  • Police spending: The police department had $200,000 budgeted and had already spent $75,000 in the first quarter. At that pace, the minutes say, the town won’t be able to close the year out.
  • Water and sewer: The water and sewer funds weren’t reimbursed $89,000. The Comptroller’s Office is approving a $90,000 tax anticipation note, which has to be repaid by June 30.
  • The big one: $625,000. That’s what the water account owes the town’s gas account. Comptroller staff said they’ll review it with the auditors for errors.

Big ideas floated: Steve Osborne of the Comptroller’s Office suggested the town keep running its gas system but consider having someone else run water and wastewater at cheaper rates. He also suggested the board think about a merger.

What the board took up next:

  • Oct. 19 agenda: contracts with water and wastewater operators Carl Stevenson and Christopher Luss, a vote to reject the bids on a water treatment project, and a review of the FY27 budget
  • Oct. 26: a special called finance meeting to review FY27 revenues for approval

Minutes from those meetings weren’t posted when we checked.

From the town’s water report: Also on Oct. 19, the public works report said September bacteria samples all tested negative. It also said a new well behind the fire station had been flushed and was waiting on sample results, and that crews fixed 16 water leaks.

Sources: Town of Mason boil-water notice, Oct. 27, 2026, Oct. 14 special called meeting minutes, Oct. 19 agenda, Oct. 26 finance agenda, Oct. 19 public works report.

Photo: Masonpd / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)