County Mayor Coppinger's surprise attempt to raise taxes does not inspire confidence that the money will be put to good use. If the hike could bear scrutiny, why not pass it with the rest of the budget instead of springing it on taxpayers afterwards?
Aside from the twin facts that property developers who build the need should pay for any required water treatment plants, and that taxpayers want to see Dr. Johnson prove his ability before cutting him a $100,000,000 check, the lack of transparency here is appalling.
The mayor's talk about "our responsibility" rings hollow to the citizens he just bait-and-switched, and I do not agree that it is our responsibility to hand enormous sums of taxpayer money to a superintendent whose tenure is measured in weeks instead of years and a school board that has proven it can't educate our children effectively.
Charles McCullough
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I’m a little confused. Where’s all the tax money that was promised by politicians that would result from the PILOT Agreements due to the expected growth? Here’s what Jeff Morelock a former Bradley County Commissioner said a few years back. “Are we going to invest in future industry here and have growth so we don’t have to increase taxes, or are we going to tell industry we’re not interested in you coming here?”
The way this area “invested” in PILOT Agreements the whole southeast Tennessee area should be rolling in tax dollars but it seems there a number of counties and cities in this area raising property taxes at this point. Apparently it didn’t work and I will admit I'm not surprised.
Don’t be surprised Bradley County if you see a property tax increase too.
Mike Lynn
Cleveland