Section 64-8-104 - Mass transit plans - Powers and duties of board(a) The board shall develop a plan for providing mass transit services in the authority. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) Establishment, location or relocation of transit routes;(3) Frequency and method of service;(4) Coordination of existing services;(5) Contributions by governments in the service area toward the cost of transit services;(6) Contracting or entering into agreements with existing entities to provide transit services or may establish and operate such services directly;(7) Sources and methods of funding existing or expanded services;(8) Provision of special services for disabled persons or other persons unable to use regularly scheduled and equipped services;(9) Provision of services for special events or occasions; and(10) Any other provisions necessary or desirable to establish a coordinated, reliable, scheduled regional service.(b) In addition to the powers to plan for mass transit services, the authority shall have the following additional powers and duties in order to implement its plans for mass transit and other transportation services:(1) To organize itself into a public body, elect officers and adopt bylaws for the purpose of carrying out the functions authorized by this chapter;(2) To sue and be sued in its name with any causes of action against the authority or recovery against the authority governed by the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, complied in title 29, chapter 20;(3) Enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with governmental, not-for-profit and for-profit entities;(4) Purchase, own, lease and dispose of real and personal property in furtherance of the purposes of and the implementation of the authority's transit and transportation plans;(5) Employ personnel or contract with public or private entities to construct or operate transportation and transit services;(6) Employ or contract for professional services, such as, but not limited to, management, planning, support, engineering, legal, accounting and auditing services;(7) Utilize for transit or transportation services any property, right-of-way, easement or other similar property owned or held by the state or any municipality, county or metropolitan government within the transportation service area of the authority that may be necessary and convenient for the implementation of the authority's transit and transportation plans so long as the governmental entity owning or controlling such property shall consent to the authority's use;(8) The implementation of the authority's transit and transportation plans will necessitate the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of properties, facilities and equipment and the employment of personnel or contracting for services, all of which the authority is authorized to undertake and accomplish and all of which are hereby declared and deemed to be for public and governmental functions conducted by the authority. The authority is a public body corporate and politic and all powers and duties granted by this chapter are and shall be declared public and corporate purposes and matters of public necessity;(9) Establish local assessments to be paid by its city, town, metropolitan and county government members. The local assessment shall be based on a per capita and a flat rate. In establishing the per capita assessment, the authority shall use the population figures of the latest certified population of Tennessee incorporated municipalities and certified population of Tennessee counties as reported by the department of economic and community development. The per capita assessment established by the authority shall be at a rate of not less than ten cents (10¢) per capita nor greater than fifty cents (50¢) per capita. The authority shall establish a flat assessment of five hundred dollars ($500). For the purpose of calculating the assessment for any county or metropolitan government, the population of any town or city located wholly or partly within the county or the towns or cities within the geographic boundary of the metropolitan government, but which are not a part of the metropolitan government, shall not be included in the population of the county or metropolitan government. The authority's local assessment shall be imposed on October 1 of each calendar year, and the member government shall pay either the per capita rate or the flat assessment, whichever is greater. Failure of a city, town, metropolitan or county government to pay such assessment shall result in the loss of that government's participation in the benefits of the authority; and(10) To borrow money in order to proceed with or finish the construction of mass transit or other transportation services or to fund the capital cost of such services. The authority may enter into a security agreement pledging, as appropriate, to secure the loan with:(A) Anticipated forthcoming grants from the state or federal government pursuant to § 64-8-105, subject to the approval, restrictions and requirements of the state or federal government grantor; provided, however, that such approval must be reauthorized if such funds are not received within one (1) year of the initial approval;(B) Anticipated assessments from local governments pursuant to subdivision (b)(9); or(C) The authority's real or personal property.Acts 1988, ch. 1026, § 4; 1995, ch. 430, § 6; 2003 , ch. 306, § 6; 2005, ch. 170, § 1.