City of Niota, Tenn., Loses Insurance Again, Shuts Down City Services

June 20, 2013

The city of Niota, Tennessee, is again without insurance and has shut down most city services.

According to The Daily Post-Athenian, only a skeleton staff remains in the city of about 800 residents.

Coverage through the Tennessee Municipal League (TML) lapsed at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Athens Insurance owner Allen Carter said he received a letter from TML stating that the city did not meet the “long term results needed” for coverage to continue.

Carter said a lawsuit against the police department was a factor in TML’s decision, but noted the major issue was errors and omissions by public officials.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported six employees were laid off Tuesday. The police department is closed, the volunteer fire department is shut down as are the library and the parks.

[Back in April, the city of Niota had briefly shut down its city services including its police and fire departments when the city’s liability insurance ran out. TML had temporarily extended Niota’s insurance at that time.]

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