By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–After lengthy discussion and by a 4-1 vote, the Paris City Commission Thursday evening approved a 2021 property tax rate of 80 cents per hundred dollars of assessed valuation, which amounts to an eight cent increase.
Commissioners also approved the Fiscal 2022 budget which includes a 3 percent COLA for all employees; an 8 percent increase in the cost of healthcare premiums; an increase of another $100,000 in the paving budget bringing it to a total $700,000.
Voting no on the property tax increase was Commissioner Sam Tharpe, who has strongly opposed the property tax increase since it was first proposed.
Tharpe made a motion that the property tax rate remain at 72 cents, but his motion died for lack of a second.
Commissioner Jackie Jones then made a motion to increase the property tax rate by 5 cents, which would increase it to 77 cents, but a majority of members voted no on that motion. Commissioner Gayle Griffith then made the motion to increase the tax rate to 80 cents.
Commissioner John Etheridge, who seconded Griffith’s motion, said he had considered the matter a lot since the last meeting (at which he had favored a 5 cent increase) and determined that there is a need for the 8 cent tax increase.
He enumerated areas that will be driving the need for an increase—included the addition of a new School Resource Officer, health care, COLA, paving needs. He said, “I know our money is managed well, but we are behind in infrastructure.”
Mayor Carlton Gerrell echoed a statement he made previously, noting, “I want to see us do more on the roads, if possible. And we need to save some for future needs.”
City Manager Kim Foster said what people don’t understand about a fund balance is that not all that money can be used. “Not all of that money is non-restricted,” she said. “Actually a lot of it is restricted as to what we can do with it.”
She discussed the need for saving back money as a safety net for emergencies. She said state auditors recommend that $3M be used for a safety net “so we’re $1.2M away” from having enough for the safety net.
Tharpe said, “I don’t feel we need a tax increase. We can do things we need if we managed our money. I don’t feel we need to put more burden on the taxpayers.”
Earlier in the meeting, a private citizen Steve Fall, the only one who attended the public hearing on the budget, said he felt the city was “a bit hasty” on the proposed 8 cent tax increase. “I’m not saying 8 cents isn’t needed and I’m all for the roads needing to be paved, but that almost came out of the blue.”
Other items in the 2022 budget include $1.34 M in capital purchases city wide, including 29 new air packs for the Fire Department, a new tractor and trailer for the Street Department, new packer for Sanitation, track loader for the landfill (to be split with county), plus an additional police officer to fill in for one of the officers who will be transitioned to the position of SRO at Inman Middle School.
Plus, matching dollars for four different grand projects: sidewalks in the HCHS and Rhea School area; new signalization in downtown (two grants) and replacement of the Rison Street bridge.
Photo: Steve Fall addresses the commission at Thursday night’s meeting. Shannon McFarlin photo.