Oak Ridge Today

Roane: Woody re-elected as county executive; Bowers wins Commission seat

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody was re-elected to a third four-year term as county executive on Thursday, and Charlotte Bowers of Oak Ridge won one of two seats on Roane County Commission in District 4, which includes west Oak Ridge.

Woody was first elected to his office in August 2010. On Thursday, he beat challenger David Morgan, a former Roane County property assessor, 8,217 votes to 3,113 (72.52 percent to 27.48 percent). That’s according to unofficial election results reported after all 24 precincts had been counted.

Bowers, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County, was one of two Oak Ridge candidates to run for the District 4 seat on Roane County Commission in the August 2 election. The other was Cory Jenkins, general manager at Cumberland Utility District. They were among five candidates who qualified to run in the district.

The other three candidates were from Oliver Springs. They were James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Brummett, a former chair of the Roane County Commission, was defeated Thursday, finishing third behind Bowers and White, who is also a new commissioner. (There is now a Jerry White on Anderson County Commission, and a Jerry White on the Roane County Commission; they are not the same person.) White has worked at K-25 and Y-12 in Oak Ridge, and he is currently employed providing security for the Roane County Sheriff’s Office at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston. [Read more…]

Two Oak Ridge candidates qualify to run for Roane County Commission

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Two Oak Ridge candidates have qualified to run for two seats in District 4 on the Roane County Commission in the August 2 election.

The two Oak Ridge candidates, Charlotte Bowers and Cory Jenkins, are among five candidates who have qualified to run in the election.

The three other candidates are from Oliver Springs. They are James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Former Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, had occupied one of the District 4 seats since 2010, and he had been expected to seek re-election in August. But Kelley died in February. [Read more…]

New Roane tax rate could mean another $95 for OR homeowner

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David Morgan

David Morgan (File photo/2012)

The new certified property tax rate and tax rate increase in Roane County could cost the owner of a $100,000 home in Oak Ridge another $95 per year, according to data provided by the Roane County property assessor.

That’s a 19.29 percent increase, according to the information from Property Assessor David Morgan. Here’s the breakdown of the increase: 4.37 percent was due to the increase in the state-certified rate—Tennessee officials call it a tax-neutral rate—and 19.29 percent was due to the 29-cent increase approved by the Roane County Commission on Monday and anticipated in a budget passed in July.

The tax-neutral rate in Roane County went up because the total overall property assessment went down 3.47 percent. The tax-neutral rate is the rate meant to bring in the same amount of revenues after a reappraisal as before. If the overall property assessment goes down, the tax-neutral rate goes up, and vice versa.

The additional $95 per year assumes the property assessment stayed the same, at $100,000, in the five-year reappraisals completed this year. [Read more…]

Honor: Roane property assessor receives outstanding new member award

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David Morgan Receives TNAAO Outstanding New Member Award

Roane County Property Assessor David Morgan, left, receives the Outstanding New Member Award from the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers. (Submitted photo)

Roane County Property Assessor David Morgan recently received an outstanding new member award from the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers.

Morgan received the award during the TNAAO Regional Educational Seminars on Jan. 23. It was presented on behalf of the TNAAO by Executive Director Will Denami.

“The Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers proudly recognizes David Morgan for joining in the leadership of this organization in the service of Roane County and the assessment profession in Tennessee and names him Outstanding New Member 2013,” said 2013 Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers President Betty Burchett. [Read more…]

Roane candidates clash over alleged threat, website, assessments

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David Morgan

David Morgan

Teresa Kirkham

Teresa Kirkham

If it wasn’t already, the race for Roane County property assessor has grown heated.

There are allegations that the incumbent threatened to beat up her challenger and questions about who owns a website address that was once used by the incumbent but now appears to point to unfavorable articles about her.

The two candidates, incumbent Teresa Kirkham and challenger David Morgan, also disagree on whether property assessment values can be lowered more often than every five years.

[Read more…]