Fairview does less than you would expect a city to do, and that is the first thing worth understanding about living here.

The city runs a police department, a fire department, the streets, the parks and a chipper truck. It does not run your water, your gas, your electricity, your trash, your schools or your library. Every one of those belongs to somebody else, and nobody sends a new resident a letter explaining which is which. This is that letter.

The calls to make in your first week

Water is the Water Authority of Dickson County, on (615) 441-9511, and the same number after hours. Fairview's water is run from the next county over, out of Dickson, which catches people out when they go looking for a city water department that does not exist.

Electricity is Middle Tennessee Electric, a member-owned cooperative based in Franklin. New service and billing is (877) 777-9020. Outages have their own line, (615) 794-3561, and it is worth putting in your phone before the first storm rather than during it.

Gas is Piedmont Natural Gas, on (800) 752-7504, for service, billing and emergencies alike.

Trash is nobody's until you arrange it. There is no city collection and no line on a bill for it. If you have moved in and made no call, nothing is coming to your curb. Superior Disposal serves Fairview and took over the customers of Fairview Trash. For new service, confirm availability, rates and pickup days directly with the company. Existing customers can read what changed after Fairview Trash was sold.

Sign up for the city's text alerts while you are at it, at fairview-tn.org. It is the fastest way to hear about a water main break, a road closure or a burn ban, and it is the one city service that comes to you rather than waiting to be found.

Who runs what

The dividing line is the county. Williamson County runs the schools, the library and the health clinic. The City of Fairview runs police, fire, streets, codes, parks and the municipal court. When you cannot work out who to call, that split is usually the answer.