Read My Lips......No New Taxes
One taxpayer's rant
*Update- According to the Robertson County Assesor’s page, they are adjusting the rate to $1.64. this will only raise our tax bill by 9%. Why that wasn’t in the same paper as our assessment change, I will never know. *
A couple of weeks ago I sat in the new city hall and listened to the updates on Robertson County from the county mayor, the director of schools, and the chief economic development officer. Mayor Vogle was sooooo proud of the fact that the tax rate still sits at $2.57/100 assessed value. What he didn’t mention was that they reassessed everyone’s property in January. I don’t know about you, but my assessed value went up by 71%. You read that correctly, 71%. That means my tax bill will go up by 71%. The rate might be staying the same, but my bill will damn near double. To give some perspective, the assessed value of our current home went up 7.9% between 2012 and 2013. From 2017-2018 it went up 41%. This current jump is 71%. In the last 11 years, the assessed value has increased 280%. That my friends, is theft.
Personally, I didn’t ask for this growth. In fact, I’ve been pretty adamantly against it. I knew I was going to be paying for it. The 1100 houses behind the high school paid for some turning lanes. Myself and others just outside of the city limits will be the ones paying for the new school. Yes, I realize that those 1100 houses will be paying as well, but I didn’t get to vote for the yahoos on the previous board of mayor and aldermen that okayed 1100 houses behind the high school, and the 1000 over here on Calista. I am being taxed without representation. There are men that threw tea into a harbor years ago over that.
I listened as Dr. Causey talked about the need of a new school that hasn’t been started yet. Mayor Vogle talked cost of a new school, close to $100 million. That’s right, million. Is Lennar, Ryan, DR Horton, Goodall, Safe Harbor, Pulte, Drees, or Stagecoach development going to pay for that school? The short answer is no. Yes, they pay impact fees. Those don’t even begin to scratch the surface of what the community will need when you literally double the size of a town over the course of 5-10 years. Guess who will need to open their pocketbooks. You, me, my elderly friends that live on social security. 71% is not insignificant. That’s NUTS!!!!!!
What can be done? Nothing! We are simply peasants and slaves to the system. We can complain. We can shout. We can cry. (which I will be doing next year when I pay this tax bill) We can vote. That worked at the city level last year, but at this point in the game, the damage is done.
Food prices are through the roof. Gas is still high. My electricity went up last year. I don’t even want to call the propane guys. So county, go ahead and raise my taxes. What does it matter? We are all hemorrhaging cash. We are nothing to the machine. We are the peasants that feed the king. That king is government.
You do have 2 weeks to discuss the change. 615-384-4311. At this point you only have until May 5th. I’ll be calling them on Monday.
Per state law cities and counties are required to lower their tax rate in a reappraisal year so that they are revenue neutral. Some folks will pay less and some will pay more in that year, but the county can not collect any more tax dollars than the year before. You will have to find out what the average increase percentage is for the county as a whole, then you will know the exact damage. For example, if the average increase is 48%, then folks above that will pay more and folks below will pay less. Nikki it will not be a full 71% in your case. On the other hand, they are allowed to change that tax rate the following year.
One other comment to this, TN is one of four states that does not have a state imposed limitation on property taxes, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Hawaii are the other three. I moved from New Hampshire in 1989 because it was not affordable to work in NH and own property there, my folks came south as well. People that were buying up property were those that had previously lived in Boston and commuted to NH for work, NH is a small state and this was common practice. I think we are seeing much of the same thing here.