Clarksville City Council Approves Budget With Increased Property Taxes

Image : Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts’ 2024 Budget Address Image Credit: City of Clarksville LIVE / YouTube

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

The Clarksville City Council approved its 2024-2025 budget which includes a pay increase for city employees as well as a property tax increase for residents.

The new budget, which will go into effect on July 1, includes expenses totaling over $884 million.

Some of those expenses include work on the Spring Creek Parkway, storm sewer system, Performing Arts Center, and the Mason Rudolph Legacy Park.

Also included is a 5% raise in pay for city employees. According to Clarksville’s Democrat Mayor Joe Pitts, the pay increase will allow the city to “remain competitive and on pace with broader market trends.”

However, funding that pay increase, along with other city projects, means Clarksville residents will find themselves forking out even more in property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year.

According to City Chief Financial Officer Laurie Matta, the certified tax rate for the city was reduced from $1.23 to $0.7488 after a mandatory five-year reevaluation. 

Matta says that further review of the proposed budget, even after cutting more than $9 million, showed that the certified rate would not be enough to cover expenses. The tax rate was then raised to $0.88 per $100 of assessed property value.

The increased rate should bring in an additional $625,000 in revenue to the city.

Funding for the budget comes from a combination of property tax, sales tax, intergovernmental funds, and charges for services, licenses, and permits.

Mayor Pitts and Council members Keri Lovato, Deanna McLaughlin, Joe Shakeenab, Wanda Smith, Stacey Streetman, and Brian Zacharias voted yes to approve the budget and it passed 7 to 6.