To fund a $115 million building program for a new school and other projects at existing schools, the Loudon County Commission has voted for a 25 cent property tax increase.
The divided vote came before a full house during a budget adoption meeting on June 24, after weeks of many residents imploring Loudon County officials not to provide funding without first conducting a study to assess its need.
Plans for the new school have been in the works since the fall of 2021, when the Loudon County Board of Education decided it was necessary to address growth. A year later, First Baptist Church in Lenoir City voted to approve the sale of 35 acres for $1.85 million to Loudon County Schools for construction of the new school.
‘VERY EVENTFUL MEETING’
When the item came up during the meeting to fix the tax levy for the fiscal year beginning July 1, Commissioner Rosemary Quillen moved to “delay raising the tax levy until there is an independent feasibility study, student assessment, and traffic study completed.” The motion was seconded by Commissioner Will Jenkins, who, along with Quillen, represents the 2nd District where the school would be located.
Quillen, Jenkins, Commissioner Henry Cullen and Commissioner Adam Waller voted “yes” to delay the vote. Commissioners Bill Satterfield, Gary Whitfield, Joe Morrison, Van Shaver, Chase Randolph and Bill Geames voted “no.”
A re-vote was taken after Jenkins said that Geames, as a school employee, didn’t read a statement of conflict.
After Geames confirmed that he gets a “small check” for mowing the yard at a softball field, Jenkins made a motion to reconsider, which was seconded by Quillen.
Geames abstained, and the rest of the votes were the same. Quillen’s motion failed — meaning the vote could proceed without the studies.
Whitfield then made a motion, which was seconded by Shaver, to amend the tax levy resolution to change the combined property tax rate to 1.7683 on each $100 of taxable property outside the limits of the Lenoir City. (Whitfield mistakenly said $100,000 instead of $100 when making the motion.)
Quillen encouraged everyone who was about to vote to listen to their constituents, take a “hard look” at what they’d seen and heard that night, and to “do the right thing.”
“There are so many unanswered questions ... And I think it’s reckless in a sense that we are just pushing something through before we even know if we need it. In real estate, with the contract, you do all your due diligence before you ever buy the property,” Quillen said. “And it seems like we have done everything backwards. We bought the property, and now we’re trying to figure out what we need.”
Satterfield, Whitfield, Morrison, Shaver, Chase Randolph and Geames voted “yes” to increase the tax rate, while Quillen, Jenkins, Cullen and Waller voted “no.” The motion passed, raising the current county property tax rate of $1.518 to $1.768.
Jenkins immediately asked Loudon County Mayor Rollen “Buddy” Bradshaw to use his power to veto the decision, a request that was met with cheers and applause. Bradshaw didn’t comment on it then, but later told The Connection that he would be considering it over the next 10 business days.
“I’ll pray long and hard about it. This was a very tumultuous, controversial, very eventful meeting,” Bradshaw said. “I never second-guess our Commission, because everybody’s got a little bit different representation.
“I’m in a very unique situation that I don’t have a district — I have all the districts to represent and so I hear both from the ones that are against it, but I also hear from the ones that are for it as well.
“So it’s a decision I’m going to put a lot of prayer in, and see where I land.”
‘WHAT IT TAKES’
Before the votes, about 20 people spoke to the County Commission in a last effort to sway them one way or the other, including officials from Lenoir City Schools and Loudon County Schools.
Lenoir City Schools Director Millicent Smith said she was there to “share reassurance that Lenoir City Schools will continue, as we have done since our high school was first established, to welcome all nine-12 students in the north end of Loudon County to enroll in Lenoir City High School tuition-free.”
“Our district has previously shared the well-documented facts regarding our enrollment data and detailed information about the over $8 million in facility upgrades, primarily at Lenoir City High School, that had been accomplished without assuming additional debt,” Smith said.
Smith read a resolution that “publicly affirms” existing board policy of defining students in grades nine to 12 in the county’s north end as in-district students. On July 1, Smith replaced Jeanne Barker — who told the County Commission shortly before announcing her resignation in April that a new high school wouldn’t be a good use of funds.
Bobby Johnson, vice chairman of the Loudon County School Board, said the board hasn’t hid anything during its planning process for the new school.
“We didn’t just throw a wish list together. We’ve done homework on this. And some of you might not agree, but we have,” Johnson said.
“I’m a single dad. I understand about the taxes. I get that. I’ve lived here my whole life. This is unprecedented growth that has happened.”
Throughout the whole voting process, attendees loudly called out questions and protests. Cullen occasionally told people to settle down and referred to it being a rough night more than once.
Resident James Lees, while providing public comment, asked the commissioners if they had backbone enough to point to the individual who “started dreaming up this idea and promoting it,” but no one obliged. At another moment, Satterfield asked someone in the audience: “Do you want to say that to my face?”
There was an effort to end it all on a civil note, however. While most people left after the budget adoption meeting adjourned, Susan Kirk, a Tellico Village resident who is active in governmental affairs, stayed until the end of the Commission’s regular meeting. She then asked to say a quick word.
“I’m hopeful that through this process, even though tonight was very contentious, that people will start paying more attention. I think they learned a lot through coming to these last meetings and seeing the process.
“And hopefully they’ll be a little bit more involved and learn what (government really) is all about and what it takes. … You’re in a hard position. Complex matters are very difficult. Thank you for taking all the input you get.”
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