Oak Ridge Today

Guest column: Tax hike will hurt city’s ability to recruit DOE workers

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The Oak Ridge Schools are requesting a substantial property tax increase to fund items they see as essential to their future.

Yet an Oak Ridge tax hike will markedly reduce our city’s ability to recruit new U.S. Department of Energy workers. According to the latest DOE report, Anderson County is losing over $300,000 per week to Knox County in DOE payroll. That loss rate is increasing, and a tax hike would make this serious problem worse.

Unfortunately, our city has a DOE “isolation fence” around it. In most cases, new workers are sent by the DOE system directly to Knox County—mainly to Farragut. And as a result, their important housing decisions are made without talking to an Oak Ridge realtor. They never get an opportunity to find out how wonderful it is to live here.

The new Kroger store won’t affect this uneven playing field. A property tax hike (of any size) will simply make the problem worse—giving Farragut an even greater advantage over us. [Read more…]

Guest column: AC Commission needs to stay involved with mall project

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Declining DOE Residency Hurts Anderson County

In 2003, the Anderson County Commission approved a county subsidy for a revitalization project at the Oak Ridge Mall.

Had that project succeeded, it would have generated a substantial increase in county revenue, allowing tax rates to be lowered. A successful mall project would have also helped stabilize the U.S. Department of Energy payroll gap with Knox County. Stabilizing this gap would have generated nearly $100 million more in DOE payroll for the Anderson County economy—in this year alone.

Obviously, the potential economic benefit from a successful mall project is huge.

To give the project the best chance for success, the Commission needs to couple the requested mall subsidy to four key Commission actions: [Read more…]

Guest column: A competitive advantage for Oak Ridge

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Note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Oak Ridge City Council members by resident Martin McBride.

I came to East Tennessee 25 years ago to work with Oak Ridge nuclear facilities. One of the first things my new employer did was to set up an appointment with a Farragut Realtor. The realtor gave my wife and I a lovely tour of the west Knox County area.

When I hesitantly mentioned Oak Ridge, he quickly responded, “You realize the property tax problems over there?” For the next several minutes, the realtor went over the tax rates, emphasizing the tax advantage of living in Farragut.

He then compared the Farragut lifestyle to that of Oak Ridge. Amazingly, Farragut kept getting the edge. According to that realtor, Farragut had all the advantages—especially in tax rates. [Read more…]

Guest column: Kudos to Kiernan and her book, ‘Girls of the Atomic City’

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This month, national author Denise Kiernan gave a wonderful talk at the American Museum of Science and Energy. Ms. Kiernan was in town to discuss her new book, “Girls of the Atomic City—The Untold Story of Women Who Helped Win World War II.”

The book made the New York Times best seller list.

Ms. Kiernan’s book chronicles the fascinating stories of the many women who came to Oak Ridge between 1943 and 1945 during the Manhattan Project. It’s great to see these pioneers recognized for their important contributions. [Read more…]

Guest column: The City Council should negotiate with EPA

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At its next meeting, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider whether to attempt to negotiate a better deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the sewer upgrades or not.

About three and a half years ago, the EPA inspected the Oak Ridge sewer system and noted excessive rain water leaking into that system during storms. In April 2010, EPA sent the city a show cause letter which requested a face-to-face meeting to “show cause” why EPA should not intervene. Instead of meeting with EPA, the Council chose to phone in an informal response. Subsequently, EPA imposed a 20-page administrative order filled with expensive add-on requirements and a $170,000 civil penalty.

The total cost of the sewer improvements is in the neighborhood of $50 million. Paying for these improvements has so far required two major utility rate increases and a major increase in city debt. More rate hikes are likely.

[Read more…]

Guest column: Recommends more negotiations with EPA, DOE on sewer system upgrade

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Note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Oak Ridge City Council members, among others.

Dear Mayor Beehan,

Next Monday evening you will begin considering a major increase in the Oak Ridge city debt to finance the sewer upgrade project. This increase and the associated utility rate increases:

[Read more…]