Chattanooga, a steadily growing city, has seen in recent years a flock of out-of-staters moving to the area. With that growth, comes more demand for housing and higher property values.
As recently reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Hamilton County properties — which are assessed every four years — saw a historic increase in value of 60%.
That increased value should give the county and its municipalities more revenue from property taxes to invest in key public services that residents of Hamilton County depend on every day.
But in Tennessee, per state law, whenever property values go up, the tax rates are required to decrease so that counties and municipalities do not bring in additional revenue from increased property values.
If local governments want to take advantage of the higher assessed values, their legislative bodies must vote to maintain the current rate, which would essentially raise taxes.