Knox County mayor candidate Larsen Jay talks taxes, warns about debt: ‘We are underfunded’

Knox County Commissioner at-large Larsen Jay held a listening session Aug. 20 at the Karns Community Center to talk about his 2026 bid for Knox County mayor.

The session was a turnabout from the norm in that Jay asked the questions while the small but enthusiastic crowd responded.

Jay introduced himself, saying he was currently serving his second term as commissioner at-large, which is up in 2026.

“I’d love to continue to serve the community in a larger role. If they’ll have me, I plan to do the best job I can without looking for another job,” Jay said.

While several points, from infrastructure to affordable housing, were discussed, a noticeable hush came over the room when Jay mentioned the budget and property taxes.

Jay asked, “What is holding Knoxville back?”

The answer came from several people, who said “lack of funding.”

Jay indicated that the last property tax increase was 30 years ago.

“Who runs a business? Have you increased your prices over the last 25 to 30 years? Think of Knox County as a corporation and you are on the board of directors. Is it good business to never raise your prices? Well, that’s what we’ve done with property taxes.”

The current property tax rate is $1.55 per $100 assessed value. Jay said property taxes have been as high as $3.32 – 21 years ago, in 2003.

The state has a certified tax rate that requires an appraisal every four to five years. Not every house appraises for more; some might appraise for less or the same.

“We are underfunded, and if we keep going, we’ll be paying for people to live in Knox County while the price of building is skyrocketing. In 1999, the price of asphalt was $22.99, while today it’s $118. So it is with everything, it goes up; but not Knox County.

“People are really pleased that our property taxes are so low, but I don’t think they realize just how low they are. The tax rate was $2.12 for forever and a day. If we had kept that tax rate, the difference would have been $111 million.

“For the last 30 years everyone has said ‘elect me and I’ll never raise your taxes.’ The result is we now have a massive debt problem. In 1999 our debt was $300 million, now it’s over $800 million; with principal and interest, that’s $1.2 billion in liability.”

Jay never said, “If elected, I will raise taxes”, but the writing is on the wall.Jay said he loves the service aspect of politics but can live without about 15 percent of the muck and mire that comes with the job.

“I think people must be told the truth. Knox County is close to a dire financial position. I don’t know if taxes will be raised while I’m in office, I just don’t know … but it will happen one day.” Info: www.larsenjay.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County mayor candidate Larsen Jay talks taxes, warns about debt: ‘We are underfunded’