The state legislature is in a "fiscal wilderness" with no solution in sight, Mayor Victor Ashe of Knoxville told the Chattanooga Rotary Club Thursday.

The outspoken veteran mayor stressed the importance of city and county government since Sept. 11 - especially given the state legislature’s difficulties with revenue.

The state’s financial shortfall is "a situation which local governments did not create but may help create a solution to," Mayor Ashe said.

"State government continues to go on with no one knowing what is going on, including those in Nashville," he said. "No one can stand up and say that there are not revenue problems. If they do say that then I don’t think they have seriously analyzed the situation. Parks are closed, corporate programs are under-funded, schools are under-funded, teachers are underpaid."

"A state income tax may be a good idea or it may be a bad idea depending on how you look at it," he said. A state income tax is unlikely to occur this year because there is not enough support for one in the legislature or from the people of Tennessee, he said. This leaves the question of where the money will come from.

One option is cutting back on the share of state taxes that local governments get. If the legislature eliminated state share taxes, they are effectively voting for a statewide property tax increase, Mayor Ashe said.

Local governments remain of critical importance, the mayor said. "I would argue that Sept. 11 might remind us even more of the importance of local government. Where is the first line of defense? Where is the first response? It’s your police department, it’s your fire department, it’s your 9-1-1," he said.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has not been under-funded, prompting the mayor to call Tennessee "first in asphalt, last in schools, last in parks."

"I’ve suggested that at least a portion of the gas tax be opened up and that the legislature have the option of spending the money on roads, on mental health, on higher education, and on law enforcement," Mayor Ashe said at the luncheon at the Read House.

Voters must make sure that local governments have the resources to care for streets, roads, and public safety, the mayor said. "The legislature should not impose its financial problems on us," he said.

The coming governor’s race may be critical to the state’s financial problems, he said. "One should not run for governor and win on a plan that is undisclosed. A candidate could potentially say that there is no problem, but they’d better not do that and then three or four months after being elected find out that there is a problem."

"When (the politicians) say don’t worry, that’s when you should start worrying," he said.

Knoxville is adding waterfront development and a convention center that the mayor said will be open by June. "We’re trying to keep up with you all in the department," he said of the center. "We don’t have to be (in competition), we really can try to promote East Tennessee to be a great place to visit, so people can come and spend a week or 10 days here rather than just going on to Florida."

He also promoted the city’s zoo, which, next to college football, is Knoxville’s second biggest attraction.

Mayor Ashe described Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga as a "triangle" that can draw tourists if the cities work together.

He had originally intended to speak to Rotary on Sept. 13, but after the terrorist attacks that occurred two days earlier the club elected to hold a patriotic program, which the mayor praised as a good decision. "Your program was certainly a most appropriate one," he said.