Mayor Ron Littlefield got some friction from a group of local Realtors on Thursday as he talked about his proposed 33-percent property tax increase.
Marti Rutherford, a one-time City Council member and Brainerd Realtor, said she usually supports the mayor, but on the issue of a tax rate increase she is firmly against him.
PDF: Tax increase PDF: City of Chattanooga Budget 2011
Though the mayor had figures to show that Chattanooga's property tax rate still would fall behind that of Memphis and Knoxville after the increase, Ms. Rutherford said those figures are deceptive.
"In Knoxville ... they don't have a stormwater fee," Ms. Rutherford said. "You can call the stormwater fee what you want, but it's nothing more than paying the government money."
With the stormwater fee, which is charged to city residents and businesses based on the amount of excess water that runs from their property, Chattanooga's property tax rate would be the second highest in the state.
Memphis still has the state's highest rate, and the city also charges a stormwater fee.
Mr. Littlefield spoke at a lunch hosted by the Certified Realtor Specialists of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors at the Country Place Restaurant on Shallowford Road.
Ms. Rutherford also called out Mr. Littlefield for saying the tax increase brings the city's tax rate back to 2001 levels. She said that while the rate would roll back, property values have been raised twice and that would translate into higher taxes for most residents.
"It still comes out of my pocketbook," Ms. Rutherford said.
Mr. Littlefield countered that his budget is the most responsible way to pay for services the city needs and wants: police, fire protection, parks programs and public works.
OTHER CITY TAX RATESIf the City Council approves Mayor Ron Littlefield's recommended tax increase, Chattanooga's property tax rate would be the fourth highest among cities in the state. Tax rates per $100 of assessed property are:City City Tax Rate* Nashville/Davidson $4.13** Memphis $3.20* Oak Ridge $2.77* Chattanooga $2.57 proposed* Knoxville $2.46* Bristol $2.19* Kingsport $1.94* Clarksville $1.24* Metropolitan governmentSource: Chattanooga
He encouraged the Realtors, a group he referred to as "friends," to lobby their friends and neighbors to support the increase. But at least one audience member said the tax hike would make it harder to sell homes inside the city limits. Already, she said, homebuyers ask for properties in the county to avoid the city taxes.
"Can you tell me how to finance these necessary things any other way?" Mr. Littlefield asked.
He said the tax increase will pay for 40 new police officers and 26 new firefighters. "We need more police, we need more firefighters," Mr. Littlefield said. "Those are the blue services, and you cannot allow them to be diminished or demoralized."
Revenue from the increase will go toward afterschool and parks programs that he thinks will help get kids off the streets and reduce gangs and crime.
The mayor also pointed to Nashville-Davidson County, which is the state's largest municipality but manages to have the fifth-highest tax rate. He said that's because Nashville has a combined metro government, which is a model the mayor has pushed for here.
"As dramatic as it is, the present tax increase, if we do our jobs right, will be the last tax increase for the city of Chattanooga," Mr. Littlefield said.
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