The Town of Mason is set to restructure how it governs itself.
At a special called meeting Monday night, Mason’s mayor and board of aldermen will vote on whether to adopt a charter amendment that would shift day-to-day executive authority away from the mayor and to a newly-created town administrator position appointed by the board.
If approved, the change would represent the most significant restructuring of Mason’s government in decades. And the board isn’t waiting to act on it: a second resolution on Monday’s agenda would immediately appoint Terry Leggett as interim town administrator, contingent on the charter vote passing.
Sunday night, Mayor Eddie Noeman took to Facebook Live to address citizens about the state of the town and the upcoming meeting, saying he had “facts,” “figures,” and “proof” for everything he planned to say. He spoke for nearly an hour on a range of topics, including a direct challenge to the charter amendment on Monday’s agenda.
“Tomorrow night, he try to destroy the town,” Noeman said of the board majority pushing the change. “He give your identity away. There is no more Mason after that.”
Noeman questioned the cost of a town administrator, saying the salary, which he estimated at between $65,000 and $75,000, was money the town doesn’t have.
“We don’t have money to pay like that,” he said.
Paper Folds will have separate coverage of the other claims Noeman made during the livestream.
What the charter change does
Under Mason’s current charter, the mayor serves as the town’s chief executive, supervising employees, managing departments, and appointing department heads with board ratification. The new charter strips nearly all of that authority and transfers it to a professional administrator who would answer directly to the board, not the mayor.
The town administrator would be responsible for the town’s day-to-day operations, budget preparation, personnel management, and monthly financial reporting to the board. Department heads would be appointed by a majority vote of the board and serve at the board’s pleasure.
The mayor’s role under the new structure becomes largely ceremonial and representational, with responsibility for presiding over meetings, serving as the town’s public spokesperson, issuing proclamations, and representing Mason before other governments and community organizations. The new charter goes further, stating explicitly that the mayor “does not have any oversight authority of the Town Administrator” and shall not “impede, interfere, or undermine” the administrator’s work.
The legislation also adds significant new governance requirements that don’t exist in the current charter, including mandatory annual financial disclosures for board members, required recusal from votes where a conflict of interest exists, codification of Robert’s Rules of Order as the governing parliamentary procedure, and a detailed finance and budget framework that includes public hearings on the annual budget and independent annual audits.
How it got here
The push for a town administrator structure has been years in the making.
A 2024 review conducted through the state’s West Tennessee Planning initiative, which has been working with communities surrounding Ford Motor Company’s BlueOval City manufacturing plant, recommended the town consider moving to a town administrator model. They said it might make the town more efficient and better positioned for anticipated growth. The review also noted that the structure could improve Mason’s competitiveness for grant funding.
Though the Feb. 3 meeting minutes show Alderwoman Alethea Harris said the board voted on the concept twice in 2025, passing it unanimously both times, this cannot be confirmed by the publicly posted minutes, which date back to Feb. 24, 2025. A draft bill was submitted to the legislature that year but was pulled before a final vote due to inconsistencies that required revision. It was redrafted and resubmitted in 2026.
The legislation was carried in the House by Rep. Debra Moody and in the Senate by Sen. Paul Rose. It passed the General Assembly on April 2 and was signed by Gov. Lee on April 16.
Because it is a private act amending Mason’s charter, the law cannot take effect on its own. It requires approval by a two-thirds vote of Mason’s entire legislative body, meaning at least five of the seven members of the mayor and board of aldermen must vote yes for the amendment to become effective.
A divided board, a town with history
The Feb. 3 resolution formally requesting the legislation passed on a 4-3 margin. Aldermen Alethea Harris, Mary Mason, Virginia Rivers and Trowanna Broadnax voted in favor. Mayor Eddie Noeman, Vice Mayor Reynaldo Givhan and Alderman Carolyn Catron voted no.
At that meeting, Harris framed the change as a matter of organizational necessity, telling fellow board members the town had too many policies and procedures going unfollowed and that continuing on the current path put Mason’s existence as a municipality at risk.
Noeman raised objections to the cost, noting that Mason is only 2 square miles and questioning whether the town was ready to take on the expense of a full-time administrator. He also called for a public hearing to explain the changes to residents before any vote was taken.
Catron echoed concerns about the scope of the shift, noting that under the new structure the mayor would have little remaining power, and suggested the town hold a town hall meeting to walk residents through what the changes would mean.
The charter change comes as Mason continues to rebuild from a period of severe financial instability.
The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office took financial oversight of the town in 2022 following years of mismanagement under previous administrations, requiring approval of expenditures and laying out a plan to address hundreds of thousands of dollars in improperly transferred utility funds. Mason’s current leadership has worked to restore the town’s finances and local control since then.
Supporters of the new structure have pointed to that history as part of the argument for professionalizing the town’s administration. At the February meeting, Harris noted that the town of Gallaway successfully recruited major employers, including Buc-ee’s, with a town administrator model in place.
In Tipton County, only Atoka follows the town administrator model.
Who is Terry Leggett?
If the charter amendment passes Monday, the board would immediately move to its second resolution: appointing Terry Leggett as interim town administrator while a permanent contract is negotiated by the town attorney and brought back before the board for approval.
Public records indicate a man named Terry Leggett currently serves as a Fayette County commissioner representing District 8, a position he has held for at least several years. He has also previously served as chair of the Fayette County Republican Party. It could not be immediately confirmed whether the Fayette County commissioner is the same individual named in Monday’s resolution, and no public record of a solicitation or application process for the position has been found.
The new charter sets a high bar for the position. The town administrator is required to serve as chief administrative officer, manage all personnel below the department-head level, oversee purchasing and accounts payable alongside the finance director, prepare the annual budget, and report monthly to the board on finances and town operations.
What happens Monday
The charter vote comes first and Leggett’s appointment is contingent on it passing. If the charter amendment fails to reach the two-thirds threshold, neither resolution moves forward.
If it passes, Mason’s government changes that night.
The special called meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., at Mason City Hall, 12157 Main Street.
Editor’s note: This story, which was published Sunday, April 26, has been updated to include remarks from the unscheduled mayoral address.
This story was reported using documents obtained from the Town of Mason, including board meeting minutes, draft resolutions, and the signed text of HB 1804, as well as public records from the Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service and the Municipal Technical Advisory Service.
