Soddy Daisy passed the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget on the final reading at the commission meeting Thursday night. The tax rate will be certified by the state of Tennessee in late summer; however, the budget was created using the rate of 1.3524 per $100 of assessed value, which is unchanged from the current year. Purchases planned in the coming budget include a dump truck, a salt spreader, a knuckle boom truck, police cars and radios for the fire department.
Reappraisals of property are done every four years and values have increased significantly.
City Attorney Sam Elliott said that although values have gone up, the city has to receive the same amount of money coming in from property taxes as the year before. This is accomplished by lowering the tax rate. He said that reassessments do not create any new revenue for the city.
“Soddy Daisy is one of the hottest areas in Hamilton County,” said Commissioner Gene Shipley. The city is growing every month as evidenced by the amount of building permits issued. In April, he said, the value of the permits was $1,620,000. The increase in housing will eventually benefit Soddy Daisy by bringing in more sales, income and property taxes, said City Manager Burt Johnson.
Realtor Jennifer Lively presented plans for one of the new housing developments, a neighborhood of attached houses that is being built at the intersection of Dayton Pike and Ducktown Street. The development will be on 35 lots, with 33 units and two lots reserved for a common area for community use with a pavilion and picnic tables. A fence and trees will surround the development. There are three floor plans, starting at 1,335 square feet at $314,000.
Ms. Lively assured concerned Soddy Daisy residents that the Homeowners Association agreement will prevent the units from becoming rentals. To help the increasing traffic on Dayton Pike, the entrance will be from Ducktown Road and the developers will add a turn lane to the existing street.
Mayor Nunley said the fast pace of building in Soddy Daisy is “both good news and bad news.” The infrastructure is being taxed, he said, with increased traffic and the need for more sewers, which are currently under a moratorium.
One resident questioned the commissioners about another proposed development that she feared would be designated as Section 8 subsidized housing. Mayor Rick Nunley said that the first step would require the property to be rezoned. He said the developer will be at the planning commission meeting next Wednesday at 10 a.m. and that the public is welcomed. What is decided at that meeting will later have to come to the commissioners for approval.
An ordinance passed on first reading to rezone six lots on West Parkway and five lots on Pine Street to R-1 Single Family zone, thereby prohibiting any mobile homes from being put there. Two tracts of land located at 8504 and 8506 Dayton Pike have had split zoning of C-2 Local Business and R-5 Mobile Home district. They were both rezoned to C-2 which was a matter of cleaning up the past zoning issues.
The city manager was given approval to spend $22,000 for equipment for the police department, $19,470 for a vehicle that will be shared by the police and fire departments, $17,000 for asphalt that was used in road work and $45,000 and $35,600 to pave parking lots. Renewal of a contract with Priority Waste for garbage service for five years was approved as was the renewal of a contract with Southeast Tennessee Development District which provides services and advice for the city government for $15,350. A resolution also authorized adding the purchasing co-op Houston-Galveston Area Council, to the list of authorized purchasing sites in order to get the best prices for items used in all city departments.
The city is planning a Fourth of July celebration for Saturday, July 3. There will be a car show, several vendors and music in the park until 8 p.m., said Vice Mayor Robert Cothran. The suggestion of having a parade will be considered.