Who would have ever thought that raising taxes would result in cheers from a sanding-room-only crowd? But that is exactly what happened at the end of the County Commissioner Special Session held this evening, October 12, 2009, at the courthouse annex in  Charlotte TN.

After many months of debate and sometimes heated arguments over the 2.8 million dollar county budget deficit, the vote – 9 yes and 3 no- approved raising property taxes and cutting the county budget in order to keep Dickson County operating and schools open. The bottom line is that property taxes have been raised $.19 to $2.85 per $100.00 of the assessed property value ( 25% of the appraised value)* and there will be a 2.5% budget cut for Dickson County at large. That means the owner of a house valued at $100,000 who paid $665 in the past will now pay $712, which is an increase of $47. It also means that the county will have to cut its general budget by 2.5 percent which may result in layoffs.

The meeting opened with a motion to raise the Wheel Tax $20.00 per vehicle which was quickly shot down by the Attorney General since such a proposal would have to go through 2 readings, public scrutiny and then a vote – no time for that. It was followed by discussion about landfill user fee increases- which, when paid in January , would be too late to help the current emergency. The next proposal was to raise property taxes by $.24 with no budget cuts. However, even after discussions and concerns about how businesses and struggling homeowners may be gravely effected by a property tax increase, the approved $.19 increase with budget cuts seemed to be a compromise that , although helpful, brought no joy. It was apparent that the cheers emitted from the crowd stemmed more from relief that school closings were averted rather than any happiness or belief that the solution was the best for everyone.

The Board of Education has been asked to fund the county deficit with its 5 million dollar education fund but the request has been repeatedly denied. The county budget problems have come as no surprise and have been up for discussion for almost a year with no resolve, resulting in missed state deadlines of July 1st and then October 1st. Dickson County would have faced numerous problems this week if a decision had not been reached; the county school system would have come to a screeching halt and the county jail would have had to relocate 230 inmates to other counties– just to site a few.

In a County Commissioner’s meeting held 9/22/09 the public was invited to express opinions on the mounting crisis. Many citizens of Dickson stepped up to the microphone to plead with the commissioners to take seriously the predicament of school students , most especially seniors and how school closings and schedule changes for graduation would effect their ability to get into colleges next year. Many people just wanted to express their frustration with the situation and how they expected the commissioners to do their jobs and fix the problem.

Prior to this county crisis the court house has been quiet and quite empty for the most part, but this public dilemma not only stirred up local attention, it also caught the attention of major news stations in Nashville. A budget shortfall is not big news, but the threat of schools closing for lack of funding makes headlines and grabs the attention of county residents who, rightly so, want to weigh-in on the operation of their local government.

The current emergency has been abated but not resolved.  It is my hope that serious work will be done by our county commissioners to slash spending rather than jobs and do what ever it takes  to keep us from getting to the brink of disaster again.

To calculate your property taxes visit:

http://www.tennesseetrustee.com/node/51          Tax Calculator