The Lookout Mountain, Tn. Commissioners adopted the annual budget and tax rate for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 and ending June 30, 2021. The new tax rate has been set at $2.02 per every $100 of assessed value which equates to a 7.4 percent tax increase. Mayor Walker Jones said the increase is necessary because the town is primarily property tax driven.
The $4,412,905 budget includes a three percent payroll raise across the board, $300,000 for paving North Bragg, a new fire truck, two new police vehicles and a new pickup truck.
Plus there is a salary for a new town manager and a one time, $2,500 bonus for all full-time employees that were at risk during the pandemic. The bonuses will come from the federal American Rescue Plan funds that the town received.
The mayor said that the commissioners are trusted to be stewards of the resident’s tax dollars in addition to making sure that quality services are provided to the community and keeping the morale high for employees. He said next year it is hoped that capital needs will be less allowing a lower property tax rate. “We have an A+ team within all departments, it’s incredible and we are fortunate,” he said. "The public works department wears 1,000 hats and provides many services. The parks and playground department has great programs and the fields are kept full. And we’re lucky to have Lookout Mountain Elementary School," said the mayor.
Commissioner of Parks and Playgrounds David Paschall said baseball season is now in full swing and moving along quickly. This week all star teams are being picked. A baseball parade is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, to close out the season. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church parking lot and go down Watauga Lane. Games will start at 9:30 that morning. He said that lights at the tennis courts that are burned out are being replaced. Commons Camp will take place for seven weeks starting June 6, the first Monday of the month, until July 22. Next comes soccer. Registration starts on May 11.
Important upcoming dates at LMS were given by Commissioner of Schools Brooke Pippenger. The Hamilton County track meet for third through fifth grades will be May 11. Field Day at the school is May 20, Awards Day is May 23 at 1:30. Fifth grade graduation will be May 24. It is also the last day of school for fifth grade students. School will be dismissed at 11:30 on May 25 which is the last day for all other grades. The commissioner would like to thank principal Ruth White, the staff and faculty at the school for a great year and for all they did considering the substitute and staffing issues during the year. In April, the town received the second payment from the PTA for $94,000, which helps provide additional teachers and enrichment programs at the school.
Commissioner Pippenger would like to remind parents that students who are currently enrolled in a Hamilton County school are required to update information for the upcoming year in the parent portal from May 1-31 or after July 25.
Bids were sent out for paving but Public Works Commissioner Frank Schriner said he will follow up because no bids have been received. Plans are to pave North Bragg Avenue from Morrison Street to Scenic Highway. The town has reserved $300,000 for this project. Brush is again out of hand, said the commissioner, with contractors leaving large and high piles on the streets. He emphasized that piles can be no larger than four by four by eight feet and that it has to be done by the homeowner. He said it is a problem that is getting worse and that the public works employees will not pick up brush piles made by contractors.
Most residents that live on the mountain are well aware of the traffic issues created when the Ochs Extension was closed for repairs and that traffic laws and police are present and watching for violations on the detours through the Tennessee side of the mountain, Commissioner of Fire and Police Jim Bentley said. He said no tickets have been written to Lookout Mountain, Tn. residents so far. The strict enforcement will continue, he said. Spring means people have begun using leaf blowers and mowers and the commissioner noted that there is an ordinance designating when the noisy power equipment can be used. They cannot be operated after 8 p.m. and he said the police department can be called to find the hours they are allowed.
In response to concerns about speeding vehicles from residents who live on Willingham Lane and Glenview Street which both have a lot of children and people who walk. Mayor Jones suggested doing a study by running radar. Chief Chuck Wells said the police will focus on that area and may use a speed detection sign. He warned that everyone must use caution because it is a roadway and not a sidewalk.
Brooke Pippenger who has been a town commissioner for eight years, is leaving that position to become the new town manager. She is very qualified, said Mayor Jones, being familiar with the process of budgeting, she has raised her children in Lookout Mountain, Tn. and has been both president and vice president of the PTA at LMS. She is smart and honest, and I can think of no one who would do a better job, said the mayor as he welcomed her to the new position.
The next Lookout Mountain, Tn. Commission meeting will be June 14 at 5:30 p.m.