BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — A Blount County committee recommended against raising the property tax rate following a reappraisal of homes across the area. The Blount County Commission still needs to vote on whether to maintain usual revenues from property taxes or increase them.
State law requires the counties and cities to reexamine property tax rates after a reappraisal to make sure higher taxable values do not automatically result in a tax increase. This is known as the "certified tax rate law" and requires local governments to conduct public hearings before adopting a property tax rate that generates more taxes overall in a reappraisal year than were billed the year before, at the previous year's lower values.
A separate state law allows counties to implement a tax rate exceeding the certified tax rate, as long as they advertise their intention ahead of time.
For the county to avoid profiting off property taxes, a report previously found the Blount County Commission would need to institute a rate of around $1.59 per $100 of a property's appraised value. The proposal that will be discussed on June 15 would make the rate $1.69 per $100.
Before the reappraisal, the county had a tax rate of around $2.47 per $100 of assessed value. After the reappraisal, the county had to change that rate in order to follow state law and maintain the same level of revenue from property taxes, since the increased property values would have led to increased revenues if the rate stayed the same.
A previous proposal to levy a tax rate in excess of the certified tax rate was removed from a Blount County Commission's agenda on May 18, so the community could have more time to discuss and review the proposal.
A breakdown of where property taxes would go in the county's budget, according to the proposal, is available below.
- General County - $0.70 per $100 of assessed value
- Debt Service - $0.22 per $100 of assessed value
- Gen. Admin. Capital Projects - $0.02 per $100 of assessed value
- General Purpose Schools - $0.65 per $100 of assessed value
- Education Capital Projects - $0.10 per $100 of assessed value
The Blount County Commission's next regular meeting is set for June 15 at 6:30 p.m.