KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As Knox County commissioners prepared to vote on Mayor Glenn Jacobs' budget proposal, Sheriff Tom Spangler made a last-minute appeal to commissioners to raise the starting pay for deputies.
Last year, Mayor Jacobs and Sheriff Spangler announced historic pay raises, bringing all deputies to $50,000 per year starting salaries. The elected leaders announced 27% raises for corrections officers and 12% raises for patrol. This year, those deputies would get the standard 2% raise.
This year, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon announced Knoxville Police Department officers would start at $56,000 a year, during her State of the City speech in April.
"We have all seen where KPD now has raised their starting salaries to $56,000," Spangler said. "We have to be competitive with our sister agency. It's just that simple."
Spangler invoked Katarina Blakely, the wife of fallen Deputy Tucker Blakely, who was killed in action.
"This is someone who lost her husband because he was brutally murdered," Spangler said. "We can't have that anymore."
Knox County Finance Director Chris Caldwell developed a tool in Microsoft Excel for WBIR to test hypothetical pay increases for deputies. Starting pay of $56,000 across the board would cost the county $4.4 million -- that number does not include pensions or benefits. Only salaries.
A $0.02 property tax increase could cover that figure
- for a $200,000 home, it would cost an extra $10/year
- for a $450,000 home, it would cost an extra $22.50/year
- for a $2 million home, it would cost an extra $100/year
Knox County Sheriff's Office Finance Director Allison Rogers said covering increases in starting pay for patrol officers would cost the county $1.4 million.
Caldwell warned the budget is tight this year, because of teacher raises in Knox County Schools and increasing debt payments from projects that were started in the early 2000s.
Annual debt payments are expected to balloon to over $100 million by 2029
- 2026 - $88 million
- 2027 - $95 million
- 2028 - $99 million
- 2029 - $101 million
By 2027, the state of Tennessee has mandated all teachers need to earn at least $50,000 a year.
Knox County has not raised property taxes in 25 years. Jacobs insists he will not increase property taxes while he is in office.
County Commissioner Kyle Ward, who is not seeking re-election, said he opposes tax increases, but warns the next mayor may have to make tough decisions.
"If there's no money, then there's no money. You can't just make up money. We're not the federal government," Ward said. "We really need to ask all those candidates, 'Hey, how are you going to handle this,' because it's the only issue, in my opinion, that's going to be really important."
Ward said he thinks the county will need to make those decisions in the next three years.
The next election for Knox County Mayor is in 2026.