Buried deep in the executive summary of Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly’s first budget, under the heading of “Revenues Summary,” are these words: “This budget was prepared using a property tax rate of $2.25 per $100 of assessed value.”
Nowhere in the document does it say “tax increase,” “tax rise,” “tax hike” or, as this newspaper so gently put it, “a proposed $30 million increase in property tax revenue.”
However, the reality is that, if the budget is passed as is, city property taxes will rise about 21% for many residents. For the owner of a $175,000 house, taxes will increase about $199 a year, according to Chief of Staff Brent Goldberg.
Kelly, questioned about the rate in a virtual editorial board meeting with Times Free Press reporters and editors last week, said, “It’s cheaper than the old rate.”
Yep, if the City Council approves the requested rate of $2.25 per $100 of assessed value, it would be cheaper than the $2.27 rate that homeowners paid this year. But 2021 was a reappraisal year for homes in Hamilton County, and the new certified rate by the state for the city is $1.8529.