MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Mount Juliet City Commissioners plan to explore a proposal that would more than triple the city's property tax.
Right now, homeowners in Mount Juliet pay 16 cents per every $100 of assessed home value. A resolution is asking city leaders to create a mock budget where that property tax jumps to 59 cents. Commissioners are expected to talk about that resolution at their meeting in February.
That would mean somebody with a home assessed at $300,000, who currently pays about $125 in annual property tax, would pay about $440 annually.
The money would go to fund the city's fire department, which, according to city leaders, is facing a deficit.
"As the city has grown, as our department has grown, the needs have grown, and we've actually gone into a deficit situation," Mt. Juliet Commissioner Ray Justice said. "We've got to come up with a solution, somehow."
The resolution was sponsored by Vice Mayor James Maness and Commissioner Brian Abston.
Justice said the 59 cent figure was not set in stone, but would a guideline for property tax discussions.
"For everything we want to do over the next few years, that would be the number that would have to be used," Justice said.
It is still very early in property tax talks. A final decision doesn't come until June, when the commission will vote on the budget in June, but Justice said city leaders wanted to give plenty of time for public input, adding that something needs to be done.
"At some point in time, you have to stop kicking the can down the road and say there's an issue, we've got to fix it, and we're at that point."
