Oak Ridge Today

State certifies four new adventure tourism districts in Roane

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Adventure tourism is one of the hottest industries in the country and the world. To capitalize on this growing trend, Tennessee passed the Tennessee Adventure Tourism and Rural Development Act of 2011 in hopes to incentivize adventure tourism businesses to invest and create jobs in districts planned all across the state.

Tennessee’s abundance of natural resources makes it an ideal setting to support this segment of the tourism industry. The act allows qualified businesses that locate within a certified district to earn a jobs tax credit to offset a portion of the business’ Tennessee franchise and excise tax liability. Qualified businesses may include restaurants, hotels, or other tourist related attractions.

“I began the process in February and over the next few months required resolutions from each of the cities where the district resides, as well as the county. They all passed unanimously,” said Pam May, vice president of The Roane Alliance. “Roane County has so many natural resources ideal for adventure tourism—more than 700 miles of shoreline, bluffs, and vistas on the plateau, and a large number of Wildlife Management Areas—just to name a few.” [Read more…]

Roane County Budget Committee meets Sept. 14

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The Roane County Budget Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, September 14, in the Qualls Commission Room at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.

The Budget Committee includes County Executive Ron Woody and County Commissioners Steve Kelley, Bobby Collier, Randy Ellis, and Ron Berry.

City Council to consider tax rate on second, final reading on Monday

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Oak Ridge City Council on July 27, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council raised the trash pickup fee by $3.50 during a special budget meeting on Monday, July 27, 2015, and the Council set aside an extra $260,000 for capital projects such as buildings and schools. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will have a second and final meeting on Monday, August 3, to adopt the new property tax rate of $2.52.

The previous tax rate had been $2.39 per $100 of assessed value, so the new rate is 13 cents higher than the old one.

The new tax-neutral rate provided by Tennessee officials went up because overall property assessments went down in Anderson and Roane counties in the five-year reappraisals completed this year. Since property assessments went down in those two counties, the tax-neutral rate went up in the counties and cities within them, including Clinton, Norris, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top.

Oak Ridge is the only one of those seven governments that, as of now, does not plan to increase its property tax rate beyond the tax-neutral rate. With the help of some last-minute changes, Oak Ridge officials were able to balance the budget in a way that doesn’t require a local increase in the property tax rate. And the budget still proposes 2 percent pay raises for municipal workers and Oak Ridge Schools teachers and staff. [Read more…]

Tax rate increases, changes in AC, Clinton, Oliver Springs, RC, Rocky Top

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Increases in the property tax rate have been approved or are anticipated in budgets that have already passed in Anderson County, Clinton, Oliver Springs, Roane County, and Rocky Top.

Those increases are in addition to the increases already expected because of a drop in overall property assessments in Anderson and Roane counties. The 4 percent drop in Anderson County and 3.47 percent decline in Roane County mean the tax-neutral rate—the rate meant to bring in the same amount of revenues after a reappraisal as before—goes up.

The highest tax increase, which includes a 6-cent change in the certified tax rate after five-year reappraisals, is 40 cents. That’s in Rocky Top, where the new tax rate is $2 per $100 of assessed value.

The lowest so far is in Anderson County, where county commissioners have approved a 10-cent increase for 2 percent pay raises for school and county employees. That’s in addition to the roughly 16-cent increase in the tax-neutral, or certified, tax rate.

Oak Ridge will be the last of those half-dozen governments to consider any changes to the tax-neutral rate. In Oak Ridge, the rate has been calculated at $2.52, up 13 cents from the current $2.39.

Oak Ridge could also be the only one of those half-dozen governments that doesn’t add a tax rate increase to this year’s higher tax-neutral rate. So far, it appears that a majority of Oak Ridge City Council members could support the $2.52 rate, although two Council members, Trina Baughn and Rick Chinn, have advocated for a reduction, possibly by two cents to $2.50.

Here is information on the increases or potential increases: [Read more…]

Roane reappraisals show 3.47 percent assessment drop; OR tax rate calculated at $2.52

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Jason Mumpower

Jason Mumpower

Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m.

Roane County properties showed an overall 3.47 percent drop in assessed values in the five-year reappraisal process taken over by state officials this year, and the tax-neutral property tax rate in the City of Oak Ridge has been calculated at $2.52, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office announced Thursday.

The tax-neutral rate is up from the current $2.39 per $100 of assessed value, a 13-cent increase.

Separately, the Oak Ridge City Council has been asked to consider a tax rate increase of up to eight cents, with a one-cent increase requested by the municipal staff and a seven-cent increase requested by the Oak Ridge Board of Education. The one-cent increase would help maintain city services and allow for a 2 percent pay raise for city employees, and the seven-cent increase would help cover a deficit and add money for salaries and staff, including a 3 percent pay raise.

Any tax increase, if approved by city officials, would be in addition to the tax-neutral rate calculated by the state. Each additional cent on the property tax rate generates about another $90,000 in revenue. A one-cent increase would cost the owner of a $145,000 house another $3.63 per year. An eight-cent increase could cost that homeowner another $29 per year. [Read more…]

Opposing views on gay marriage: ‘Equality’ and ‘biblical values’

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Melanie Heiberg

Oak Ridge resident Melanie Heiberg organized a celebration at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church on Friday, June 26, after a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision made gay marriage legal in all 50 states. “This is about equality,” Heiberg said.

 

Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m.

There was a range of reactions in Oak Ridge and across the state this week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision on Friday, June 26, that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. That decision made gay marriage legal in all 50 states.

Some said the decision made them proud to be Americans, while others worried about whether the country is straying from biblical values.

Melanie Heiberg and others celebrated the decision at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church last Friday. Heiberg said she was raised by two dads—her father and his partner—when she was in high school.

“This is about equality,” Helberg said. “Everyone is as important as the next person.” [Read more…]

Historic day for same-sex couples: ‘Long, hard battle that love won’

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Ann Spencer and Brandy Horn

Brandy Horn, right, and Ann Spencer discuss their wedding plans after a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision on Friday made same-sex marriages legal in all 50 states.

 

KINGSTON—They didn’t intend to make history, but they did.

Two women, Brandy Horn and Ann Spencer, became the first couple to receive a same-sex marriage license in Roane County. They picked it up at about 3 p.m. Friday, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage, making it legal in all 50 states.

“It was a relief,” Spencer said. “I was so happy I was about to cry. I was in disbelief. It was finally happening.”

Horn and Spencer live in Rockwood. They have been together for 16 years and worn rings for 15. They already considered themselves married. But now it will be legal.

“It has been a long, hard battle that love won today for all couples,” Horn said Friday. “It was also a proud moment to walk into our hometown courthouse and be given the same rights and privileges as any other couple would have.” [Read more…]

Roane County issues first same-sex marriage license

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Roane County Courthouse

The Roane County Courthouse in Kingston is pictured above. (File photo)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:30 p.m.

Roane County issued its first same-sex marriage license on Friday afternoon, just a few hours after the U.S. Supreme Court backed gay marriage in a landmark 5-4 ruling.

The Roane County license was issued to two women at about 3 p.m. Friday, Roane County Clerk Barbara Anthony said. She said she can’t identify the two women.

Anthony declined to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision, which was celebrated in some circles and criticized in others.

“We just comply with the law,” Anthony said. [Read more…]

Council defers budget vote to Monday, June 15

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Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

Note: This story was updated at 8:51 a.m.

It’s still not clear how property reappraisals in Roane County will affect the Oak Ridge property tax rate, so the City Council on Monday deferred a vote on the budget until Monday, June 15.

Council had been scheduled to consider the budget in the first of two readings on Monday (June 8). Council was expected to consider the budget on second and final reading on June 15.

But the five-year property reappraisals in Roane County are not yet complete, and it’s not clear when they will be. Officials said property assessments there are likely to go down as they have in Anderson County, where they’ve fallen 4 percent.

An overall drop in property values could require an increase in the tax rate because the revenues after the reappraisals have to remain the same as they were before. [Read more…]

Roane County has public hearing, work session on budget on June 2

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Roane County will have a public hearing and work session on the budget for next year on Tuesday, June 2.

The public hearing on the budget for Fiscal Year 2016, which starts July 1, will start at 6:30 p.m. June 2 in the Qualls Commission Room at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.

The Roane County Budget Committee will meet after that public hearing in the Qualls Commission Room at the Courthouse.

Then, the Roane County Commission will meet in a work session to discuss the FY 2016 budget in the Qualls Commission Room at the Courthouse in Kingston.

The meeting is open to the public.

Roane County Budget Committee meets Monday

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The Roane County Budget Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, May 11, at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.

The Budget Committee includes Ron Woody, Steve Kelley, Bobby Collier, Randy Ellis, and Ron Berry.

The committee will meet in in the first floor conference room at the courthouse. The meeting on Thursday, May 7, was canceled.

The Budget Committee meetings are open to the public.

Roane County Budget Committee meets Monday

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The Roane County Budget Committee will at 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 6, in the first floor conference room at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.

The meetings are open to the public.

The Budget Committee includes Ron Woody, Steve Kelley, Bobby Collier, Randy Ellis, and Ron Berry.