Image: Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly Image Credit: City of Chattanooga Government / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
The Chattanooga City Council voted Tuesday night to increase property taxes in an effort to generate additional revenue.
The 38-cent property tax increase was proposed by Mayor Tim Kelly.
While the property tax rate is still the lowest the city has seen in recent years, residents are still looking at higher costs due to increase property assessments.
The increase sets the new tax rate at $1.93 per $100 of assessed value, leaving most homeowners paying an average of $400 extra each year. The city’s $2.25 tax rate had been dropped to the $1.55 certified tax rate after reappraisals increased the value of many properties within the city.
Mayor Kelly estimates that the tax increase will generate an additional $44.8 million for the city.
Voting in favor of the increase were Councilmembers Jenni Berz, Dennis Clark, Raquetta Dotley, Ron Elliott, and Marvene Noel.
Voting against the increase were Jeff Davis, Chip Henderson, Jenny Hill, and Cody Harvey.
Henderson had previously proposed a lower tax rate of $1.69.
