Wilson County bucks state tax trend

JULY 5, 2005
Over the past two years, more than two-thirds of Tennessee's 95 counties have raised property taxes, but with tightened purse strings and perhaps a little luck, Wilson County has managed to avoid the trend.
Although local lawmakers approved raising the county's adequate facilities fee in January, county officials have largely managed to work within the confines of their respective budgets, Wilson County Finance Director Ron Gilbert said.
"We have actually had a tax increase – the increase in the adequate facilities fee, and that is going to build the new school buildings, which is where our growth is right now," Gilbert said.
Still, as the adequate facilities fee is only levied on new construction projects, the tax burden on most Wilson Countians has remained steady since 2001, Wilson County Mayor Robert Dedman noted.
The county mayor said the ongoing retail development boom in West Wilson and elsewhere across the county has helped soften the blow associated with a number of unfunded mandates handed down from federal and state governments.
"Commercial growth has helped us a tremendous amount, because it's assessed at 40 percent of value instead of 25 (percent) like residential," Dedman said. " … We've finished the new Mt. Juliet (elementary) school. We've built a new health department. We've renovated all three libraries. We've done all of that without raising the taxes. We've been very conservative with our money, and we've been awful fortunate."
In addition to their good fortune, Gilbert noted Wilson County commissioners have also been increasingly frugal with their funds in recent years.
"Basically, it's because of the approach to the budget," he said. "The County Commission's finance committee has directed each department to submit no growth budgets, which means no raises (and) no new programs … in their budget presentations."
Staff Writer Brian Harville can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 16 or by e-mail at brian.harville@lebanondemocrat.com.