Cookeville Passes Budget With Ten Cent Tax Increase On First Reading

Cookeville City Council passed on first reading a ten cent property tax increase for the new fiscal year Thursday night.

“We realize this is a significant increase in the property tax,” City Manager James Mills said. “But this increase in the property tax revenue is necessary for us to be able to provide significant raises that we’re proposing….and for us to be able to fund some major capital improvements.”

Cookeville’s last tax increase came in 2019. Mills said for a $500,000 home, the increase means an additional $125 per year in taxes.

Council also approved the new budget on first reading.

“This is probably five months worth of work to get to this point,” Finance Director Brenda Imel said. “Every department director helps prepare the budget. They put in their request. Then we meet with James (Mills), go through all that. And it’s been a lot of work, but it’s been a huge team effort. We’ve had a good team.”

The current general fund budget sits at a deficit of some $5.1 million, to be made good by the city’s fund balance. That would drop the balance below $30 million. Imel called that a strong balance.

Total revenue is budgeted some $36.4 million. That includes a projected two percent increase in sales tax revenues, the city’s number one revenue source. That number is budgeted at $19.2 million.

“It looks like we’re doing very well from a (sales) tax revenue perspective, but most of that increase is inflationary,” Council Member Ali Bagci said. “The capital costs and operating costs seem to be outpacing what we’re bringing in.”

The new budget includes pay scale adjustments as well as marketplace adjustment for emergency personnel. The city is focusing efforts on increasing starting salaries for police, firefighters and paramedics. The total personnel increase is some $2.5 million citywide for the some 473 total fulltime employees.

Salaries and benefits make up over 78 percent of the city’s budget.

Capital expenditures total some $6.2 million in the new year include seven police patrol vehicles, a new ladder truck for the fire department, and design work for customer service area upgrades at City Hall. A stormwater rehab project on Spring Street is also part of the plan.

The city plans to do two additional bond issues in the new year, including rebuilds of two fire stations, renovations to CPAC, the West Stevens Street widening and and the next phase of 10th Street widening.

“This is a substantial budget in our city,” Council Member Eric Walker said. “It does come with a tax increase, but we are doing great things in the city. We’re keeping up with economic inflation. We’re keeping up with the demand, the growth our cities had. We’re doing good things for our employees.”