The city of Clinton’s elected officials
Councilman Jim McBride
JIM McBRIDE
“Clinton has been good to me,” he said.
“I think government can be managed like a business.”
McBride grew up in Morristown and graduated from high school there.
He went on to the UT College of Pharmacy, and in 1991 he bought the oldest business in Clinton, Clinton Drug Store, which was established in 1895.
Until 1995, McBride commuted to work from Morristown. He felt that if his business here did not work out, he knew enough people in Morristown that he could get a job there. Fortunately, his business was successful and in 2000 he moved into a new building on North Charles Seivers Boulevard across from the post office.
When asked how he got into city government, McBride said he applied for an unexpired term on the school board. He was not appointed. However, on the advice of some friends, he decided to run for City Council. He said he felt that serving on the council was a good opportunity to give back to the community. McBride is now in his third term.
Housing is one of the issues he is concerned about. He is also concerned about reopening the city swimming pool in Jaycees Park, and about traffic flow.
McBride’s overriding concern, however, seems to be the financial condition of the city. Not too many years ago the city had a negative fund balance. McBride said that at one time, the city was more than $11 million in debt.
“Clinton was a mess in the years 2008 to 2010.” he said. A few years ago the city was buying used police cars with 50,000 miles on them, he added.
The financial condition is much better now with the city on track to be debt free in 2026.
McBride credits the improved financial climate on the combined efforts of members of the current City Council. He was also quick to praise the work of Chris Phillips, the city’s finance director.
He said the financial condition has improved so much that recently the city has been able to give raises to city employees, purchase fire equipment, improve buildings, and complete public works projects.
“We put too much confidence in sales taxes,” McBride said.
The city can control expenses, but not revenues, he said.
While property taxes can be known, McBride said the income from sales taxes is uncertain. “You can’t spend money you don’t have,” McBride said.
“I think you can plan for major expenses and budget for them,” he said. “We need to be in a position financially where we do not borrow for everyday expenses.”
McBride is the City Council representative for CUB, and he is a member of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association. He and his wife have two grown daughters. One is a nurse practitioner and the other is an elementary school teacher. They have one granddaughter.
His family attends Second Baptist Church.