County Mayor Weston Wamp said Monday that "it was disappointing to see the most left-wing county commissioner use a commission meeting to mislead senior citizens about property taxes."
Commissioner David Sharpe last Wednesday said he was going to work with the county attorney on beefing up tax help for seniors.
County Mayor Wamp said, "The state’s County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) has since confirmed that enacting a tax freeze now would have absolutely no impact on the recent reappraisals. Such a freeze would have had to be enacted before January of this year to impact this year’s property taxes - something he either doesn’t understand or chose to ignore in an attempt to score political points.
"Despite his grandstanding, this commissioner has remained silent about recent tax hikes in Red Bank and Chattanooga, both of which affected seniors in his district.
"To make matters worse, he’s the only commissioner who has opposed the county’s balanced, fiscally responsible budgets each of the last two years - both of which included actual tax relief for seniors.
"Instead of virtue signaling about helping seniors like some politicians, I proposed doubling the county’s match of the state’s Property Tax Relief Program from 50 percent to 100 percent, resulting in over $1.7 million in savings for more than 4,000 low-income seniors and disabled veterans. The facts matter, especially when it affects the property taxes of senior citizens.”