No WhiteWash!

Below is data that was obtained form the website NeighborhoodScout which gives some interesting data concerning the high crime rate in Kingsport, Tennessee.  Kingsport is ranked as having a high crime rank by NeighborhoodScout and states that  Kingsport’s crime rate is higher than the average for the State of Tennessee and  United States.

Are our city officials more concerned about putting in a new swimming pool, expanding the convention center, building more hotels, annexing more property, getting more restaurants, etc. than reducing the high crime rate in Kingsport?

Kingsport, TN Elected Officials – Board of Mayor and Alderman

NeighborhoodScout

With a crime rate of 89 per one thousand residents, Kingsport has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes – from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 11. Within Tennessee, more than 90% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Kingsport.

Separately, it is always interesting and important to compare a city’s crime rate with those of similarly sized communities – a fair comparison as larger cities tend to have more crime. NeighborhoodScout has done just that. With a population of 44,560, Kingsport has a combined rate of violent and property crime that is very high compared to other places of similar population size. Regardless of whether Kingsport does well or poorly compared to all other cities and towns in the US of all sizes, compared to places with a similar population, it fares badly. Few other communities of this size have a crime rate as high as Kingsport.

The crime data that NeighborhoodScout used for this analysis are the seven offenses from the uniform crime reports, collected by the FBI from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, and include both violent and property crimes, combined.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Kingsport does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Kingsport.

For Kingsport, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included forcible rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout’s analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Kingsport is one in 107.

In addition, NeighborhoodScout found that a lot of the crime that takes place in Kingsport is property crime. Property crimes that are tracked for this analysis are burglary, larceny over fifty dollars, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In Kingsport, your chance of becoming a victim of a property crime is one in 13, which is a rate of 80 per one thousand population.

Click here to see the data below as well as a map showing where the safest places are in Kingsport.  At the top of the page you can get data for a different city.

I have done many posts concerning the median age and population in Sullivan County, Tennessee and  Sullivan County has one of the oldest populations in the state (click here to view the data).

The data below is from the state and I hope will help illustrate exactly what will happen if Sullivan County continues as it has in the past.

Below in the graph is a breakdown on the population for the different age groups in Sullivan County for the census year 2000 and projections for year 2025.  Sullivan County population in year 2000 was 153,048 and is projected to be 161,262 in year 2025.

Note that in the graph below that the 2025 population for all age groups are less for age groups that are under the 55 to 59 age group.  The year 2025 graph shows that the population numbers shows the population growing for for ages group 55 and up.  The largest single age group with the largest population is the age group 75 and up and the larger part of them are females.

Is Sullivan County equipped to handle the aging population?  There should great demand for those businesses offering services to the elderly.  But, if you are a pediatric physician, you might want to start your practice elsewhere because of the low birth rate in Sullivan County.

The table below gives the actual population numbers for the different age groups.  I have added the year 2010 which is not plotted in the above graph so you can see what is projected for 2010.  The data from the state is given as number of males and females for each age group and I have added the male and female population numbers together in the table below and the graph.

Population Projections for Sullivan County, TN

		Year
Age Group	2000	2010	2025
0 to 4	8,542	8,593	7,897
5 to 9	9,411	9,012	8,498
10 to 14	9,709	8,697	8,538
15 to 19	9,204	8,330	7,514
20 to 24	7,778	8,692	7,638
25 to 29	9,625	9,751	8,180
30 to 34	10,420	8,669	9,154
35 to 39	11,534	10,078	9,887
40 to 44	11,873	10,864	10,597
45 to 49	11,543	11,697	9,357
50 to 54	11,241	11,644	10,368
55 to 59	9,776	11,501	11,410
60 to 64	8,066	10,981	11,817
65 to 69	6,919	9,112	11,197
70 to 74	6,358	6,981	9,705
75 and up	11,049	13,960	19,506
Total	153,048	158,560	161,262

You can view the data for other Tennessee Counties which includes projections for every five years up to year 2025.  Click on the link below to go to the Tennessee webpage

Demographic Information on Age-Gender Composition

In addition to the population projections for each Tennessee city and county contained in the report above, you may access more detailed cohort-component data for a city or county below. (Please note that updated demographic projections will be forthcoming.)

Please either click a county on the Tennessee state map or click a county name in the alphabetical list below the map to access the cohort-component data. Note the Word of Caution following table listed below.

Click here to view state data for Tennessee Counties

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I am one of the older population and am concerned about the future of Sullivan County.   No, you can’t move us out of the county, but you should be concerned about the future of the county when we have left this world.  There must be something in place to keep young people in Sullivan County.  A good start would be get companies that have good paying jobs to locate here.   If you too are concerned, talk to your elected officials.  You can email them at the following links.

email Kingsport BMA Mayor Dennis Phillips Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote Alderman Larry Munsey Alderman Jantry Shupe Alderwoman Valerie Joh Alderman Ken Marsh, Jr. Alderman Tom Parham email Candidates for Tennessee Governor Mike McWherter Roy Herron Ward Cammack Zack Wamp Bill Haslam Ron Ramsey Kim McMillan Jim Kyle

email Tennessee Legislators for area Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey Senator Mike Faulk Rep. Jason E. Mumpower Rep. Tony Shipley Rep. Jon Lundberg Rep. Dale Ford email Sullivan County Commissioners See list for Commissioners individual emails or email Mayor and all Sullivan County Commissioners

Comments are welcome.

A developer comes from another state and buys the old State Theater on Broad Street in Kingsport, Tennessee.  This developer (Douglas Beatty) starts work to renovate the State Theater building and finds that with the economy and his other investments that it might be better to sell his unfinished State Theater building to the City of Kingsport.

Doug Beatty, the developer has stated that he wants to get out what he has so far paid for the building and renovations which is about $450,000.  He further states that the entire cost to renovate the building would be about $900,000.

It appears that Doug Beatty is well connected with Mayor Phillips, Vice Mayor Mallicote, BMA members and the Kingsport Economic Development Board recently voted to spend nearly $10,000 to fund a study to determine the economic impact of a restored theater in downtown Kingsport.

The Kingsport Times-News reports that Bob Feathers with the Kingsport Economic Development Board believes some type of investment can occur to complete the theater project — regardless of what the economic development study shows.  I guess the question is, why is the city of Kingsport spending $10,000 for a study when they are going to do what they want to do to make this developer happy.

Let the private sector take care of this. The city of Kingsport has no business bailing out someone who got in over his head.  I am sure that there are many folks in Kingsport would like for the city to bail them out of their current financial situation.

During the renovation process, Doug Beatty became aware of apparently paranormal occurrences inside.  According to L.E.M.U.R Paranormal Investigation website, Doug Beatty met with L.E.M.U.R and permitted an investigation.

Kingsport Times-News

“I need to,” he said. “I want to at least get what I’ve got in it so I can satisfy the bank note.”

The theater is now appraised at $1.6 million by private professional appraisers, and at $1 million for county tax purposes.

Beatty said work is still progressing on the theater. But he doesn’t want to invest in any more big-ticket items such as $30,000 in sheet rock or new theater seats, until he’s in a better position or the city moves forward with an acquisition.

“I’ve got two restaurants that I really have to tend to and make sure that they’re able to pay their bills and stay open. That’s really distracting me financially and time-wise from the theater,” Beatty said.

“I really want to get it done, but I’m at a point right now, because the economy has taken so long to come back, that I’m not sure how much more I can plow ahead without putting myself at risk. I want to make sure that I’m acting responsibly and cautiously as it relates to all the development we’re doing downtown,” he said.

Feathers said he believes some type of investment can occur to complete the theater project — regardless of what the economic development study shows.

“I sincerely doubt it will be dropped altogether. But you never know,” Feathers said. “Economies could drive something different from our perspective and what we’re trying to do from an economic development perspective.

“But from a priority standpoint, this is a very important component to what we see as a good fit for the community.”

The owner of the State Theater is DB3 Development Company, LLC and is North Carolina company.  DB3 Development Company, LLC is listed as a FOREIGN company according to the Tennessee Secretary of State.  Below is from the State of Tennessee website

Name	I.D. Number
DB3 DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, LLC	0533682

Business Type*:	LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Profit/Nonprofit:	FOR PROFIT
Status*:	ACTIVE
Date of Formation/Qualification:	11/07/2006
Domestic/Foreign:	FOREIGN
Place of Incorporation/Organization:	NC
Duration:	PERPETUAL
FYC(Fiscal Year Closing) Month:	DECEMBER

Principal Office:
Address Line 1:	11346 TOOLE CREEK RD
Address Line 2:
City:	ABINGDON
State:	VA
Zip:	242108626
Other than USA:

Registered Agent:
Name:	DOUGLAS BEATTY
Address Line 1:	501B E. MAIN ST.
Address Line 2:
City:	KINGSPORT
State:	TN
Zip:	376600000

According to Sullivan County, DB3 Development Co LLC also owns property at 227-229-23 Sullivan St.  It appears that there is construction work occurring at this location and the 2008 Sullivan County property taxes are not paid.

Let your Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman know your concerns about bailing out one of their pals.  Keep in mind the money spent to buy the State Theater will be your tax dollars.

email Kingsport BMA

• Mayor Dennis Phillips
• Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote
• Alderman Larry Munsey
• Alderman Jantry Shupe
• Alderwoman Valerie Joh
• Alderman Ken Marsh, Jr.
• Alderman Tom Parham

Feel free to leave a comment.

email Kingsport BMA Mayor Dennis Phillips Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote Alderman Larry Munsey Alderman Jantry Shupe Alderwoman Valerie Joh Alderman Ken Marsh, Jr. Alderman Tom Parham email Candidates for Tennessee Governor Mike McWherter Roy Herron Ward Cammack Zack Wamp Bill Haslam Ron Ramsey Kim McMillan Jim Kyle

email Tennessee Legislators for area Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey Senator Mike Faulk Rep. Jason E. Mumpower Rep. Tony Shipley Rep. Jon Lundberg Rep. Dale Ford email Sullivan County Commissioners See list for Commissioners individual emails or email Mayor and all Sullivan County Commissioners

Against Building Taxpayer Funded Denominational Medical School in East TN

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

R a n k	County	City	Total County and City Tax	Property Tax for $150k Home	Household Median Income	% Taxes from Household Income	Median Home Value
1	SHELBY	MEMPHIS	$7.29	$2,734	$32,285	8.47%	$130,695
2	SHELBY	GERMANTOWN	$5.63	$2,111	$113,733	1.86%	$278,800
3	SHELBY	BARTLETT	$5.63	$2,111	$74,091	2.85%	$164,600
4	KNOX	KNOXVILLE	$5.50	$2,063	$32,538	6.34%	$102,300
5	ANDERSON	OAK RIDGE	$5.45	$2,044	$45,474	4.49%	$120,100
6	SHELBY	COLLIERVILLE	$5.37	$2,014	$99,239	2.03%	$255,400
7	HAMILTON	CHATTANOOGA	$5.36	$2,009	$35,913	5.59%	$121,100
8	SHELBY	MILLINGTON	$5.32	$1,995	$43,753	4.56%	$124,144
9	MADISON	HUMBOLDT	$5.30	$1,988	$50,007	3.98%	$181,800
10	HAWKINS	KINGSPORT	$5.11*	$1,916	$34,391	5.57%	$99,900
11	SHELBY	ARLINGTON	$5.09	$1,909	$59,131	3.23%	$233,597
12	SULLIVAN	KINGSPORT	$5.08*	$1,905	$34,391	5.54%	$99,900
13	ROANE	OAK RIDGE	$5.04	$1,890	$45,474	4.16%	$120,100
14	SULLIVAN	BRISTOL	$5.03	$1,886	$36,454	5.17%	$94,000
15	MORGAN	OAKDALE	$4.98	$1,868	$32,174	5.81%	$47,502
16	COFFEE	MANCHESTER	$4.96	$1,860	$36,674	5.07%	$112,275
17	HAMILTON	LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN	$4.95	$1,858	$117,767	1.58%	$515,354
18	HAMILTON	RIDGESIDE	$4.95	$1,858	$103,995	1.79%	$293,387
19	LAUDERDALE	HENNING	$4.95	$1,856	$23,407	7.93%	$65,212
20	HAMILTON	SIGNAL MOUNTAIN	$4.93	$1,848	$78,175	2.36%	$283,948

* 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.

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The table below again shows the top 20 cites and the effect on the taxpayers’ Household Median Income.  There appears to be a disconnect with those cities having a high tax rate, lower Household Median Income and the percentage of Household Income needed to pay property taxes.

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

R a n k	County	City	Total County and City Tax	Property Tax for $150k Home	Household Median Income	% Taxes from Household Income	Median Home Value
1	SHELBY	MEMPHIS	$7.29	$2,734	$32,285	8.47%	$130,695
2	LAUDERDALE	HENNING	$4.95	$1,856	$23,407	7.93%	$65,212
3	KNOX	KNOXVILLE	$5.50	$2,063	$32,538	6.34%	$102,300
4	MORGAN	OAKDALE	$4.98	$1,868	$32,174	5.81%	$47,502
5	HAMILTON	CHATTANOOGA	$5.36	$2,009	$35,913	5.59%	$121,100
6	HAWKINS	KINGSPORT	$5.11*	$1,916	$34,391	5.57%	$99,900
7	SULLIVAN	KINGSPORT	$5.08*	$1,905	$34,391	5.54%	$99,900
8	SULLIVAN	BRISTOL	$5.03	$1,886	$36,454	5.17%	$94,000
9	COFFEE	MANCHESTER	$4.96	$1,860	$36,674	5.07%	$112,275
10	SHELBY	MILLINGTON	$5.32	$1,995	$43,753	4.56%	$124,144
11	ANDERSON	OAK RIDGE	$5.45	$2,044	$45,474	4.49%	$120,100
12	ROANE	OAK RIDGE	$5.04	$1,890	$45,474	4.16%	$120,100
13	MADISON	HUMBOLDT	$5.30	$1,988	$50,007	3.98%	$181,800
14	SHELBY	ARLINGTON	$5.09	$1,909	$59,131	3.23%	$233,597
15	SHELBY	BARTLETT	$5.63	$2,111	$74,091	2.85%	$164,600
16	HAMILTON	SIGNAL MOUNTAIN	$4.93	$1,848	$78,175	2.36%	$283,948
17	SHELBY	COLLIERVILLE	$5.37	$2,014	$99,239	2.03%	$255,400
18	SHELBY	GERMANTOWN	$5.63	$2,111	$113,733	1.86%	$278,800
19	HAMILTON	RIDGESIDE	$4.95	$1,858	$103,995	1.79%	$293,387
20	HAMILTON	LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN	$4.95	$1,858	$117,767	1.58%	$515,354

* 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.

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I have heard some members of the Kingsport BMA express their desire to have a college located in Kingsport.  They should keep in mind that there are very large number of cities that have been successful without having a college and who also have a better standard of living than Kingsport.

College Cities	Household Median Income
Knoxville	$32,538
Bristol	$36,454
Chattanooga	$35,913
Johnson City	$35,746
Memphis	$35,181

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.

email Kingsport BMA Mayor Dennis Phillips Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote Alderman Larry Munsey Alderman Jantry Shupe Alderwoman Valerie Joh Alderman Ken Marsh, Jr. Alderman Tom Parham email Candidates for Tennessee Governor Mike McWherter Roy Herron Ward Cammack Zack Wamp Bill Haslam Ron Ramsey Kim McMillan Jim Kyle

email Tennessee Legislators for area Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey Senator Mike Faulk Rep. Jason E. Mumpower Rep. Tony Shipley Rep. Jon Lundberg Rep. Dale Ford email Sullivan County Commissioners See list for Commissioners individual emails or email Mayor and all Sullivan County Commissioners

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee is governed by a seven member Board of Mayor and Aldermen, elected at-large and on a non-partisan basis for four-year staggered terms. The exception to this rule is that the Mayor is elected at-large for a two year term. Elections are held in May during odd numbered years. The new Board of Mayor and Alderman is seated on July 1 of each election year. The Vice Mayor position is selected from an Alderman position and voted on by the elected BMA members.  Each BMA member has one vote (7 members = 7 votes).

The current Board of Mayor and Aldermen is comprised of the following individuals:  Click on “More Info.” button for all posts for a given BMA member.

	Mayor Dennis Phillips Term Expires 30 June 2011 Email: PhillipsD@ci.kingsport.tn.us
	Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote Term Expires 30 June 2013 Email: mallicote@ci.kingsport.tn.us
	Alderman Larry Munsey Term expires 30 June 2011 Email: Munsey@ci.kingsport.tn.us
	Alderman Jantry Shupe Term expires 30 June 2011 Email: shupe@ci.kingsport.tn.us
	Alderman Valerie Joh Term expires 30 June 2013 Email: joh@ci.kingsport.tn.us
	Alderman C. Ken Marsh, Jr. Term expires 30 June 2011 Email: marsh@ci.kingsport.tn.us
	Alderman Tom Parham Term Expires 30 June 2013 Email: parham@ci.kingsport.tn.us

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

R a n k	County	City	Total County and City Tax	Property Tax for $150k Home	Household Median Income	% Taxes from Household Income	Median Home Value
1	SHELBY	MEMPHIS	$7.29	$2,734	$32,285	8.47%	$130,695
2	SHELBY	GERMANTOWN	$5.63	$2,111	$113,733	1.86%	$278,800
3	SHELBY	BARTLETT	$5.63	$2,111	$74,091	2.85%	$164,600
4	KNOX	KNOXVILLE	$5.50	$2,063	$32,538	6.34%	$102,300
5	ANDERSON	OAK RIDGE	$5.45	$2,044	$45,474	4.49%	$120,100
6	SHELBY	COLLIERVILLE	$5.37	$2,014	$99,239	2.03%	$255,400
7	HAMILTON	CHATTANOOGA	$5.36	$2,009	$35,913	5.59%	$121,100
8	SHELBY	MILLINGTON	$5.32	$1,995	$43,753	4.56%	$124,144
9	MADISON	HUMBOLDT	$5.30	$1,988	$50,007	3.98%	$181,800
10	HAWKINS	KINGSPORT	$5.11*	$1,916	$34,391	5.57%	$99,900
11	SHELBY	ARLINGTON	$5.09	$1,909	$59,131	3.23%	$233,597
12	SULLIVAN	KINGSPORT	$5.08*	$1,905	$34,391	5.54%	$99,900
13	ROANE	OAK RIDGE	$5.04	$1,890	$45,474	4.16%	$120,100
14	SULLIVAN	BRISTOL	$5.03	$1,886	$36,454	5.17%	$94,000
15	MORGAN	OAKDALE	$4.98	$1,868	$32,174	5.81%	$47,502
16	COFFEE	MANCHESTER	$4.96	$1,860	$36,674	5.07%	$112,275
17	HAMILTON	LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN	$4.95	$1,858	$117,767	1.58%	$515,354
18	HAMILTON	RIDGESIDE	$4.95	$1,858	$103,995	1.79%	$293,387
19	LAUDERDALE	HENNING	$4.95	$1,856	$23,407	7.93%	$65,212
20	HAMILTON	SIGNAL MOUNTAIN	$4.93	$1,848	$78,175	2.36%	$283,948

* 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.

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The table below again shows the top 20 cites and the effect on the taxpayers’ Household Median Income.  There appears to be a disconnect with those cities having a high tax rate, lower Household Median Income and the percentage of Household Income needed to pay property taxes.

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

R a n k	County	City	Total County and City Tax	Property Tax for $150k Home	Household Median Income	% Taxes from Household Income	Median Home Value
1	SHELBY	MEMPHIS	$7.29	$2,734	$32,285	8.47%	$130,695
2	LAUDERDALE	HENNING	$4.95	$1,856	$23,407	7.93%	$65,212
3	KNOX	KNOXVILLE	$5.50	$2,063	$32,538	6.34%	$102,300
4	MORGAN	OAKDALE	$4.98	$1,868	$32,174	5.81%	$47,502
5	HAMILTON	CHATTANOOGA	$5.36	$2,009	$35,913	5.59%	$121,100
6	HAWKINS	KINGSPORT	$5.11*	$1,916	$34,391	5.57%	$99,900
7	SULLIVAN	KINGSPORT	$5.08*	$1,905	$34,391	5.54%	$99,900
8	SULLIVAN	BRISTOL	$5.03	$1,886	$36,454	5.17%	$94,000
9	COFFEE	MANCHESTER	$4.96	$1,860	$36,674	5.07%	$112,275
10	SHELBY	MILLINGTON	$5.32	$1,995	$43,753	4.56%	$124,144
11	ANDERSON	OAK RIDGE	$5.45	$2,044	$45,474	4.49%	$120,100
12	ROANE	OAK RIDGE	$5.04	$1,890	$45,474	4.16%	$120,100
13	MADISON	HUMBOLDT	$5.30	$1,988	$50,007	3.98%	$181,800
14	SHELBY	ARLINGTON	$5.09	$1,909	$59,131	3.23%	$233,597
15	SHELBY	BARTLETT	$5.63	$2,111	$74,091	2.85%	$164,600
16	HAMILTON	SIGNAL MOUNTAIN	$4.93	$1,848	$78,175	2.36%	$283,948
17	SHELBY	COLLIERVILLE	$5.37	$2,014	$99,239	2.03%	$255,400
18	SHELBY	GERMANTOWN	$5.63	$2,111	$113,733	1.86%	$278,800
19	HAMILTON	RIDGESIDE	$4.95	$1,858	$103,995	1.79%	$293,387
20	HAMILTON	LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN	$4.95	$1,858	$117,767	1.58%	$515,354

* 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.

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I have heard some members of the Kingsport BMA express their desire to have a college located in Kingsport.  They should keep in mind that there are very large number of cities that have been successful without having a college and who also have a better standard of living than Kingsport.

College Cities	Household Median Income
Knoxville	$32,538
Bristol	$36,454
Chattanooga	$35,913
Johnson City	$35,746
Memphis	$35,181

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.

email Kingsport BMA -  Mayor Dennis Phillips -  Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote -  Alderman Larry Munsey -  Alderman Jantry Shupe -  Alderwoman Valerie Joh -  Alderman Ken Marsh, Jr. -  Alderman Tom Parham	email Tennessee Legislators for area -  Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey -  Senator Mike Faulk -  Rep. Jason E. Mumpower -  Rep. Tony Shipley -  Rep. Jon Lundberg -  Rep. Dale Ford
email Sullivan County Commissioners See list for -  Commissioners individual emails or -  email Mayor and all Sullivan County Commissioners	email this post to a friend
email Candidates for Tennessee Governor -  Mike McWherter -  Roy Herron -  Ward Cammack -  Zack Wamp -  Bill Haslam -  Ron Ramsey -  Kim McMillan -  Jim Kyle

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

I must admit that the decision of the Kingsport BMA to spend over $15 million for an expansion of the MeadowView Convention Center has really raised my blood pressure.

I have written many posts concerning this issue and feel that politics is playing a big part in the decision to expand the convention center.  Good common business sense seems to be absent for the five BMA members (Phillips, Mallicote, Joh, Shupe, Munsey) who voted to expand the convention center.  It appears that there is an incestuous relationship with special interest groups

Alderman Marsh implored the mayor to get public input before the vote, but the mayor railroaded the convention center expansion to a vote.  Alderman Marsh and Shull voted to give back to the city property owners the 1/4 percent regional sales tax that was used to pay off the current convention center, but the gang of five prevailed.

The taxpayers have invested $25.7 million in the current MeadowView Convention Center and Cattails golf course.  The convention center has never made money and the golf course barely breaks even.

The City of Kingsport is spending another $15 million to expand the convention center into an executive conference center.

One needs to ask, what is the real cost to the taxpayers for Kingsport’s part of MeadowView? The combined cost of the current convention center, golf course and the new expansion would be about $41 million.

To get the true cost, the interest expense for the bonds must be added to the cost.  In the table below you will see the actual cost after applying the different interest rates.  The bond life used is 20 years.

Cost	Interest Expense	Real Cost	Interest Rate
41,000,000	18,628,464	59,628,464	4.00%
41,000,000	17,340,210	58,340,210	3.75%
41,000,000	16,068,036	57,068,036	3.50%

I would like to ask, are there any citizens in Kingsport that would invest $57 – $59.6 million in a project that did not make money for them?

It is up to you as voters to decide your future.  Mallicote, Joh, and Phillips who are running for re-election voted to spend more money on the money-losing convention center.

Alderman Shull who is also running for re-election voted against the convention center expansion and instead voted to give the regional sales tax back to city property owners.

I must warn you to beware of the spin that the city officials have been putting out concerning MeadowView.  If MeadowView has been that great for Kingsport, then why do we have a declining population, negative retail growth after inflation, and the highest unemployment rate in the Tri-Cities area.  You decide…see data

A concern that I and many others have  is the current balance of power on the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen.  For example, the five members below very nearly vote the same.  This means that if Mayor Phillips wants something, he almost always gets it.

Mayor Dennis Phillips *	Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote *	Alderman Larry Munsey	Alderman Valerie Joh *	Alderman Jantry Shupe

Alderman Shull and Alderman Marsh have shown the most restraint in spending the taxpayers money.  Aldermen Shull and Marsh do vote for worthwhile projects such as the Higher Education Center, but draw the line on certain issues such as funding the MeadowView Conference Center Expansion ($15 million).

They voted to give the 1/4 percent regional sales tax back to the citizens because the current Convention Center has been paid off.  They lost the vote because of the gang of five above.

Aldermen Shull and Marsh both were in support of the V.O. Dobbins renovations, but withdrew that support when the project expanded putting the City of Kingsport in direct competition with the private sector as a landlord leasing space to non-profits.  They also had a problem with the citizens’ tax dollars being used to subsidize the non-profit organizations.

They both have shown restraint in their discussions and votes when it comes to bigger budgets and bigger government.

Alderman C. Ken Marsh, Jr.	Alderman Pat Shull *

The three new Aldermen candidates below have stated that they agree with what the BMA has done in the past and they appear to be more like the gang of five.  Since we know what Mallicote and Joh have done in the past, there might be an advantage to elect two of the new candidates below to replace Mallicote and Joh.  Re-electing Pat Shull in my view is needed to have some form of check and balance on the BMA.

I fear that if Shull is not re-elected, then a blank check will be given to city government to do as they please when it comes to spending and new city budgets.

	No Photo	No Photo
Thomas Parham	Wade M. McClellan	Mike McIntire

* Term expires June 30, 2009