Image Credit: Jefferson County, TN – Government / YouTube & Canva
By David Seal [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] –
After three failed attempts over the past few months to pass a new wheel tax in Jefferson County, the county commission finally took a floor vote that garnered the two-thirds majority required to levy the tax. In taking the vote, commissioners were trying to add a $25 wheel tax on top of the existing one that was first levied in 1985 and renewed in 1999.
But there was a problem with the vote. There was no written resolution.
To impose a motor privilege tax (wheel tax), the state code requires that a resolution for the tax levy be voted on in two consecutive regular meetings. See T.C.A. § 5-8-102. That little detail was overlooked. If the tax levy is to succeed, the process will need to start anew with a written resolution at the regular meeting in October with a potential second reading in January.
Three Jefferson County Commissioners, Marcus Reed (R-Jefferson City), Rob Blevins (R-Strawberry Plains), and Austin Brooks (R-White Pine) voted against the new tax and take exception to the way in which the commission majority went about the wheel tax vote at their July 15th meeting, citing among other things the lack of a formal resolution describing the disposition of proceeds and the lack of financial and mathematical evidence to justify the new tax.
Their views are expressed in the following Media Release.
One month earlier, the county commission had raised property taxes by nearly 6%, a move that some taxpayers are now calling a “taxation double whammy.”
Reed, Brooks, and Blevins favor a county-wide referendum to let the citizens of Jefferson County make the final call. State law requires signatures on a petition of at least 10% of the number of people that voted in the last gubernatorial election in order to call a wheel tax referendum. In Jefferson County, that means getting around 1325 qualified signatures.
Dandridge resident and business owner Benson Bryant has obtained a petition from the Jefferson County Election Commission. He intends to have the necessary signatures in place to call a referendum if the county commission passes the wheel tax on second consideration in January 2025. If Bryant succeeds in filing a valid petition, the new wheel tax could not be imposed until a majority of citizens vote to approve it in May 2026.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award.
