Here's your first chance to learn more about Knoxville's sales tax increase
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon wants to raise sales taxes in city limits, and there's a lot to do in a short time before that can happen.
Kincannon on May 22 announced her tax hike plan, which would supplement the budget she laid out April 25 and contribute for budgets to come. City officials would expect to collect an extra $47 million annually from the half-percent increase to pay for infrastructure upgrades and affordable housing.
The city needs buy-in from two groups to make it happen: Knoxville City Council members and voters.
Getting it done soon: Raising the sales tax requires a ballot referendum, which means the city council must agree to put the increase on voters' ballots.
Happening this week: The city council will have a public meeting to discuss the sales tax increase at 4 p.m. May 29 in the main assembly room of the City-County Building.
What's next? David Brace, Kincannon's chief of staff, said the city hopes council members will vote in June to put the increase on the Nov. 4 ballot for Knoxville voters.
How the tax raise could be killed: If the council decides not to put the sales tax increase on voters' ballots, the proposal is dead. But that's unlikely. Kincannon said she talked to "some councilmembers" before making her announcement, presumably ensuring she would have enough votes to get the proposal on voters' ballots.
Study up: You can read Knox News' reporting about the proposal at knoxnews.com or check out the city's website for the proposal at knoxvilletn.gov. Click "government," then "departments," then "finance" and then "local option sales tax."
Speaking of having enough votes...
Here's what else is on the Knoxville City Council agenda for May 27.
The city council will take a final vote on Kincannon's proposed budget (which does not include the sales tax increase). The budget includes higher pay for firefighters and breaking ground on long-awaited projects including cosmetic upgrades to the Burlington neighborhood.
Council member Amelia Parker wants to give one organization more money: Knox News reported Feb. 22 Legal Aid of East Tennessee's eviction prevention program would run out of funding without help from city and county dollars. The program, staffed by five lawyers and three paralegals, is a product of American Rescue Plan Act federal tax dollars given to Knox County during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the expiration of the American Rescue Plan Act, $1.5 million dollars will stop flowing from the federal government to the county, and from the county to Legal Aid.
The proposal: Kincannon's budget allocates $50,000 to Legal Aid of East Tennessee. Parker wants to up that number to $300,000 using $250,000 from the city's unassigned general balance.
When's the vote? The council will discuss and vote on Kincannon's budget and Parker's amendment at 6 p.m. May 27 in the main assembly room of the City-County Building.
Study up: You can find the city council's agenda at knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_council. Click the "agendas" option on the right side of the screen and then the "city council regular" option. Kincannon's budget is 9.b. and Parker's amended budget is 12.a.e.
Council members will vote on a plan to boost development by creating a special zone along the north and south side of East Magnolia Avenue, parts of the Burlington neighborhood and much of the land in and around Chilhowee Park and the Knoxville Zoo.
Making the stretch a tax increment finance district would allow tax revenue generated by businesses in the area to flow directly to infrastructure projects in that specific district.
It's the same method the city used to support the area immediately surrounding Covenant Health Park and the pending South Waterfront Pedestrian Bridge.
Part of a promise: Kincannon in an interview before her second term emphasized her dedication to investing in communities on the near east side. Reinvigorating businesses along the Magnolia Avenue corridor was an important part of that.
"The city can't start businesses. That's not our job. But we can set the table with our public investments on streetscapes and infrastructure," Kincannon said.
No timeline: City council agenda documents don't outline a project schedule.
Study up: You can find the city's plan in the city council agenda. The city council's agenda is at Knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_council. Click the "agendas" option on the right side of the screen and then the "city council regular" option. The plan is item 11.ad.
The Knoxville City Council is analyzing its own rules as part of a process it hopes to repeat regularly.
Why it's relevant: The public comment section of meetings will be reviewed later this month. It loomed large last year, as demonstrations at meetings arose periodically, and were an ongoing point of friction between council members and pro-Palestinian demonstrators who effectively used the council's rules to redirect the focus of meetings from agenda items to the Israel-Hamas War.
Council members grew exasperated by meetings that stretched for hours. Demonstrators pointed out that if the council refused to address their concerns about what could be done locally to influence the war, they would use the legal means available to them to make their points.
Happening this week: The rules committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. May 27 in the main assembly room of the City-County Building.
I've been writing about Knox County Commissioner Terry Hill's rules change proposal for a while. It passed narrowly last week.
The new rule: If commission chair is speaking publicly about an issue, they have to disclose that their position differs from the commission's, even if they are advocating as a private citizen.
Here are some news highlights from last week:
Keenan Thomas outlined the list of each federal grant cut by President Donald Trump across the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Joyce Orlando detailed what's in Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill, which passed the U.S. House last week.
Devarrick Turner broke the news that Knoxville City Council candidate Sam Brown was dropping out of the race.
I wrote about why Knox County residents should pay attention to Knoxville's sales tax increase decision.
I talked to Mayor Glenn Jacobs about a coalition of county commissioners he said are obstructing "the county's business."
Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville's sales tax increase info session is May 29
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