Rocky Top changes tax rates
Anderson County residents see increase
On first reading last Thursday night, the Rocky Top City Council voted unanimously to pass Ordinance 591 on first reading to raise the property tax rate on residents in the Anderson County portion of the city to $2.0755 for the fiscal year that began July 1.
That’s an increase from the city’s previously approved rate of $2 per each $100 of appraised value, which was passed in June.
In the same ordinance, the tax rate for residents in the Campbell County portion of the city will drop to $1.1668 per $100, down from $2.
Both new rates are still subject to the ordinance passing on second reading, which will be the subject of a special council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26.
At 5:45 p.m. that day, there will be a public hearing on the changes, giving residents the opportunity to voice their opinions.
City officials said the changes in the tax rates were dictated by the Tennessee Board of Equalization to reflect this past year’s reappraisal of property values in Campbell County.
The change for Campbell County residents was required to keep each property’s taxes the same as the previous year, even as assessed property values were increased by the reappraisal.
With that, City Manager Mike Ellis said the state is requiring the city to raise the tax rate on residents in the Anderson County part of the city to “keep the tax rates equitable.”
Even so, city officials can’t really explain — or even understand — why raising taxes on the Anderson County side is necessary, because that will require those property owners to pay higher taxes this year than they did last year. Anderson County did not reappraise property this year.
The ordinance is being rushed through so the city can send out tax bills by the end of August.
In other business during last Thursday’s council meeting:
• The council passed on first reading Ordinance 590, which raises water and sewer rates throughout the city. That measure also will be considered on second and final reading during the special meeting next Monday.
The ordinance effectively raises water and sewer rates by 3% for the current fiscal year. The City Council approved increases of at least 2.5% each on water and sewer services as of July 1 during its June meeting, and said the actual amount would depend on the national consumer price index that was to be released on June 30.
Ellis said in July that the official CPI for June was determined to be 3%, which is then what the city used to adjust the water and sewer rates for the new fiscal year. The year began July 1 and runs through next June 30.
The increase was initially passed by way of Ordinance 587, which was approved on second and final reading on June 20.
The vote was 3-0, with councilmembers Mack Bunch and Jeff Gilliam, along with Mayor Kerry Templin, approving the measure. Councilmembers Stacy Phillips and Zack Green were absent.
A half-hour before the June 20 council meeting, the council held a public hearing on the proposed increases, but no one showed up to voice any opinions about them.
The increases follow similar rises in water and sewer bills that took place last year as the city took steps to raise the rates to account for higher costs of providing water and sewer services that city officials believe are in line with consumer price increases in general.
These new rate increases were approved on first reading of Ordinance 587, passed by the City Council on a 4-1 vote during the council’s May 16 meeting.
Gilliam made the motion to approve the higher rates, and the motion was seconded by Phillips. Bunch and Templin voted “yes,” but Green cast the lone “no” vote.
Green was the only councilmember to vote against bigger water and sewer rate increases last year.
On Aug. 28, 2023, the council voted to raise water and sewer rates on average $30 to $50 a month for most customers beginning Oct. 1, 2023.
Green, who was then also the only “no” vote on the ordinance, was also the only person to speak during the hearing in opposition to the rate increases.
“We live in an impoverished community,” he said at the time. “People can’t afford this.”
Templin has said the water and sewer rate increases are necessary to keep up with inflation, which is causing operating expenses to rise.
Rocky Top had already been identified as having the highest water and sewer rates in the region, according to a study by the Clinton Utilities Board that was presented to the Anderson County Commission in 2022.
The city buys its fresh water from the Anderson County Water Authority, but distributes it through its own system to residential and commercial customers.
Rocky Top operates its own wastewater treatment plant and collection system, which is now in the middle of a major upgrade that is costing millions of dollars. Most of that is being paid from grants, however.
• The council passed on first reading Ordinance 592, which amends the city zoning ordinance to put restrictions on signs advertising property that is for sale, rent or lease.
Under the present rules, those signs are allowed to be as large as 32 square feet.
But with the change, if approved on second and final reading, signs would be limited to a maximum size of 16 square feet, and only one sign would be allowed on each parcel of land.