LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — When the Metro Utility Department Board first raised the question of what to do about pennies back in February, it touched a nerve. Cash-paying customers, elderly residents, and unbanked ratepayers all had a stake in the answer. On Tuesday night, the board found one — and it was simpler than anyone might have expected.
The MUD office will continue accepting cash. No one loses their pennies. Instead, any leftover cents from a cash transaction will be applied as a credit toward the customer’s next water bill. No rounding up. No rounding down. No change in your pocket that you didn’t ask for.
“Nobody loses in the end,” MUD Board member Darrell Richards said during Tuesday’s meeting, describing the approach Office Manager Katie Goodwin and her staff settled on. The board agreed, and no formal vote was required — the solution was handled as an internal staff matter.
How It Started
The conversation began at the February 12 MUD Board meeting, when board member Greg Guinn raised the looming reality of a penny-less economy. President Trump directed the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies in early 2025, and the U.S. Mint struck its last penny on November 12 of that year. While more than 114 billion pennies remain in circulation, their slow disappearance will eventually create friction at any business that handles cash…