Lenoir City residents vote again

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WVLT) - Lenoir City taxes are staying where they are after residents voted against a sales tax hike on Saturday. But, the mayor believes the increased tax would have helped schools.

“The school board, city council and I decided that it was needed. Not wanted, but needed,” Lenoir City Mayor Tony Aikens said.

An effort by Lenoir City to expand schools failed this weekend. Currently, the city’s sales tax is 9%, but city and school board leaders wanted to raise that by 0.75%, with the money going toward expanding the elementary and middle schools to allow for more students.

“I visited those schools, and I was in agreement. They were busting at the seams,” the mayor said.

In a special election on Saturday, Lenoir City residents voted against the referendum 496-236.

Mayor Aikens said the tax raise would have generated an extra $4 million a year for the city. Half of it would have gone toward school expansion with the other half going toward a new senior center. The mayor said the next closest one is in Loudon.

Mayor Aikens said he’s disappointed because the sales tax increase wouldn’t have made that big of a difference for people.

“$100 worth of groceries, 75 cents. You pay an additional 75 cents,” Mayor Aikens said.

The mayor said the school board will have decisions to make to handle overcrowding, like the possibility of portable classrooms.

Mayor Aikens said it’s up to the school board to handle the next steps. WVLT reached out to the director of schools for comment but did not hear back.

Lenoir City voters oppose increase to sales tax to fund schools and senior center The school district will put students in temporary classrooms to help with crowding, the Lenoir City Mayor said.

WBIR.com-LENOIR CITY, Tenn. — Lenoir City voters voted against a sales tax referendum in a special election that would have increased city sales tax by 0.75%.

Out of 6,000 registered voters, only 734 people cast their ballots. 68% voted against it.

"We wish more people would have came out to vote," Mayor Tony Aikens said. "We tried to be as open and transparent as possible to bring the attention and the needs to the school system. The voters said no, and we'll abide by that."

Currently, Lenoir City's combined sales tax is 9%, lower than Loudon County's 9.5%.

The proposed increase would generate funds of around 4 million a year. The City Council would use one-half to pay for a new senior center. The other half would pay for school expansions in the middle and elementary schools and updated athletic facilities for the high school.

The Director of Lenoir City Schools, Dr. Jeanne Barker, encouraged people to vote in favor of the referendum to fund improvements and additions to the growing school district.

"Our school district has been recognized by the Tennessee Department of Education as a 'fast-growing' system," Barker said in a letter to the community. "The actual data shows that we have grown 6.08% since this time last year."

The growth is creating crowding problems in the middle and elementary schools, school officials said. Now, the mayor said the district will put students in temporary portable classrooms.

"When you think about putting kids in a portable classroom, and the security aspect of it," Aikens said. "It was such an important issue. And that's the reason that both boards decided to have a standalone election."

The plans for a senior center are on hold without the funds generated from the sales tax increase.

The mayor of Lenoir City wants to make it clear that there won't be an increase in property tax to fund these goals.

"That's not an option," Aikens said. "I'm not for raising property taxes to build a senior citizen center. And I'm not for raising property taxes to to fund the school system more.