Hendersonville Standard
HENDERSONVILLE WEATHER

Property tax increase passes first reading




John Isbell

John Isbell

Hendersonville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted on first reading on Tuesday to raise the amount of property taxes residents are paying while also eliminating an annual trash fee.

If the measure passes a second and final reading on Tuesday, Aug. 27, residents could pay more in property taxes but see an overall decrease in the amount they pay to the city due to the elimination of the trash fee. Last year’s trash fee was set at $293.

Local businesses, who do not pay for trash collection, will also pay more in property taxes.

Following a presentation from Sumner County Assessor of Property John Isbell, board members voted 6 to 5 on Tuesday to set the city’s property tax rate at .9187 – or roughly 92 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Leaders approved the city’s $58 million budget in June, but held off on setting a property tax rate until receiving a certified tax rate from Isbell’s office. 

Isbell, whose office just completed a mass reappraisal of all property in Sumner County, notified the city of its certified rate on Aug. 6. Isbell has set Hendersonville’s certified rate at 59 cents per $100 of assessed value. The city’s current property tax rate is 75 cents per $100 of assessed value.

State law requires that a revenue-neutral certified tax rate be set after each mass reappraisal to prevent local governments from automatically collecting more money in tax revenues because of a reappraisal.

Residents received their new property valuations in the spring with the average increase at around 31 percent.

“On average the market growth for Hendersonville is 31.45 percent,” Isbell said.

Residents will almost certainly be paying more in both city and county taxes. (See accompanying story on page 1A).

However, while a homeowner in Hendersonville whose home is appraised at $200,000 will now pay around $459 a year in property taxes, that same homeowner would have been paying $296 at the new certified rate plus an additional $293 had city leaders not eliminated the current trash fee.

The cost of residential trash disposal for the 2020 fiscal year is expected to be $4,533,944, according to Clary.

Much of the discussion on Tuesday centered around how local businesses are impacted by the new property tax rate with several business owners stating that rolling the trash fee into the property tax is unfair to them.

Those who voted for the new tax rate were Mark Skidmore of Ward 1, Scott Sprouse of Ward 2, Arlene Cunningham and Russ Edwards of Ward 3, Steve Brown of Ward 4 and Jonathan Hayes of Ward 5. Andy Bolt of Ward 4 and Pat Campbell of Ward 2 were absent from the meeting.

According to state law the city is required to hold a public hearing if it plans to exceed the certified rate. A public hearing will be held on Aug. 27 before the final vote.

The city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets at 7:30 p.m. every second and fourth Tuesday at Hendersonville City Hall, 101 Maple Drive North.

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