I read tonight that the Red Bank City Commission had decided to further insult its taxpayers by voting a property tax increase above the certified rate provided by Hamilton County until one dedicated and honest commissioner, Jamie Fairbanks-Harvey refused to support this increase. The vote has been postponed until the June 17 meeting as I understand it.
This increase will mean that there will have been property tax increases in three out of the last four years: 2021, 2023, and 2025. It is no coincidence that there was no property tax increase during the 2024 election year, of course. Nor is it a coincidence that this increase comes during a reappraisal year. Taking more money from property owners seems to be a habit of Red Bank commissioners, with the exception of Commissioner Fairbanks-Harvey.
Tennessee Code Annotated Section 67-5-1701 provides for the application of a certified tax rate that should be applied during a reappraisal year to ensure that the same ad valorem revenue will be received this year as last year before the appraisal. Hamilton County has advised that this rate for the county for 2025 is $1.51 per $100 assessment (as reported on The Chattanoogan.com). This certified rate is supposed to ensure that property owners are not hit with undue and unfair property tax increases during a reappraisal year.
Yet, Red Bank "leadership" has apparently decided (with the exception of Commissioner Fairbanks-Harvey) to increase the property tax rate over the certified rate adopted by Hamilton County. This increase will fall most heavily on taxpayers who are on fixed incomes and who can least afford to pay more in property taxes. The 2020 census data showed that 14.9 percent of Red Bank citizens were age 65 or over at the time of the census, which shows that a fairly significant number of people in Red Bank are likely retired and on fixed incomes. The low income provision for tax relief is not available to many retirees.
I recently read a data analysis by a Red Bank resident that attempted to show that property taxes in 2023 were not consuming more income than in previous years; this analysis also included a note that this finding would probably not apply to taxpayers who were on fixed incomes - indeed, it does not. Reality is that taxes are paid by real dollars from real people and those on fixed incomes are losing more money now that we were in 2023.
So, Red Bank property taxpayers, be prepared to pay more and more in property taxes in the coming years. The trend has begun and does not show any signs of changing.
It is easier for "leadership" to impose higher and higher tax rates on captive property owners than to actively seek more businesses to broaden the property tax base.
Tim McDonald