No WhiteWash!

King College, a denominational college located in Bristol, Tennessee, has been in discussions with Kingsport, Bristol, and Sullivan County officials to build a medical school in Kingsport and Bristol.

The cost for the medical school would be about $150 million.  King is looking for $50 million to come from the cities of Kingsport ($40 million) and Bristol ($10 million), $50 million from the State of Tennessee, and the remaining $50 million from private donations.

At the July 7, 2009, Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Alderman, a resolution was passed on first reading to endorse the King College Medical School Initiative, and pledged its commitment to work with Bristol, Sullivan County, and King College to advance the project.

While it does sound like a good project for the area, there will be a major impact on the taxpayers if this is funded via a property tax increase.

Mayor Dennis Phillips has stated that if Kingsport were to fund $40 million for the project, property taxes would have to be raised 25 cents.

Below are tax rates that have been extracted from the Tennessee Property Tax Rates that show the top 20 cities that have the highest tax rates in Tennessee from 406 different tax rates for the different cities and counties.

I have added 25 cents to the tax rates for the two Kingsport line items (Kingsport-Sullivan and Kingsport-Hawkins) in the table below.  Kingsport, with the 25 cents added, would have a rank of 10 and 12 as having the most expensive tax rates in the state.  Bristol has a rank of 14 and I have no knowledge if they would increase property taxes.

Top 20 Cities with the most expensive property tax rates

* The current city and county combined tax rate for Kingsport-Sullivan County is $4.86 and Kingsport-Hawkins County is $4.86.  Twenty-five cents has been added to each of the Kingsport tax rates in the above table.

The household median income for Kingsport is $34,391 and the Kingsport majority of Kingsport property owners would pay over 5.5 percent of household income ($150k home) for property taxes if  the 25 cents is added to the Kingsport tax rate.  The Kingsport rank is 6 and 7 and Bristol comes in at a rank of 8 in the table below for the largest percent of household income needed to pay property taxes.

A taxpayer funded medical school would reduce the already low Kingsport household income and would reduce the standard of living for the majority of Kingsport citizens so the city could reap the benefits of increased revenue to spend on other pet projects.

Top 20 Cities that take the highest percentage of income for property taxes

* The current city and county combined tax rate for Kingsport-Sullivan County is $4.86 and Kingsport-Hawkins County is $4.86.  Twenty-five cents has been added to each of the Kingsport tax rates in the above table.

The above cities that have a college appear not to have increased the standard of living and have a low household median income.

Below is the household income distribution for Kingsport and the household median income for Kingsport is $34,391.  In the graph below there are 2,636 people who earn less than $10,000  classifying them as living in poverty.

I challenge the elected officials to venture outside of their social and political groups and try to understand the plight of the majority of wage earners in the Kingsport area.  The medical school would bring jobs, but some of these jobs will be imported jobs and the common folks would not have the background or training for these jobs.  Ask what you can do to raise the standard of living (higher income) for Kingsport citizens without imposing a property tax burden.

I feel that the taxpayers should not be taking the risk of funding a medical school when there already is a state funded one in Johnson City.  The need for doctors in this area is questionable since the population is declining in Sullivan County.  If they area has trouble attracting doctors or keeping doctors, then take a hard look at the reason.

Quality of Life issues are important, but a good Standard of Living for local folks just might make the area prosper by increased spending by the majority of citizens.

The bottom line is that the area needs good paying jobs without the additional burden on the taxpayers.

I need to point out that no funding has been voted on so far, but projects such as this grows legs very fast and then its then to late to react.  The intent of this post is to make you aware of the issues so you can make your views know.  Update:  Many elected officials have expressed their support of this project including Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey who may make it a part of his campaign for governor.  Again, I must point out that I am not against the project but am very concerned about it being funded by taxpayers.

Please contact your elected officials and tell them NO to a taxpayer funded denominational medical school.  Click on the email links below and add your comments in your own email program.

It will interesting to see what pet projects, the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman will fund in the upcoming 2009-2010 budget.

There has been discussions concerning the funding of the Summer Concert.  The Chamber of Commerce has requested $94,000 because corporate donations are down.  The city appears that they would be willing to give $70,000 which is what they gave last year.

It appears that the citizens of Kingsport in these tough economic times, will have to fund the Summer Concerts that for the most part benefit the downtown businesses.  I think you would hear downtown businesses get very vocal if the Summer Concerts were held somewhere else besides downtown.  If they want the Summer Concerts, then they should fund it.

One also needs to look at how the KNETIC organization was able to get the concessions and beer sales for the Summer Concerts.  In the past years, it was handled by the Chamber of Commerce who subcontracted to the Downtown Kingsport Association.  On the KNETIC website, they state their members ages ranges from 20 somethings to 40 somethings and they boast that they have 2 Alderman as members.  There are only two Alderman’s ages that fit that age range and only one of the two is running for re-election as an Alderman.  Also, one needs to ask are there any family members of Mayor Dennis Phillips that are connected to KNETIC.

Alderman Pat Shull has stated that the funding of the concerts is a very narrow interest type thing and the $70,000 could be spent elsewhere like fixing streets.

Below are some items that were in the 2008-2009 budget.

• Kingsport Ballet $5,000
• Summer Concert  $70,000
• Kingsport Theatre Guild  $5,000
• Kingsport Art Guild  $2,000
• Symphony of the Mountains  $5,000
• Art Council of Greater Kingsport  $7,000
• Kingsport Housing Redevelopment Authority  – Lincoln Street property  $200,000
• Kingsport Housing Redevelopment Authority – redevelopment program  $63,000
• Kingsport Chamber Foundation  $110,000
• Kingsport Tomorrow Inc community program  $23,000
• Networks  $225,000
• Downtown Kingsport Association  $40,000
• Children Advocacy Center of Sullivan County $5,900
• First Tennessee Development District  $3,200
• Sullivan County Humane Society  $36,000
• First Tennessee Resource Agency  $10,900
• Kingsport Chamber of Commerce – Move to Kingsport $45,000.  Plus Kingsport will pay another $45,000 matching funds
• Holston Business Group  $50,000.  Plus a percentage of the city annual budget.
• Kingsport Chamber of Commerce gets a large percentage of the hotel tax
• City Manager got a 4% pay raise on July 1, 2008 plus his performance increase

It is election time in Kingsport and the controversial Aquatic Center has been delayed until the election is over.

It has been voted on that the pool will be in the MeadowView area. However, the mayor has run into some difficulty after finding out that the citizens objected to the location and the spending of taxpayers money for the Aquatic Center.

Since the city has run into difficulty getting citizens buy in on the MeadowView location, they will be undertaking a massive public relations effort to change citizens minds about the Aquatic Center and the MeadowView location.  See the Times-News article below.

Also, note that there is to be information on the city website concerning  the Aquatic Center.  Why is the web site not available for pubic input?  I do believe John Campbell stated that construction could begin in August on the Aquatic Center.

Alderwoman Valerie Joh who is running for re-election has stated that this is her “pet project” and the MeadowView location is is the center of the population for all kids in Kingsport. Simply put, Valerie Joh wants the Aquatic Center located at Meadowview!!

One also needs to understand that Valerie Joh owns Blue Ridge Properties, a real estate firm with many office locations in the Kingsport area.  The MeadowView location would make it more accessible for tourists and the City of Kingsport has made it known that they want to go after the tourist business.

Colette George, who is Valerie Joh’s daughter is chairman of the Executive Committee for Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau and also is connected with Blue Ridge properties.  Colette George is also on the Kingsport Planning Commission.  Colette George husband, Ron George is also a member on the Kingsport Board of Education.  Also, Alderman Larry Munsey is the BMA Liaison to the Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau.

My point to the above Valerie Joh connections is a lot of the decisions and planning are hard-wired before it even gets to the public.

Kingsport Times-News

Kingsport does plan to keep Legion Pool open for a year or two after the aquatic center opens to gauge usage at the old facility.

Chris McCartt, assistant to the city manager, gave a project update to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday. The BMA is slated to vote Tuesday night to employ the engineering and planning firms and allocate $360,000 for phase one of the project.

Phase one of the project will take about five months to complete and consist of programming (the types of features found at the facility), schematic design and design development, McCartt said.

“We know we want an indoor lap pool, some kind of indoor recreation component, and some form of therapeutic/warm water pool. Outside we want to have water park features,” McCartt said. “What that consists of, the design team, aquatics specialists and the public will come in and offer their suggestions.

“The elements are somewhat set in stone. What’s comprised of those elements are what we’re going to be working on over the next five months.”

McCartt said the city is not replicating Legion Pool at the new site. The new facility will have multiple pools for multiple uses, along with numerous features for families and children.

Kingsport plans to solicit input from the public through the city’s Web site, Channel 16 and public meetings. The Web site will also be updated periodically with updates and notices of meetings.

“Folks will be able to come to the public meetings and look at the possibilities and what the indoor and outdoor components are going to be,” McCartt said. “We take all that stuff, cook it down and find what will work for Kingsport.”

Mayor insults citizens

February 15th, 2009

It is an election year in Kingsport, Tennessee for members of the Board of Mayor and Alderman.  Mayor Dennis Phillips is running for re-election and has managed to insult the voters in his bull-headed attempt to put the aquatic center in an area where he wants it, but the citizens do not.

The mayor recently made the statement below as reported by the Kingsport Times-News.

“We have got to do a better job of getting this whole thing down to the eighth-grade level to where we can all understand it. I think that we need to get the word out of who we’re building the pool for,” Phillips said.

The above statement by the mayor should tell the citizens what the mayor thinks about their intelligence.  Clearly, this is an insult..

Mayor Phillips is attempting to resell the concept of putting the aquatic center in the Meadowview area.  He has managed to get very strong vocal opposition to it being placed in the Meadowview area and opposition to it being built in this economy.

This issue has been hard wired from the very beginning.  First, it was the committee appointed by the mayor to make recommendations where to place the pool.  It came out in the February 3, 2009 BMA meeting that the findings of the committee were flawed because of the very narrow marching orders given to the committee.  Also, who do you think made presentations to the committee?  Apparently, the committee believed the data presented by the city and we have seen in the past that the city is capable of not telling the full story sometimes.

The demographic analysis stated that the Meadowview area was the “closest proximity to home owners” is also flawed.  I guess the city thought the citizens would believe that statement when in fact there is no way it can be true.  I have reported many times concerning the city twisting the truth to get the effect they wanted.

The mayor states. “At the same time, we will maintain some type of city water feature at Legion Pool for the foreseeable future. We’re not going to abandon those children.”  The city talks about keeping the Legion Pool open for one to two years after the aquatic center opens.  Well, Mr. Mayor, when you close the Legion Pool after one or two years, then you are in fact abandoning the children.

Phillips said the city would somehow make the aquatic center available to people who can’t afford the fees and find a way to help some people get to the new facility.  Nothing has been said about the fees that would be charged.  Mayor Phillips statement makes be believe that the fees will be higher than the Legion Pool.

“This aquatic center is an investment in our city, and you have to invest in your city to get people to come,” Phillips said.  Apparently the mayor is willing to invest money to get tourists to come to Kingsport, but not willing to invest to help lower the high unemployment rate in Kingsport.

Clearly, the mayor and city manager are on a public relations blitz to keep this project going.

I encourage you to read the entire Kingsport Times-News article (including comments) and also see post,   Kingsport’s aquatic center in deep water

Comments are welcome.

Kingsport aquatic center aims to make a big splash » Comments

Joh seeks re-election to Kingsport BMA » Comments

BMA approves contract for aquatic center » Comments

Kingsport set to pick planner, engineer for aquatic center » Comments

King College laid out their plans for a $150 million school of medicine to be located in Kingsport and Bristol.

They stated that they were looking for $50 million from Kingsport, Bristol, and Sullivan County, $50 million coming from the state of Tennessee and $50 million in private donations.

Mayor Dennis Phillips stated if Kingsport were to fund $40 million for the project, property taxes would have to be raised 25 cents.  He also said that if this project isn’t really sold to the citizens, there won’t be a board member here two years from now.

Could it be that Mayor Phillips out of control spending is getting himself in a tight spot over funding.  What is Mayor Phillips willing to give up or does he want to the fund the college and all of the other planned pet projects that are on the drawing board in the future.

Is Mayor Phillips willing to give up on the MeadowView Convention Center Expansion that will cost about $15 million?  What about the Aquatic Center, is the Mayor and his gang willing to give up on the new tourist pool?  Is the Mayor willing to give up on the expansion of the library and the Justice building?

Mayor Phillips, what about the $34.7 million in new bonds that you recently got funding for?   A little old $34.7 million didn’t stop you then for projects that would not have any or very little return in profits.

The solution to the above money dilemma is very simple!  Let the voters decide on future spending projects by the city.  I am sure that there are many voters that would like to re-visit the MeadowView expansion and stop pouring more money into something that does not make money.

Read the Kingsport Times-News article

Read the Comments for the Kingsport Times-News article

Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes”  February 5, 2008

Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008

Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,”   June 3, 2008

Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”.  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week”  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians”  October, 2007

Kingsport spending on projects in the last four years has set records since Mayor Phillips has been mayor.  I have written many posts in this blog about the spending on pet projects and to some, I am sure that they think I am against progress and just being negative.

The current debt is around $190 million and there are more projects in the works.  A recent review by Standard & Poor’s, a credit rating firm made the following statement below.

The five-year capital improvement program through fiscal 2013 includes planned issuance of additional GO debt of $5 million-$8 million annually, to help fund total general fund projects of $50.8 million.

The City of Kingsport provided Standard and Poor’s information such as financial data so Standard and Poor’s could give Kingsport a credit rating.

Mayor Phillips, what is the above $50.8 million going to be used for? There should be no secrets, and no surprises about future spending.  The city is working on a new CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) and the citizens need to know what additional projects have been added.

The City of Kingsport is paying millions of dollars each year for interest expense on its borrowed money.  Below is a bond for $11,165,000 that will have $5,464,109 interest that will be needed to paid during the life (20 years) of the bond.  The bond below is just one bond and if you add up all of the interest for all borrowed money, this interest becomes a huge number.

I am not against progress.  I am concerned that Kingsport is doing too much in a short period of time and feel that someday in the future that the city will have to raise taxes to meet its obligations.  At the current rate of spending, a tax increase will be coming in the future.  I am sure that it won’t be this year because it is an election year.

It is a sad situation in Kingsport that the city has to borrow money to fund small dollar projects such as road work, etc.  If I want to send my child to college, I start saving money early when the child is young.  I don’t wait when until he is ready to go to college, stick my hand in my pocket and discover that I don’t have the money and then have to go out and borrow it.  My point is that the City of Kingsport needs to do more long range planning and funding of future projects and depend less on borrowed money.

You can see other Kingsport financial data like the above by going to the following link:  Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Year Ended June 30,2008.  You can also visit the Kingsport library to see the Kingsport 2008 Financial Report.

Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes”  February 5, 2008

Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008

Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,”   June 3, 2008

Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”.  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week”  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians”  October, 2007

Ben Mallicote seems to be in a tight spot in this election over his vote to refuse to give the regional sales tax back to the citizens via a property tax deduction after it had served its purpose.  Alderman Marsh and Alderman Shull voted to give the tax back to the citizens.

I had a chance to watch the video of the Rotary Club debate on cable channel 16 and it was very clear to me that he was trying to justify his vote on the regional sales tax issue.  Mr. Mallicote, why didn’t you not at the time of your vote bring up the same reasons as you did in the Rotary Club debate.

Alderman candidates debate what’s best for city at Kingsport Rotary Club

Kingsport Times-News

Mallicote, also first elected to the BMA four years ago, said you couldn’t consider Shull’s suggestion without considering the cost and trade-off.

“In the midst of this great housing crisis, Kingsport is third in the nation in home price appreciation. When other municipalities are seeing double-digit drops in sales tax collections, Kingsport is seeing double-digit increases,” Mallicote said. “Without the investment this board has made, we wouldn’t have Target, the new Food City, East Stone Commons, all of the new residential options, the higher education and allied health facilities, the revitalization of downtown, the new concert series, and a nationally recognized school system.

Mr. Mallicote mentions double-digit sales tax collections, but I doubt he can back up that statement with data.  See previous post that debunks this statement.  I am sure that Pat Shull is is thankful that Mallicote mentioned all of the other investments that Pat Shull voted for.

Mr. Mallicote again I feel is on the defensive in the radio interview on WJCW on April 23 concerning the regional sales tax.

Could it be that Mallicote does not have the security of the other four members of the Gang of Five to help him defend his vote?   Phillips,Joh,Shupe, and Munsey also voted against giving the regional sales tax back to the property owners.

The October 21, 2008 BMA meeting got a little heated with Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote going on the attack when Marsh and Shull attempted to state their views in a business like way.

See the November 11, 2008 post below for more information.

Click on the More Info button for all posts that discuss  Ben Mallicote

Kingsport, Tennessee BMA refuses to rescind Regional Sales Tax after it had served it’s purpose

Alderman Marsh presented a resolution at the October 21, 2008 Kingsport Board of Mayors and Aldermen to eliminate the quarter percent sales tax that voters approved in 1992 to fund the Meadowview Convention Center.  The quarter percent regional sales tax had served it’s purpose and the convention center debt was paid off in 2008.

The resolution was to use a portion of the regional sales tax to reduce the property tax rate for citizens. The citizens of Kingsport could have received a reduction in their city property tax, but the resolution was quickly voted down by the “gang of five”. (Mayor Dennis Phillips, Vice Mayor Mallicote, and Aldermen Munsey, Joh, Shupe)  See Kingsport Times-News article  “Marsh urges scuttling MeadowView expansion

The decision of the “gang of five” showed their true colors by voting against the citizens for a property tax refund and instead voting for special interest groups.

Alderman Shull and Marsh have in the past tried to discuss the future of the regional sales tax, but Mayor Phillips would always table the discussion.  It is my feeling that Mayor Phillips had no intention of ending the regional sales tax and had plans to use it for MeadowView Convention Center expansion.

The October 21, 2008 BMA meeting got a little heated with Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote going on the attack, Alderman Joh stated that Aldermen Shull and Marsh were just sore losers.  Mayor Phillips stated that without MeadowView the city would have to raise taxes.  He also made a statement that MeadowView is needed to keep from reducing police and fire protection and doing trash pick-up every two weeks. Mr. Mayor, stop the spin, it may be news to you, the convention center has been operating at a loss and the taxpayers are in fact keeping the convention center in business.  The voters of Kingsport are smarter than you think, Mayor Phillips.

Maybe, I will in the future do a post about the wasteful spending in the City of Kingsport by Mayor Phillips and his gang.

Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes”  February 5, 2008

Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008

Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,”   June 3, 2008

Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”.  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week”  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians”  October, 2007

On September 16, 2008, the Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to spend $819,000 for an architect to design the $15 million expansion at the Meadowview Conference Resort and Convent Center.  This was brought quickly to a vote without much detailed discussion or input from the public.  There were discussions on using the regional sales tax to fund the convention center expansion.

Again, this vote was another example of railroading a vote.  Alderman Marsh expressed concern that this was voted on within 24 hours and that there had not been ample time to study the the financial numbers.  He also asked what is in it for the citizens of Kingsport.  He said that this is more for the special interests of certain people.  He attempted to defer the vote to the latter part of October, but Alderman Marsh’s and Alderman Shull’s votes were not enough to postpone the vote.

Simply put, this is an example of the City of Kingsport catering to special interest groups and there seems to be no value to the citizens of Kingsport.  See posts Kingsport, Tennessee incestuous relationship with special interest groups, Convention Center issues plague cities, and More hissy fits in Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen for more background information.

What are you views on the action of the BMA to not give back to the taxpayers the regional sales tax?  Leave a comment.

A few quotes from members of the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman

Tri-City Christian School is the owner of the old Lynn View Middle School that they acquired from Sullivan County, TN and has now closed the school and wants to sell the property.

When the county sold the school to Tri-Cities Christian Schools (TCCS), both sides signed a contract that gives Sullivan County “first right of refusal” if the private school system decides to sell the property.

The sale of the Tri-City Christian School has gotten messy with different players getting involved.  Read the links below for more background.

Sullivan County Commission divided on Lynn View

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County could have less than a month to invoke a buy-back option on the former Lynn View Middle School before that option expires.

The price could be $0.

And Kingsport officials are interested in leasing or buying the property from the county for use as a community park and recreation center.

So far, however, none of that has lit much of a fire under county commissioners.

A proposal to take the first step — to say the county wants to exercise the buy-back option — failed last week to gain support from any of the Sullivan County Commission’s three primary committees.

One wonders what is really going on with this property.  Read the comment by Pastor Boyd Holder. Jr. and the concerns that he has with Commissioner Wayne McConnell.

But, it appears that the City of Kingsport is the main problem that the church has in purchasing this property.

Kingsport, Sullivan County close to pact on acquiring old Lynn View Middle School

Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips and City Manager John Campbell met last month with McConnell and others to discuss the future of the facility.

On Monday, McConnell came before the entire Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen to further discuss acquiring the property.

The property in question consists of two pieces — the school building on the north side (6 acres) and the ball fields on the south side (10 acres). A day-care center is located in the facility, and the Optimist Club operates its youth sports programs for about 900 children each year on the fields. The BMA would like to see both of these operations continue if Kingsport acquires the property.

Since the City of Kingsport appears to want the property, I would like to suggest that Pastor Boyd Holder take his entire congregation to the next BMA meeting.  Then on TV explain to the BMA why you want the property.  The congregation should feel comfortable in the courtroom where the BMA meeting is held because the seats look just like church pews.

Who do you think should purchase the school?

The administration of Mayor Dennis Phillips recently sent the letter below to residents in the Rock Springs Road area.

The letter is an attempt to get homeowners to voluntarily request to be annexed into the City of Kingsport, TN.

The letter also attempts to paint a rosy picture on how much better homeowners would be if they were within the city.

The mailing from Kingsport does it show the real cost of water or sewer tap fees or other costs, but the letter is borderline misleading.  The statement, “Residents with school age children who desire to attend city schools will realize even greater savings” is simply not true.  To my knowledge, the county does not charge tuition and neither does the city to attend the schools. 

The letter states that the costs are minimal.  The city needs to get real, because most homeowners know that their property taxes will almost double.  The letter states that trash collection is free.  How does the city get by saying it is free when you pay them the property tax that pays for the trash collection?  If the insurance company insured the house for free, it will still cost the homeowner more to be in the city.

The bottom line is that the city wants to continue the “forced annexations” and it does not matter what the homeowners think about it.  They are going to annex you because they in simple terms want the revenue from you because the population in Kingsport is declining and Kingsport is losing its tax base.  The additional revenue from annexations is needed for the spending binge that the city has been on.

A homeowner told me, “Why should I agree to be annexed now and start paying taxes and it could take up to five years to get the sewer installed?”  The homeowner also stated that they were more concerned about staying employed in this economic crisis than getting annexed.

The recent “forced annexations” over the last few years have resulted in hard feelings on the part of the homeowners.  This election, they get to vote and I am sure that they will return the favor by voting for someone other than Mayor Dennis Phillips.  I know Mayor Phillips is running unopposed, but they could also vote for a write-in candidate.

I want to thank the homeowner for me sending the letter below and other materials from the City of Kingsport.

29 January 2009

Dear Property Owner:

The annexation of your area will be considered by the Kingsport Regional Planning Commission in 2009. Future mailings from the Kingsport Planning Department will outline specific dates and meeting times for all annexation pertaining to your property. As some of you may be aware, previous Rock Springs annexations have been delayed by lawsuits filed by a handful of property owners.

An unfortunate side effect of annexation litigation is that court action prevents the city from annexing others who desire to become city residents, even if they are not party to a lawsuit

To avoid such a dilemma, the City of Kingsport is providing you with an opportunity to petition for annexation now, thus avoiding potential delays with the annexation of your property in the future.

There are many services available to city residents which are not provided by county government. A full description of these benefits is enclosed with this letter, along with an annexation cost-benefit worksheet.

For many potential city residents, the costs are minimal after taking into account lower home owners insurance due to better police and fire protection, dramatically lower water/sewer rates and free residential garbage disposal.

Residents with school age children who desire to attend city schools will realize even greater savings. However, county schools remain available to your children even if you reside inside Kingsport city limits.

In order to bring your property into the city, the Planning Department will need to receive the signed petition (attached) from you no later than 3 March 2009.

For assistance with the worksheet or other questions, please call the Kingsport Planning Department at (423) 229-9485.

Sincerely,

Ken Weems
Planner

City Hall       225 West Center Street       Kingsport, TN       37660-4237       (423) 229-9400
The Model City – Built by design and planning for the future.