A bill filed by state Sen. Bo Watson, R-North Chattanooga, would allow local voters to weigh in on property tax increases above a certain threshold.
About five months after the Chattanooga City Council passed an increase in property taxes that amounted to 24% above the certified rate, the bill requires local governments to host a referendum if taxes are raised a certain percentage above that rate. Then the increase would only go into effect if two-thirds, or a supermajority, of residents voted in favor of it.
Watson said in an interview that limiting the weight of local property taxes on residents has been a subject of discussion for the Tennessee Senate’s Finance Committee, which he chairs, for a while now. Increases in property tax rates in cities all across the state — including Red Bank and Chattanooga — has been a concern, he said.
“The double-digit increases,” Watson said, “certainly made me and others go, ‘Maybe this is the right time to reengage in this conversation.'”
THE BILL