Soddy Daisy is weighing a possible tax increase and that will be the recommendation of the city manager, officials said Thursday.
At the first commission meeting in August, Soddy Daisy will have the first of two votes on the tax rate for fiscal year 2026. At this time, City Manager Burt Johnson is planning to propose raising the property tax rate to $1.10. That would create an additional $1 million for the city.
After this year’s reassessments that increased the value of real estate, Hamilton County adjusted the city’s property tax rate so that homeowners on average would pay the same amount this year as they did last year. Soddy Daisy’s certified tax rate was set at $.907 for every $100 of assessed value of the property. Municipalities have an option of adopting that certified rate or increasing it in order to receive more income.
Councilman Steve Everett said the city can no longer get by with equipment and vehicles that are past their prime. Nor can they wait until the end of the year to see if money is left over to buy equipment that is needed.
When the city was founded in 1969 those tactics were used, but with the population now above 13,235, the city has to be able to provide services when needed such as fire and medical aid. In the last several years new firetrucks have been bought, and more people have been hired, increasing costs to the city.
Soddy Daisy is compared to the other Hamilton County cities of Red Bank and Collegedale, with similar populations. But the area that the city takes care of is more than twice the size of them. And as the population grows , that requires more of everything - more roads and their maintenance, more equipment for the public works department to take care of parks, more employees to do the work and enough police and fire employees to keep citizens safe.
Soddy Daisy is operating on $2 million-$4 million less than their counterparts, said City Manager Burt Johnson. "We do more for less," he said. The city has always and still does very little on “the likes to have,” list and operates on “a need to have,” basis.
Expenses in this year’s budget are $16 million. That does not mean that is what the city will take in, it is what will be spent. Income is budgeted to be $11.5 million with $4 million of that coming from property tax. There will be a deficit this year, said Mr. Johnson. Some of that is because the city received less in sales tax last year. That was partially attributed to not having places in town to buy what people want, and also because of the increasing tendency of shopping on Amazon.
Much of what the city does is funded by state or federal grants. Soddy Daisy is building a new town hall behind the current one. Mr. Johnson wants people to know that is not contributing to the shortfall. The city received American Rescue Plan funds for two years from the federal government. The city set aside $2.5 million of that for the new building that was budgeted to cost $3.1 million-$3.2 million. And in the process , the city made cuts from the original estimates that saved $800,000 in building costs rather than taking money from the general fund.
A lot of the money that the city spends is in an attempt to increase economic development so it will not be so dependent on property tax. The commissioners have invested in the sports fields to attract tournaments, and the city manager has been trying to get a large grocery store to locate in Soddy Daisy. He has also had a study done about hotels, aimed at fishing and sports tournaments. Having visitors stay in town would increase taxes collected on lodging as well as food and fuel from visitors. And there has also been an attempt to bring a sit-down restaurant. The city has spent money in the past year to clean up the lake and make the main corridor more attractive in its efforts to draw people to spend money or move to the city.
A resolution passed on Thursday night approved for the city to enter into a 40-year lease with the Hamilton County government for the former Sequoyah Health Department building located at 9531 West Ridge Trail Road. The city plans to use the space for the Senior Center.
Two ordinances passed on the first readings to restrict the number of smoke shops, vape shops and CBD establishments in Soddy Daisy. There are seven of these stores now, but the new ordinance will limit that number to four. Those already established will be grandfathered in as long as they continue to operate. When four remain, they will be required to be spaced apart with three miles between them. It was noted that gas stations are not included in this ordinance.
The number of alternative financial services, such as check cashing stores, will also be limited. There are already four-five in Soddy Daisy. The revised ordinance governing these businesses, will limit the number to four. There will be no distance limit to separate them.
The city wants to dredge Soddy Lake, where Little Soddy Creeks flows into it. That area has become filled with silt and debris. If it is cleaned out, flooding and safety in that area will be improved. The city must first have the project engineered and provide TVA with a detailed construction plan. A total of $18,000 was approved for this report. Without it, TVA will not give a permit, said Mr. Johnson.
Soddy Daisy will also be able to make improvements at Holly Park with a grant from Hamilton County to help small cities improve their parks and public spaces. This $250,000 grant from the county will be matched by a contribution of $125,000 from Soddy Daisy and will give the city $375,000 to increase parking for boat trailers, widen the boat ramp and add another dock.
Other votes on Thursday night removed the requirement for businesses wishing to locate in the industrial park for getting a conditional permit and gave approval to purchase two Durango pursuit vehicles for the Police Department.
Another vote of the commissioners approved changing the time of the city commission’s regular meetings from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m.