No WhiteWash!

Sometimes elected officials get too big for their britches and need to brought back to reality. Below is information on a petition to have the citizens vote to repeal the sales tax hike in Hardin County, TN.

Kingsport, TN has a similar situation with the 1/4 cents regional sales tax that was voted on by the citizens to build the MeadowView Convention Center. The current convention center was paid off in 2007 and part of the regional sales tax money goes into the general fund to spend as they see fit. MeadowView Convention Center operates each year at a loss and about $1.3 million is used from regional sales tax fund to keep it operational. The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman have voted against giving the regional sale tax back to the citizens.

In an effort that could yank the funding from a school construction and consolidation project, Concerned Citizens for Community Schools is filing a petition today with the Hardin County Election Commission for a referendum to repeal a 1997 sales tax increase.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the one cent hike after the Hardin County Board of Education published paid advertisements in The Courier touting it as the solution to the county’s long-term school building needs. The 1997 ads indicated the revenue would be used to renovate and expand the high school, and gradually address building problems at all the schools.

Instead, school and county officials broke ground last week for a program that shutters five schools and funnels their students into two new 550-student elementary schools in or near Savannah.

“The county said if you give us this money, we’ll spend it this way. Ten years later they forgot the promise they made and now they want to spend our money in ways we do not support or agree with,” said Selmer attorney Christopher Donovan, representing Concerned Citizens.

According to the Hardin County Election Commission, about 1,600 signatures of registered Hardin County voters are needed to get the measure on the ballot.

Concerned Citizens says the petition contains the names of 3,000 residents from all parts of the county.

via courier anywhere.com.

See also the following links:

• Hardin County Citizens Petition to lower sales tax
• Petitions
• Cattails in Kingsport not going as planned

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee is applying for a grant to plant trees that will have matching funds that come from the regional sales tax fund and the visitor enhancement program.  The Meadowview Convention Center was paid off in 2007 and the city refuses to rescind the 1/4 percent sales tax, but wants to use excess regional sales tax money to plant trees.

 Mallicote stated in a radio interview that if the regional sale tax goes into the general fund, then it should be taken to the taxpayer to decide what to do with the regional sales tax.  When can the voters expect the referendum Mr. Mallicote? 

It would not surprise me to see the trees planted in the Meadowview area to make it more attractive.

Voted on and passed at the August 4, 2009 BMA meeting

Consideration of a Resolution to Authorize the Mayor to Sign alt Documents Necessary to Apply and |Receive a Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program – Community Tree Planting Project Grant

Executive Summary:
The TAEP (Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program) grant funds for community tree planting were provided by the 2008 State Legislature to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The goal of TAEP community tree planting grants is to increase the tree resource base in cities and towns across the State of Tennessee. It is NOT to provide beautification. Trees are work horses for our communities, providing energy savings through shading, storm water mitigation through rain interception, and air quality improvement through filtration and absorption. Beautification should not be used as an objective for a TAEP tree planting project.

The city is eligible to apply for up to $20,000 with a dollar for dollar cash match required. This match will be provided from money in the budget for trees from the regional sales tax and visitor enhancement program.

The school system is a partner in the grant and will be implementing a project through the agricultural class at Dobyns-Bennett.

April 24, 2009 post

Listen to the April 23 WJCW radio interview with Ben Mallicote who is seeking re-election as Alderman on the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman

Click here for interview

In the radio interview, he is asked about the regional sales tax and he stated that there is still debt that needs to be paid off at Meadowview.  The Convention Center was paid off in 2007 and the debt that Ben Mallicote mentioned must be for the debt for the Cattails Golf Course.  When the voters voted for the regional sales tax to be used for the convention center, I am sure that the golf course had not been dreamed about.

Since the Convention Center had been paid off, Alderman Marsh and Shull voted to return the regional sales tax to the citizens by the way of a property tax deduction.

Mallicote also stated that if the regional sale tax goes into the general fund, then it should be taken to the taxpayer to decide what to do with the regional sales tax.

Mr. Mallicote should check the current budget he voted for, because part of the regional sales tax is going to the general fund.  When can the voter expect the referendum Mr. Mallicote?

1/4 percent Regional Sales Tax Fund Revenue
$2,816,600

Transfer to Cattails
$ 783,100

Transfer to MeadowView CC
$1,233,500

Transfer to General Fund
$ 800,000

NASHVILLE – State tax revenues continued to decline in July, making it the first time in Tennessee history the state has experienced a full year of negative growth.  Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz today reported July revenue collections, pointing to sales tax collections which have experienced negative growth for 17 out of the past 19 months when compared to the year before.

“Franchise and excise tax collections showed positive growth for July, but all the over collection resulted from significant one-time payments, not from an upswing in economic activity in Tennessee,” Goetz said. “We continue to strictly monitor revenue collections and our expenditures in order to maintain a balanced budget.”

Overall July revenues were $815.0 million or $61.8 million less than the state budgeted. Continue reading “July, 2009 Revenues for Tennessee” »

NASHVILLE – State tax revenues continued to decline in June for the eleventh consecutive month of the fiscal year, Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz announced today. Tennessee sales tax collections have experienced negative growth for 16 of the past 18 months, when compared to the year before.

“Governor Bredesen and the Legislature worked together to map a multi-year path to preserve budget stability, so we are positioned to weather the economic downturn,” Goetz said.   “By maintaining healthy cash reserves while reducing spending we are able to keep the state’s budget balanced, but we need to continue to make sure our spending is in line with collections ongoing.”

Overall June revenues were $1.088 billion, which is $134.8 million less than the state budgeted.

On an accrual basis, June is the eleventh month in the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

The general fund was under collected by $127.6 million, and the four other funds were under collected by $7.2 million.

Sales tax collections were $68.3 million less than the estimate for June.  The June growth rate was negative 9.41 percent. For eleven months revenues are under collected by $606.6 million. The year-to-date growth rate for eleven months was negative 7.35 percent.

Continue reading “Tennessee’s revenues decline in June for the eleventh consecutive month” »

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen recently visited Switzerland, Germany and Poland, where he said he was working to attract investments for a West Tennessee megasite near Brownsville, TN.

It is amazing that a little city and county had the foresight to build a megasite and also was able to get the governor as their top salesman to pitch for them.  It appears that that the only thing that Sullivan County can get the governor to do is to plant flowers at the I-81 rest stop in Bristol, TN.

What are our local elected officials in North East Tennessee doing to bring jobs to Sullivan County, TN?  Maybe our local state elected officials should have spent less time trying to pass all of those gun bills and instead doing things to help the economy.

It is clear to me that the economic development efforts in Kingsport/Sullivan County is not working.  Its time for change and a new game plan.

Haywood County site certified as a Megasite

Brownsville, TN – Haywood County announced in July that a 1,700+-acre site in the county has been certified by McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) of Greenville, S.C., as a “megasite,” or large industrial property suitable for a major automotive manufacturing facility or related industry.

The Haywood County site, known as the I-40 Advantage Auto Park, is located north of Interstate 40, 20 minutes east of the Memphis, Tennessee, suburbs. The site is easily accessible from Memphis, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Jackson and other West Tennessee cities. The site is bounded on the north by U. S. Highway 70/79 and CSX Railroad and on the south by Interstate 40.

“Haywood County thanks the landowners and the many local, state and regional entities that have been part of our community’s diligent work for almost three years as we have strived toward this milestone goal of MSC megasite certification,” said Haywood County Mayor Franklin Smith. “The reality of this certification is that it will increase our potential to attract an industry with high-paying jobs to benefit current citizens and future generations.”

Based on its expertise as a site selection consultant for the automotive industry, MSC was commissioned by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as an independent source to evaluate community submitted sites in TVA’s service area. MSC established stringent certification criteria and a detailed process to evaluate potential properties.

“Today’s companies, especially in the automotive industry, are under enormous pressures to make better site selection decisions,” said MSC Senior Principal Ed McCallum. “The certification of the I-40 Advantage Auto Park site in Haywood County is a great addition to the region’s catalog of sites that are ready to meet the stringent demands of an automotive assembly plant.”

The I-40 Advantage Auto Park site meets the MSC criteria required for certification, including land availability that has sufficient contiguous and developable acres, infrastructure, utilities, and labor capacity.

Brownsville, Haywood County is a Tennessee Three Star Community where industry, business, agriculture, education, and government work in harmony.

General Statistics for Brownsville-Haywood County

City/County Taxes
There is no state tax on real estate property in Tennessee. The following property tax rates per $100 of assessed value prevail in Brownsville-Haywood County:

City General Fund: $1.50

County General Fund: $2.39

Total – $3.89

Population

2000 Census – 19,797

2007 Projection – 22,500

Housing

Median Property Value – $85,000

Average Rent (House) – $500

Average Rent (Apartment) – $450

Households

2005 Estimate – 7,500

Cost of Living (Based on the U. S. Average – 100 percent)

Groceries – 97.1

Utilities – 87.4

Healthcare – 90.1

Housing – 96.1

Misc. – 98.1

Composite – 96.6

Sales Tax

State – 7.75%

Local – 2.00%

Total – 9.75%

The Kingsport Capital Improvement Program for FY2010-FY2014 is available online for viewing.  Click here to view

Below is one page from the CIP that addresses the Regional Sales Tax Fund.  Note that there is $3.7 million slated for General Fund Payback in years 2010 – 2014.  This payback is money owed the General Fund for the convention center operation and upkeep such as putting a new roof on.

See the link: Kingsport’s swampland convention center and golf course sink on losses that shows the recent approved 2009-2010 budget for Meadowview and it’s use of the Regional Sales Tax Fund.

I have written many posts concerning Kingsport’s regional sales tax that has served it’s purpose by paying for the MeadowView Conference Center.  The bond for the conference center was paid off in 2007.

The City of Kingsport, according to the proposed 2009-2010 budget will be using the money in areas that was never intended when the voters voted for a 1/4 percent regional sales tax.

In the table below, the money from the regional sales tax is divided between three funds.  The funds go into the Meadowview Convention Center, Cattails Golf Course, and Kingsport’s General fund.

The money that goes into the General Fund can be used in any way that the city want to spend it.

Regional Sales Tax Fund

The MeadowView Convention Center revenues and expenditures below show that the convention center is operating at a loss.  $1,325,100 is needed from the regional sales tax fund to make up the loss for the year.  Also note that the revenue from the  $102,300 room surcharge, and $158,600 FF&E Fees is not much income for the taxpayers investment of $19.5 million to build the convention center.

The City of Kingsport has voted to spend an additional $15 million to expand the convention center.

MeadowView Conference Center Fund

When the voters voted for the regional sales tax to be used for the convention center, I am sure that the golf course had not been dreamed about.  But we see that $763,400 from the regional sales tax fund is being used for the Cattails Golf Course and $658,000 spent for debt service. As we can see below in the table, the golf course is not breaking even and the investment of $6.2 million has not been a good investment of taxpayers money.

Cattails Golf Course Fund

Overall the taxpayers have invested $25.7 million in the current MeadowView Convention Center and Cattails golf course.  From the budget items above he convention center and golf course do not make money. The City of Kingsport is spending another $15 million to expand the convention center into an executive conference center.  This would make about a $41 million investment in MeadowView and would not include interest.

1/4 percent Regional Sales Tax Fund Revenue $2,816,600

Transfer to Cattails $   783,100

Transfer to MeadowView CC $1,233,500

Transfer to General Fund  $   800,000

NASHVILLE – The decline in state tax collections continued for a tenth consecutive month in May, as overall May revenues were $716.5 million, or $123.3 million less than the state budgeted.  May also marks the fifteenth month of negative growth for sales tax collections in the past 17 months.

“As the state’s revenue collections continue to deteriorate, we have to rely on a combination of reserves and reducing recurring expenses to help stabilize the budget,” Finance & Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz said.  “We’ve worked hard for the past six years to build our reserves and manage spending, and that will continue to be critically important in managing next year’s budget, as economists agree that recovery may not be quick.” Continue reading “May, 2009 revenues decline in Tennessee” »

Just when many state governments are weeks away from the start of another budget year, a new crisis has emerged that threatens their finances: the closing of nearly 2,000 automobile dealerships.

Coupled with the slowdown in automobile manufacturing and sales, the dealership shutdowns recently announced by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler will have a deep impact on state and local governments already enduring what may be the worst recession since the Great Depression. Consider that a fifth of California’s sales tax revenue is from new and used car sales.

“As these local dealerships close, the impact will be more profound than people realize,” said Sen. Mark Norris, the Republican Senate majority leader in Tennessee. Chrysler is planning to close 14 dealerships in his state.

Read more via Tracking the recession: Car dealer closings will add to state budget woes.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee revenue collections continued to decline in April, once again falling short of budgeted estimates. Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz reported today that overall April revenues were $1.216 billion, which is $189.6 million less than the state budgeted.

“April is the ninth consecutive month this fiscal year that we’ve seen negative growth in sales taxes and corporate income taxes compared to a year ago.” Goetz said. “In fact, we’ve seen negative growth in sales tax collections for 14 of the past 16 months – since January 2008.”

On an accrual basis, April is the ninth month in the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

The general fund was under collected by $164.3 million, and the four other funds were under collected by $25.3 million.

Sales tax collections were $74.5 million less than the estimate for April. The April growth rate was negative 9.94%. For nine months revenues are under collected by $466.9 million. The year-to-date growth rate for nine months was negative 6.73%.

Franchise and excise taxes combined were $56.6 million below the budgeted estimate of $387.8 million. For nine months revenues are under collected by $258.0 million.

Hall Income tax collections for April were $32.2 million less than the estimate. For nine months collections are $36.2 million less than the budgeted estimate. The growth rate for the nine month period was negative 23.27%.

Inheritance and estate tax collections were $3.8 million below the April estimate. For nine months collections are $10.8 million under the budgeted estimate.

Gasoline and motor fuel collections for April increased by 0.77%. For nine months revenues are negative 6.22%, and $37.0 million below the budgeted estimate of $641.5 million.

Tobacco tax collections were $11.6 million under the budgeted estimate of $30.2 million. For nine months revenues are under collected in the amount of $20.4 million.

Year-to-date collections for nine months were $887.6 million less than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was under collected by $807.9 million and the four other funds were under collected by $79.7 million.

The budgeted revenue estimates for 2008-2009 are based on the State Funding Board’s consensus recommendation adopted by the second session of the 105th General Assembly in May of 2008.

The revised estimates for this fiscal year as presented in the 2009-2010 Budget Document assume an under collection in total taxes in the amount of $1.1 billion. The general fund under collection is projected to be $1.06 billion.

By tax source the assumed under collections are: Sales tax $544.2 million; F&E taxes $336.1 million; privilege taxes $80.6 million; hall income tax $58.0 million; highway fund road user taxes $48.6 million; and a net under collection of$40.0 million from all other tax sources.

via April Revenues | TN.gov Newsroom.