Livingston/Overton Forms Team To Close Gap In Sales Tax Leakage

Livingston and Overton County officials want to do in-depth work on keeping more sales tax revenue at home.

The community one of eight in Tennessee selected by TVA to participate in its Innovation Academy.

The program helps answer economic challenges by providing resources and grants. Chamber of Commerce Director Shannon Cantrell said 15 Overton leaders will explore options.

“The most current data that we have is from 2017.” Cantrell said. “That data came out this year in 2021. Livingston and Overton County had a sales tax leakage of $92 million.”

Cantrell said the number represents the amount of money spent by residents outside county lines. Cantrell said when county officials saw the data, they knew they had to tackle the issue.

“That is the challenge we have now,” Cantrell said. “We need to figure out ways to close that gap, so more of that money stays in our community.”

Cantrell said the county will pitch solutions on October 21st to a TVA panel, which will decide what assets Overton will be awarded. Cantrell said what that pitch looks like right now is unknown, but the team will explore options by meeting with local business owners on August 31st, which will be the first of many discussions.

“October is around the corner, and we have another meeting with the other communities in September,” Cantrell said. “Once we get to that point, we will have a better understanding what our pitch is going to look like. We have a good basis laid out. It is just a matter of fine tuning everything.””

Cantrell said County Executive Ben Danner, City Mayor Curtis Hayes and others make up the crew. Cantrell said the academy is a unique opportunity for Overton.