posted June 30, 2005
County Commissioner Larry Henry said Thursday the commission needs to study the longterm needs of both county general government and the county schools and make adjustments in the tax rate as needed.
The commission finance committee chairman, who is a "swing vote" on a possible tax hike, called for "an end to election-cycle budgeting."
Commissioner Henry said a 55-cent property tax increase was on the table last year and he said the figure "may grow to $2" without action by the commission.
He said, "We won't be able to get it all at one time, but over a period of time." He mentioned the possibility of a 35-cent tax increase followed by later increases.
Commissioner Henry was one of five commissioners who held out last year against the recommendation from County Mayor Claude Ramsey on a sizable tax boost.
Mr. Ramsey and the county schools this year have been preparing no-tax increase budgets, though the schools say they have an additional $17 million in high-priority needs.
Commissioner Henry said staff members need to prepare a list of needs for county general government and for the county schools projecting over the next five years. He said the commission could react to those lists with possible tax "adjustments."
Commission Chairman Fred Skillern said, "It still gets down to who is right about the needs."
He said he saw figures indicating that Knox County has 12,000 more students than Hamilton County, but both have about 6,000 employees. He said, "We might just need to look at Knox County and see what they are doing."
Commissioners Curtis Adams, Lou Miller and Bill Hullander, who also voted against a tax increase did not comment.
Commissioner Charlotte Vandergriff said, "Our problem is right here and now, and we need to act on that."
She said a 35-cent tax increase "would not be such a burden on taxpayers," and she said 55 cents "would probably just get us on a level playing field."
She said continual fussing between the commission and the County School Board is "an embarrassment to us as a county."
Commissioner Vandergriff said, "We need to be progressive on education."
Commissioner Richard Casavant said, "We can never take the politics out of budgeting, but the election cycle shouldn't dictate what we do."
He said, "With each day that passes, there is more urgency for us to do something."
Commissioner Henry said the commission is "gridlocked" and "in a quagmire, so to speak."
He said property tax increases normally happen just after an election, and he said commissioners hope voters forget about it when the next election comes three years later.
The last county property tax increase was 1999.
Commissioner Henry said the biggest problem facing the county is a lack of state funding.
He said under the current situation, county government and the education system "is crumbling around us."
He said, "School needs are not being met. Dedicated teachers are getting discouraged and county employees are becoming demoralized because of their pay."
Commissioner Henry called for "a different approach" on budgeting and said, "I hope this different approach provides a common ground for all of us."
He said the county would "stay within our means" and it would be a "reasonable and conservative" approach.
He said the county schools should agree not to pledge operating funds toward grants and not divert maintenance funds to operations.
The commission normally passes a new budget at the end of June prior to the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. But the commission is awaiting figures from the assessor's office following the recent property reappraisal.
The tax rate will have to be adjusted based on those figures so that the government does not have a "windfall" from higher appraisals.
Mr. Ramsey said appeals of the reappraisal are ongoing, and the new rate will not be determined until those are over.
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