Property Tax Increases Looming In Many Areas

Local governments across the region are trying to find millions of dollars to balance the books. "This year is a tremendous challenge," said Washington County, TN mayor Dan Eldridge.

It seems almost every local government is having the same problem.

The City of Bristol, Virginia has been borrowing money to pay the monthly bills for years.

They hope to reduce those loans next year, but to balance the 53-million dollar budget, the city council is expected to raise property taxes 5 cents.

"We can't annex so what you see is pretty much what you get," said Bristol, VA mayor Ed Harlow.

Across the state line in Sullivan County, the budget is $168 million, but the mayor says it may take raising taxes to fill a roughly $4 million hole.

"One penny equals 300 thousand, probably talking 7, 8, or 10 cents something like that," says Sullivan County mayor Steve Godsey.

Washington County, TN mayor Dan Eldridge explained, "the issue we are dealing with this year is flat revenue." His county has a $121 million budget, but right now they are in the red $10.5 million for next year.

Property owners there may not be paying more, though. "The discussion of tax increase has to be last," said Eldridge.

Eldridge says the fastest way to turn the trend around is new home construction, because it's the fastest way to increase the tax base, but along with that is the need for jobs to attract people here, that would want to buy new homes, and increase land values.

Until then many say the trend may be far from over.

Unicoi and Greene Counties are both still working on their numbers.

Greene County's budget director says they expect a large funding increase request from the school system, and in Unicoi County they are working on a way to cover a nearly 40-percent increase in health insurance costs.