Tax foes
With a small crowd of demonstrators sitting in the back of the room with signs that read, “Vote no on property tax increase,” the Bradley County Commission on Monday night finally rejected a proposed 10-cent property tax increase that would have added funds to the construction of a new academic building at Lake Forest Middle School.
Funding for renovations at the school is already in the fiscal year budget, but those funds are contingent on a projected increase in county revenue, something that several commissioners have taken issue with.
Commissioner Bill Winters has repeatedly voiced support for additional funding for the school and expressed concerns that Lake Forest in particular has been put on the commission’s back burner, and the same thing could happen in the future.
However, several other commissioners, including Charlotte Peak and Dan Rawls, pointed back to the original, already-approved budget, saying that a tax increase would be an unnecessary burden to residents since the first bond payment for the project would not be due until the following year.
Several members of the community felt the same way and showed up in force to demonstrate their opposition to a tax increase. Members of the Bradley County Republican Party were standing outside the courthouse prior to the meeting handing out cards calling for “Less taxes, less government, more freedom.”
Commissioner Winters said that rejecting the property tax increase would not mean less government, just less revenue. He also said that he would not be seconding the motion to bring the tax to a vote because the, “Votes just aren’t here.”
Overall, the tax would have been an addition to the commission’s plan to invest up to $12 million in the school’s facilities by adding 57 classrooms. The building that is being designed would replace a poorly-designed structure, which has cost the school significant maintenance and energy costs.
The County Commission also finally approved a $3,000 pay raise for firefighters, which is less than members of the department had originally asked for, but a compromise was worked out that did not increase the tax burden on the community.
However, County Mayor Gary Davis made the point that a problem of funding would come up with that department since the increase will stretch current budget projections.