Norris meeting will consider short-term rentals
And spending $680,000 in COVID funds
Approval of a short-term rentals ordinance and plans for spending about $680,000 in federal COVID relief funds will be the topics of a special called meeting of the Norris City Council at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28.
The council expects to vote on first reading on whether to approve the city’s proposed ordinance governing short-term residential housing rentals.
Mayor Chris Mitchell made the motion for the special meeting during the regular council meeting Feb. 14, hoping to speed up the process of getting the ordinance passed.
Later in that meeting, the council also voted to add the COVID relief funds as a topic for the special council session.
Norris expects to receive an additional $680,000 over the next year or so in grants from the American Rescue Act Plan, which comes in addition to nearly $448,000 the city has already received.
That previous grant money is funding utility improvement projects already underway.
City Manager Scott Hackler has been reviewing what the federal requirements are for spending that money, which is intended to help remediate any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s operations and budget.
He has suggested that additional utility improvements – water and sewer – could be completed using the money. But city officials have learned that some items on their wish list might not be eligible for the COVID funds – including street-improvement projects.
During the January council meeting, Mitchell also noted that Anderson County is due to receive about $14 million in additional federal COVID relief payments, and suggested that the city look into getting a share of that money as well.
“I see this as a great financial opportunity to fund COVID-related items that benefit all the citizens of Norris,” the mayor said. “I want to have the public involved in discussions on how to use the funds.”
City officials believe that the 8 percent raises given to city employees for the current fiscal year, as well as additional raises in the next budget, could be funded by the COVID relief money.
The justification for using the money for the raises would be that inflation caused by the pandemic forced the city to increase salaries to remain competitive in the workplace.
Using the federal funds for items considered to be COVID related that are already in the city budget could free up money in the regular budget to cover purchase of other ineligible items.
The process of receiving the money and finding ways to use it legitimately could take two or more years, city officials said.
As for the short-term rentals ordinance, Mitchell said during the Feb. 14 meeting that he believes there is some urgency needed in approving it, considering that many people in Norris have been receiving mail asking them if they want to sign up to begin renting out their houses.
“Let’s proceed,” he said. “Let’s not let this drag out.”
City officials last month sent a revised draft ordinance on the rental issue to the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service for review of its legality but have not yet heard back.
Mitchell suggested that even if MTAS had not cleared the ordinance by Feb. 28, the council still could pass it on first reading so it could be heard and voted on during second and final reading during the next regular council meeting March 14.
After receiving approval on first reading, city ordinances don’t receive final approval until second reading, which comes after a public hearing. That would mean that even with the first reading coming on Feb. 28, the earliest the measure could be finalized would be during the March council meeting.
Short-term rentals are defined by Tennessee law as being overnight accommodations, other than hotel and bed-and-breakfast lodgings, of at least one night, but no longer than 30 nights. They have become popular worldwide through such online services as Airbnb and Vrbo (Vacation Rental by Owner).
The draft ordinance, submitted to the council in October by the Norris Planning Commission, would regulate such rentals, including imposing allowable taxes on them and putting some limits on them.
