At a typical Chattanooga City Council meeting, as with the assembly of most governing bodies, the biting conflict pervasive in our modern politics is absent. The work of government is, oftentimes, procedural and predictable. Some deride it as rubber-stamping.
But Tuesday’s council meeting will be far from inconsequential, routine or free of tension. Weeks of contentious debate have served as a reminder of what perhaps draws the greatest ire in our local politics: raising taxes.
Following reappraisals that occur every four years in Tennessee, the city’s property tax rate was dropped from 2.25% to 1.55% of the assessed value. Tennessee state law prohibits municipalities and counties from automatically collecting additional revenue from increased property values. Therefore, to account for reappraisal every four years, taxes are readjusted to a certified rate — Chattanooga’s 1.55% — to stabilize municipal revenue.
Of course, local governing bodies can still vote to adjust that new rate. That’s what’s at stake Tuesday, as the City Council is set to choose between two competing tax plans for the city.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, after backing down from his initial proposal of 1.99%, is pushing for a property tax rate of 1.93%. To justify the increase, the mayor has said the additional revenue will fund pay raises for police officers and firefighters and cover inflationary costs.