I think it is time that we re-examine the merging of Chattanooga and Hamilton County as both entities seem to have gone amok. The county is trying to tax us to death with increases. It indirectly increased taxes by 10% through a windfall by not lowering the required millage rate in 2017 after property values rose by 10%.
They may brag about it being only an $85 increase per $100,000 in value but that amount actually represents a 12%-plus rate increase. What is the county doing with that 10% extra revenue last year, and where is that extra 10% going this year?
Now the city is finding a new way to indirectly tax its residents by endorsing a company that warranties extended sewer lines for $107.88 a year, of which the city will get a portion in royalties. Again, this is in addition to the annual increases in our sewer bills (last year it was 15%). Our sewer bill is now 152% of our water bill.
Maybe we can combine these two governments and use the savings to fund all the programs that we seem to need so desperately, or we can just do what the residents do and learn to live within our means.
Imre Volgyi