Mark Watson
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a budget that does not raise property taxes but could cut funding for the Chamber of Commerce as well as the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
It would include contracts with economic development consultants Ray Evans and Steve Jones and a 1 percent cost-of-living pay raise for city employees.
Under the budget proposed by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, the property tax rate would stay at $2.39 per $100 of assessed value.
In a recent guest column, the Chamber said it recognizes the city’s efforts to save public money, and it has made a proposal to City Council for the “formation of a better and less expensive partnership for the future.” The Chamber has proposed a steering committee that would include two Chamber representatives, the city manager, and a City Council member. The committee would decide how to best carry out economic development strategies and target businesses and industries for the community, said Chamber President Parker Hardy and Board Chair Stephen Whitson.
“All of the city funds that are contributed as part of this agreement would be matched by the Chamber,” Hardy and Whitson said. “The Chamber resources will provide the labor from the Chamber staff as well as the other ‘soft costs.’ The city’s funds would be used exclusively for market studies, travel, and other ‘hard costs’ as the committee approves. Both the city and the Chamber would provide as-needed resources such as technical assistance in order to further economic development.
“In order words, the city leadership and Chamber’s leadership, which consists of private businesses in the community, would work together to prioritize and lead the business development activities for our community.”
Hardy and Whitson said the Chamber’s proposal does not include any city funding to subsidize its day-to-day operations. They said the Chamber is primarily funded by the financial support of private companies through membership dues or investments, partnerships, sponsorships, and other non-public funding sources.
Monday’s meeting is the first of two votes on the budget, which applies to the fiscal year that starts July 1. The second and final vote, or reading, will be Tuesday, May 28.
The Oak Ridge Schools budget could be approved during a special Oak Ridge Board of Education meeting on May 23. That budget could then be presented to city officials at the May 28 City Council meeting.
Under Watson’s proposal, the city’s general fund budget would be roughly $20 million, and the transfer to Oak Ridge Schools would remain at the current level of about $13.9 million.
The Monday night meeting agenda is available here.
Andrew Howe says
The property tax rate should NEVER have to increase. It is basically a percentage of the value of the home, right? And if the value of the home raises (as it should, in line with the cost of living), then the taxes will also raise.
Increasing the rate equates to increasing the percentage, which we should never NEED to do. E.G. If we can run our town on 1% of the value of the homes now, we should be able to do so in the future as well.
If the rates increase, that equates to the city taking more of our money, which means either a) the city wants to spend more, which it shouldn’t need to do since it has a limited list of responsibilities that should only increase along with the general cost of living, or b) the city has wasted the money it did take from us in taxes, and therefore we shouldn’t have to be punished for it financially.
As someone nearing retirement, I need to plan my finances. If the cost of living goes up 4% annually, on average, I should be able to predict how much savings I’ll need to pay property taxes.
Raising the percentage you take from people is simply wrong, because it throws THEIR budget out the window. Imagine if you planned your retirement and suddenly you don’t have the money to survive because the govt started taking more and more and more.
What I want to know is why we’re funding the chamber of commerce for business anyway? The city needs to provide utilities, roads, emergency services, legislative needs and legal needs.
why are our tax dollars funding a chamber of commerce anyway? Let the businesses fund their own endeavors. I don’t want to pay taxes to fund businesses, I want to pay taxes so I have electrical, water, gas, roads, police, fire fighters, judges and the council.
Market studies are well beyond what I want of our local city govt. That’s for the Calhoun and Blanchards.
Boy, I’m kind of sounding like a ‘small govt’ guy, aren’t I? It’s because I am. It’s because we shouldn’t even have to every worry about our rates going up.
Before rates EVER go up, all superficial spending needs to be cut first.
Ellen Smith says
Your analysis is based on some incorrect assumptions, Andrew. Under Tennessee law, reappraisals don’t automatically increase the property tax that’s collected — instead, the appraisal readjusts the tax rate. I’ve responded to this in more detail on my blog at http://ellensmith.org/blog/2013/05/26/trying-to-set-the-record-straight-on-property-tax/
Sam Hopwood says
Very interesting comments and yes, I read your blog. As a former council member and as one who intends to run again – at least in my view – I would be interested in hearing how you would vote on the final reading of the city’s budget on May 28. Would you vote to stand firm on the recommended proposed allotment of tax dollars for the school system’s budget? Yes or no.