Trina Baughn
The following are my 2015 budget recommendations to the city manager:
Mr. Watson,
I commend you for your willingness to reduce spending in your formulation of the Fiscal Year 2015 city budget. This approach is essential to making Oak Ridge more attractive to prospective residents and businesses.
As you know, Oak Ridge has the third highest city/county property tax rate in East Tennessee at $4.74. What you may not realize is this year, the city of Knoxville dropped below us in these rankings with a combined city/county rate of $4.71 while the majority of Knox Countians still pay less than half of our rate at $2.32.
In response to your request for council suggestions, I encourage you to set a very obtainable goal. That is, reduce our total budget by .05 percent ($90,000) and return those monies to the taxpayers in the amount of a one-cent tax rate reduction. The following are my suggestions for accomplishing this goal.
KROGER
Last year, many of my fellow council members indicated their support of a tax cut once the Uranium Processing Facility and Kroger projects began to produce revenue. With the Kroger Marketplace set to open in July, the timing is ideal for us to pass along some of the savings to our own customers! As you and Mayor Beehan have said, the anticipated new revenue from this project is approximately $1 million per year. The city’s portion should easily cover a one-cent reduction in our 2015 budget.
TRAVEL
The amount of taxpayer money we are spending on travel is excessive, especially considering that we often send multiple delegates to the same conferences. Last February, for example, you, along with the mayor and two city employees, attended a two-day conference in Washington D.C. Were we not sufficiently represented by our county mayors and federal lobbyist who also attended?
By comparison, Knox County officials spend significantly less. Last year, the Knox County mayor’s total annual travel expenses were $1,104. We provide you with a nice SUV and over $15,000 in travel money to perform the same functions but at a much lower level of responsibility.
While most of Knox County commissioners don’t spend any taxpayer money on travel, their total travel expenses were $13,576 compared to our City Council budget of $38,000. Maybe I don’t know what I’m missing, but I found no reason to travel my first year in office. None of my fellow council members’ trip reports have demonstrated any return on investment (unless you count camaraderie and creative synergy).
Since nearly half of our community is living paycheck to paycheck, it isn’t right for us to spend their money for plush travel which is of no benefit to the needs of our constituency. I propose we eliminate both of these travel budgets for one year. If the loss is genuine, I would be open to reinstating them for FY2016. Should this suggestion be rejected, I will make the same motion that I did last year to reduce my $5,428 share of this expense.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
After many years of funneling millions of dollars to the Chamber of Commerce, they (through their president) have made it clear that city funding is no longer warranted. Because Parker Hardy recently stated in his letter to the editor “We are not taxpayer-subsidized,” we can safely assume that he neither appreciates the taxpayers generosity nor needs it. So let us move forward and return those funds back to the taxpayer. We should still retain our membership, however, for as long as Mr. Hardy expects us to allow him to squat on city property for next to nothing.
CVB
As the Convention and Visitors Bureau continues to take steps toward self-sufficiency, it is logical the city facilitate that transition by reducing their funding incrementally. If we reduce their funding by $90,000, they will still have $230,000 on which to operate and another year to bring in replacement revenues. Their acquisition of the Secret City Half Marathon should cover part, if not all, of the budgetary shift.
LIBRARY
I made the suggestion last year to reduce library funding based on the fact that our per-capita spending was $48 compared to the Blount County Library’s $16. Soon thereafter, Aditya Savara researched the matter and provided council with an outstanding analysis clearly demonstrating serious inefficiencies. He found most of our $1.4 million budget is spent on staff while only 10 percent is spent on materials. His research of national averages shows that the average library spends closer to 20 percent on materials and suggests we are overstaffed by at least 30 percent. He posed a question that begs a response: “If we spent $1 million a year on books and let the Oak Ridge citizens take them home, would we be better off than employing 17 librarians?” Let’s take him up on his challenge and at least reduce funding by $90,000, or 6.4 percent, of their total budget.
STAFF
With nearly 400 employees, we seem grossly overstaffed compared to Maryville, which employees one-third fewer staff. Again, because we see an average 5 percent turnover rate, I believe we have room to improve without cutting actual employees.
If you can’t find a way to reduce spending through attrition, then perhaps you can explore creative ways to trim fat in senior management. We are spending nearly $1.4 million on 15 director salaries (excluding benefits), which represents 15.5 cents on the property tax rate. Why not enact a temporary 6 percent pay cut? You should be able to fully reinstate those salaries (maybe even with back pay!) as soon as the dough rolls in from the UPF project.
That approach would retain all positions; however, you could accomplish the same level of savings by simply reorganizing and eliminating just one of the positions. You could base your decision on customer satisfaction assessed through a simple public survey. Understanding how the public perceives departmental performance could provide you with invaluable data for use beyond the original intent. I would suggest listing each director along with their salaries and total budgets and ask questions like, “Do you think you are getting your money’s worth from these departments? If so, what are we doing right? If not, what can we do better to serve you?”
- Electric director—$112,000
- Fire chief—$94,000
- Police chief—$113,000
- Public Works director—$106,000
- Finance director—$96,000
- Library director—$86,000
- Personnel director—$93,000
- Senior staff attorney—$66,000
- City clerk—$51,000
- City manager—$155,000
- City attorney—$107,000
- Recreation and Parks director—$99,000
- Government Affairs/Information Services director—$88,000
- Community Development director—$89,000
- City judge—$42,000
In the past, I’ve provided you with dozens of other ways to save taxpayer money. This year, however, I am simplifying my recommendations with the hope that you and council will view my requests in a more reasonable and favorable light. I’m asking for one penny to be returned to our taxpayers. It’s the equivalent of .05 percent of our entire budget. If we could accomplish this small feat, we would demonstrate good stewardship, which would help us to regain some of the public trust that has been lost in recent years.
Thank you for the invitation to share, and I look forward to your presentation on June 2.
Trina Baughn is an Oak Ridge City Council member.
Dave Smith says
This screed is more of the same ole, same ole from the front seat of the clown car. A $0.01 decrease in the tax rate will save me $7.88 a year in property taxes. So this is not about saving me or any other taxpayer money, not even in a symbolic sense. It’s just another example of hateful personal attacks on people she doesn’t like. And the number of names on that list continues to grow.
I do want to thank Ms. Baughn for NOT traveling, and I hope that she will continue to not do so. It’s best to contain the damage to the Oak Ridge vicinity.
Harry Pruitt says
BTW Dave, speaking of the clown car, which seats have you and Joe Lee assigned to Chuch Hope and David Mosby? Just curious…..
George Wince says
You will need your flame Retardant suit Trina after suggesting saving money instead of growing government.The retards are in full flame mode here . LOL
Mark Caldwell says
How much revenue did the City of Oak Ridge lose by discontinuing the contract for the traffic-enforcement cameras? Something in the neighborhood of $500,000 per year.
Ms. Baughn, your actions suggest that you are going in the wrong direction.
Harry Pruitt says
Yes, Mark, you again confirm that the cameras were always about money. Nothing more, nothing less.
Mark Caldwell says
So? Maybe you want to pay more in city taxes, but I would rather the bad driver pay their fair share.
Harry Pruitt says
Speaking of taxes I strongly support a substancial increase in city property taxes, say a 15% to a 20% increase. Everyone who posts on here can easily afford that and it would help to reduce our city debt among other things. Even Ellen Smith suggested some time ago thnat she could afford to pay more taxes. Higher taxes are not going to keep people from moving to Oak Ridge. We have many more problems that are responsible for that. Time to be realistic.
Mark Caldwell says
I agree with you Harry. If we want the services, we should pay for them. I just didn’t like the idea of eliminating revenue for our city from the ones who owe it: the dangerous, inconsiderate drivers.
Charlie Jernigan says
I might agree with Harry if he owned any property in the city.
Harry Pruitt says
Not quite correct Charlie. Our little abode is in my wife’s name, who incidentally kept her own name when we married so your checking the tax records was wasted time. Good try though. We both support increasing property taxes for the betterment of Oak Ridge. How about your better half?? 🙂
Charlie Jernigan says
Hardly a waste of time… As you know the real Harry Pruitt of Oak Ridge has been a staple of good-humored pranks since he was created by Oak Ridge students in the ’40s. There always were flimsy excuses for not being able to find that face in the crowd. I just wondered what it might be this time.
John Clark says
There also doesn’t appear to be anyone named “Harry Pruitt” as a registered voter in Oak Ridge.
Mike Mahathy says
Why does John H allow this person to post under a fake name?
Aaron Wells says
For the same reason he allows Dave Smith to post on here, at least my guess anyway.
johnhuotari says
Mike,
We ask everyone who posts here to use their real names. We have not made any exceptions. I continue to do my best to confirm people’s identities.
Thank you,
John
Curt Kelsey says
That wasn’t revenue ,that was extorted dollars. The Tn. legislature changed the Law because of that illegal activity by RedFlex and their willing conspirators.
Mark Caldwell says
Changed what law? An internet search reveals that the Tennessee legislature removed the local government’s authority to tax inconsiderate, unsafe drivers who do not stop before making a right-hand turn, but I am unable to find any reference regarding the illegality of traffic-enforcement cameras. Could you help me Curt?
bill bradley says
Oh God, please look at me…I’m sitting over here waving my hand, wanting everyone to look at me. Please, please, please look at me. I can’t stand it if you don’t!!!
I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Smith….let’s figure out a way to keep her home so she doesn’t embarrass the city as a whole. Could she try any harder to come off any more sarcastic than she does. Oh, but it’s everyone else who’s mean if they say anything bad about her or her cronies. I do notice that her buddies continue to complain about the noise and bad activities around their houses, but apparently can’t comprehend that the cops are spread thinner than ever now!!
Personally, I liked the idea that red-light cameras were helping cops scare people into driving the speed limit, thus creating a safer environment around the schools. And the money certainly didn’t hurt the city’s bank account. Anti smoking campaigns are all about fear, why shouldn’t anti-speeding efforts be the same?!!
Curt Kelsey says
Good Job Trina !
David Allred says
“We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:
2) Be civil. Don’t insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.”
Just a friendly reminder of the comment code.
I consider myself at best only “moderately informed” when it comes to the spending of our tax dollars & the perceived value of that spending. I would say the majority of Ridgers are probably even less than “moderately informed” so I’m not sure polling would accomplish much with regards to suggestion #6.
I do however get a good education every time I attempt to drive from Oak Ridge to Knoxville between the hours of 4:30-6:00 PM on a week day. It looks like an Atlanta interstate during a snow storm. Tens of thousands of people are vacating our city to drive to their plush Knox County homes. It saddens me.
I’ve heard it stated that property tax isn’t the issue, but when we purchased our first home in West Knoxville over 15 years ago, it was at the top of a short list of reasons for two young 27-year old newlyweds on a fixed income. When we bought our 2nd home in Clinton three years later, property tax was again a determining factor. It matters & young, smart couples do the math.
We “bit the bullet” and moved to Oak Ridge about 10 years ago. We’ve not regretted that choice, but it’s important to note that it took some convincing for us. Much of the “value” of the additional tax we now pay comes in the form of intangibles. It’s hard to sell intangibles to 10,000 people vacating town at 5:00PM every day.
Any attempt to tighten up is a good thing — whether messing around with our own home budgets, or the city budget. Open discussion of what we pay for and why we pay for it is the hallmark of a functioning democracy. Rather than vague responses & personal accusations about the deliverer or delivery of information, I would be interested in hearing specific responses regarding these recommendations. What are the pros and cons? Would a refunded deduction of $10 per citizen matter as much as a re-investment of that capital, or a doubling-down on city debt? What about improving Oak Ridge properties or drawing in more businesses & employment? To what extent could volunteer labor in the library or other places make a difference? The list of questions could on, but I’d love to log in here and read some real discussion rather than the same old “He said, She said” stuff that Oak Ridge has been muddled up in for a long time.
Just my 2 cents…. no pun intended. 😉
Harry Pruitt says
Some good points. I will still contend that affordable, modern homes are the big obstacle for Oak Ridge. Surrounding areas have them, we do not. You just get more bang for your buck in Lenoir City, Powell, Karns, Hardin Valley, Clinton and the list goes on and on. I don’t think there really is an answer to that. We are what we are. Our school enrollment will continue to decline as result.
John Clark says
OK, you want specific comments? Let’s start with some real facts. The just submitted City of Knoxville budget requires a 34 cent increase in the property tax. The reason Knox county citizens pay less than we do is that they do not get the same level of government services that we do. The reason Maryville has fewer city employees than Oak Ridge is that they employ no librarians, have no parks and recreation staff and Maryville only staffs 3 fire stations while Oak Ridge has 4. But those are all things that Ms Baughn neglects to mention.
You’re suggesting that savings from cuts in services be used to pay down the debt, but that’s not what Ms Baughn is suggesting. And by your question regarding “improving OR properties”, do you mean to use city money to improve private property? I can’t imagine the hue and cry that would be raised. History shows us when similar proposals have been put forward in the past, they were soundly defeated in referendums. Ms Baughn did her best to prevent the redevelopment of the mall property with the assistance of a TIF, even appealing to county commission in an attempt to stop it. Likewise, every time the city has given help to new businesses, Ms Baughn has been against it.
You might want to temper your own use of hyperbole. There aren’t “tens of thousands” of people who work in Oak Ridge and travel Pellissippi each day. And while there is a large population of people who do commute to work in Oak Ridge, there is also a fair number of people who live in OR and work in Knoxville. But I have to agree with “Harry” that the problem is the availability of affordable, modern homes. But that is a virtually intractable problem with no simple solution. Some time with a bulldozer in certain areas of town would do wonders, but there are those pesky personal property rights that get in the way. Just look at the problems with the Applewood Apartments which were slums 40 years ago and haven’t improved with age.
David Allred says
John,
How does a 34 cent tax increase contrast to our tax rate? Are the figures Ms. Baughn presents correct, meaning would a 34 cent tax increase take Knox County to a rate of about $2 less than Oak Ridge? If so, and I know it was this way 15 years ago when I was home shopping, that extra $$ on my home mortgage looked like a lot to a 27 seven year old buying a first home. Not to mention, I could get more square foot per dollar almost anywhere else. I think it matters, but hey – I’m just one guy.
I agree that the perks of living here in Oak Ridge are worth it. But as I said above, they don’t monetize very well to a young couple. At 45, I must say I appreciate having a greenway in my backyard, paved sidewalks, guard rails, and being minutes away from a park to take my children. Obviously, I believe these things are “worth it” because I haven’t moved. But the real truth is that I can afford them now that I am not covered over in school loans and ramen noodle slosh. Looking for those things was no where on my radar as a fresh home buyer.
As to the library, I’m a highly educated fellow who goes only a few times a year and that’s to take my children. The internet and Kindle have been treating me well, but then again I can afford subscriptions and books now, whereas I couldn’t before. The study I would be most interested in reading about would involve how accessible our library is to the city’s poor.
As to debt-reduction, I seem to recall ending in a question mark meaning I’ve not seen any real discussion on putting savings in that direction. I’d simply be curious to see if such a small amount would make a difference and if so, how long before the savings get multiplied back for the tax-payer.
I’d be more than happy to temper my hyperbole if it assists the conversation and will simply ask you for a specific number of cars lined up bumper to bumper from the Arboretum to around Hardin Valley road on any given Tuesday. I’ve no idea, I just know its a lot.
I’d also be curious to know what you’d like to do with our community’s impoverished once we razed their homes to make room for kind of Oak Ridger who meets our expectations. Do you know any Applewood families? What do we do with them, or worse, their children, after pricing them out of the city? Or is that not on the city growth plan?
I am asking because I sincerely don’t know the answer.
John Clark says
First, you need to learn the difference between Knox County and the City of Knoxville. As for the library, if it isn’t open and staffed, it doesn’t do anyone, rich or poor, any good. As to the traffic, again it would be helpful if you understood how many people were employed at ORNL and Y-12 and understood that not all of them leave via Pellissippi and therefore there can’t possibly be “tens of thousands” of people there every afternoon. And I’ve never found the traffic to ever be bumper to bumper to anywhere near Hardin Valley as it pretty well breaks up after one gets past the bottleneck that is Solway. Again your hyperbole gets the best of you. You want attractive, affordable housing that would keep people from leaving town for their “plush Knox County homes”, yet you object to improving the housing stock to make it attractive. Interesting logic. And none of it has much of anything to do with Ms Baughn’s letter.
Dave Smith says
David, about seven years ago there was an informally organized group in OR called CAFE. (For the life of me I can’t recall what the letters in the acronym stood for.) The CAFE folks took it upon themselves to study the costs of living elsewhere and commuting to Oak Ridge to work versus living and working in Oak Ridge. Their analysis was inclusive of the all the many costs that must be addressed. The bottom line from their study was both logical and surprising. I quote one of the conclusions of the study:
“Oak Ridge is the least expensive city to live in if you are employed in Oak Ridge.”
For example, their analysis showed that if you owned a $200k house in tax-sheltered Farragut and worked in Oak Ridge, your cost of housing and commuting would be about $1,500 more than if you owned a $200k house in Oak Ridge. The calculated differential was slightly less for a $350k house (~$900). Living in Knoxville or Maryville and working in Oak Ridge would cost a whopping $5,000 extra because – like Oak Ridge – those areas have city property taxes.
I think a lot of “young, smart couples” might “do the math” when considering where to locate but I think it likely that their analysis fails to account for hidden costs like the increased homeowner’s insurance premiums due to anemic fire protection in most areas outside of Oak Ridge, the cost of contracting to have someone haul away your garbage, the cost of commuting for an hour or more each day, and so on.
The CAFE study was published in The Oak Ridger. You seem like an analytical kinda guy; I can send you a copy of the study if you would like.
Regarding the daily commuter parades on roads in and out of Oak Ridge, many of the people (perhaps most of the people) who commute to work in Oak Ridge already lived somewhere nearby BEFORE they got a job in Oak Ridge. And they are simply not interested in leaving their ancestral neighborhood or their proximity to nearby family members or their 1 acre plot or their mobile home park to live in Oak Ridge.
I think it will be a difficult sell to get those folks interested in relocating to Oak Ridge. I maintain that our target demographic should be those who are hired by firms in Oak Ridge and are relocating from outside the Knox metro region. I’ve worked in Oak Ridge for four decades, long enough to learn that there are significant sociological and cultural barriers that turn people off to locating in Oak Ridge. The property tax rate is not their issue.
WK Hyatt says
What is the current DOE PILT right now? I understand it is about the same as it was in 1960. It would seem we could help our revenue stream if we could get an increase there as well as cut things, although in some cases I do agree with Trina on her cuts. I have always heard that DOE is much more generous to other nuclear communities like Los Alamos, which I have heard they give quite a bit to their schools alone. I am afraid that people do avoid moving or living here because fo taxes, I hear that all the time at work, “oh I don’t want to buy in Oak RIdge, they got high property taxes” and I have had a house for sale here for two years, lowered the price several times and can’t sell it, yet if a house goes up for sale out in Lake Hills, its gone fast.
Oak Ridge needs to market itself better to prospective residents, especially new hires at the plants and businesses. Point out that we do pay more up front in property taxes, but how many other items do they pay for in Knox County like a wheel tax, fire protection, garbage pick up (at the curb), higher homeowners and car insurance rates, not to mention if they work over here, more expenses for gas, car repairs and wear, tires, and just the extra time of fighting the snarl of traffic in Solway. Those are taxes too, they just are not as apparent as the property taxes are.
bill bradley says
First Rob, no one hates her. Personally, I just don’t have any respect for someone who behaves this way. I believe many or her comments are incomplete and / or poorly researched and I think she purposely misrepresents things. Her snide comments about fellow council members and BOE members reflects poorly on her ability to work well with others. I think she likes the publicity. It’s sad that adults need this much attention. Her shtick has gotten old in her first term and I can’t imagine her getting a second one.
johnhuotari says
I think this conversation has run its course, so I’m closing this thread. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.