Tax'em Tony 3

News Herald Public Notice

Can we just go ahead and stipulate one fact, that is, Lenoir City mayor Tony Aikens, runs everything in the city? No one would disagree with that. The council members are totally irrelevant. This is not just an opinion, it's a fact based on the history that no council member or the LCUB board member ever votes NO on any thing the mayor wants. You'd have to go back to July 2017 to find the last NO vote cast. That's when the late councilman, Bobby Johnson Sr., was the lone NO vote on Mayor Aikens Rain Tax. Prior to that, you'd have to go back many years to find another substantive NO vote. 

True to form, Lenoir City mayor, Tony Aikens, is pushing forward with another tax increase. Aikens just can't find enough ways to tax people. At last Monday's city council meeting, at the mayors request, council voted to put a .75% sales tax increase on the ballot at a special election. That special election is to be held on April 13, 2024. Not one council member even raised any concern about why a special election and the cost of it.

2024 we will see three elections in Loudon County, March, August and November. Why does the mayor want to hold a special election just for the sales tax hike question? According to the Lenoir City school board chairman, the special election will cost the city tax payers $20,000.00. The city could have asked for it to be on any one of the other three elections which wouldn't have cost the tax payers anything.

Back in 2018, Aikens had the sales tax increase on the November ballot. It was defeated by about a 60% margin. In his mind, he isn't going to make the same mistake twice. He apparently feels he has a better chance of passing the tax increase in a special election when the voter turn out will be extremely low. Plus, on the November 2024 city election, he and three of his most loyal follower council members, Henline, Wampler and Simpson, will also be on the ballot. No way he's going to have a multi-million dollar tax increase on the same ballot they're on.

In 2018, the tax increase was supposedly all for the safety and security of the school children. The vast majority of voters saw through that bologna and rejected the tax increase. This time, the tax increase is being sold again, for the school children, but this time Aikens has added a new wrinkle to his snake oil sales pitch. This tax increase isn't just for the little children, he's also promising  a community center/senior citizens center. Aikens has already stated that even if the sales tax increase passes, a community center/senior citizens center would be years away. He's baiting in the full spectrum of people from three years old thru retirement. My guess is, just like 2018, the voters will see through his bologna again.

Even if voters approve the increase, a new recreation center would be years away, Aikens said, noting Loudon passed a similar increase years ago for their parks and recreation department. News Herald 5/17/23

Mayor Aikens is literally obsessed with raising taxes. In 2021, the mayor and council passed a 17% property tax increase. In 2018, Aikens tried to get a .50% sales tax passed. In 2017, Aikens passed the Rain Tax forcing every resident, business, church, school and nonprofit to pay a tax to the city due to rain.

On the defeat of the sales tax increase in 2018:

“Unfortunately, I think it’s the world we live in, but we just hope that nothing happens out there,” he added. “I’ve said from day one the fairest way is to put it on the ballot. The majority of people voted it down, even though it didn’t get voted down by a lot. It did get voted down and I’m going to abide by their wishes.” News herald November 2018

I guess back in 2018, when Aikens said he was going to abide by the voters wishes, that only meant for 6 years.

Promises made - promises broken.

Things will never change in Lenoir City until things change in Lenoir City.

Sales tax vote fails-
 
“Obviously, it failed and unfortunately those funds are not there, certainly on the city side and I don’t know, talking to Dr. (Jeanne) Barker, I don’t think they’re there on the school side,” Aikens said. “So we’ll just hope and pray that nothing happens at any of our schools or any other school as far as that goes in the country.
 
“Unfortunately, I think it’s the world we live in, but we just hope that nothing happens out there,” he added. “I’ve said from day one the fairest way is to put it on the ballot. The majority of people voted it down, even though it didn’t get voted down by a lot. It did get voted down and I’m going to abide by their wishes.”
 
Lenoir City officials proposed a half-cent increase to the sales tax earlier this year that could have generated nearly $2 million annually. Lenoir City Council in July approved putting the proposed increase on the November ballot to allow voters to make the final decision.
 
A list of wants for the school system previously provided the News detailed $1.4-$1.6 million in expenses, but only $845,000 in annual recurring costs.
 
Jim Shields, city councilman, supported letting voters decide on the sales tax.
 
“I think that the people they are concerned about school safety and school concerns, keeping the kids safe, but I don’t think they really was in line with the tax increase,” Shields said. “Maybe there’s some other way to look at it, some other way of going around and getting it done. We’ll just have to look at it and see.”
 
Aikens said he doesn’t know of a way to afford the city school district’s wants without a sales tax increase.
 
“I don’t know what that compromise would be. I mean I don’t know of anything else out there,” Aikens said. “The only other choice, city council is very limited on what they can do, and the only other choice would be to have a property tax increase and I am totally opposed to that. And we gave the voters the opportunity if they wanted to have a (increase). From what we was asking I certainly don’t believe it was out of line and it was going to not — obviously people that’s coming through Lenoir City that’s spending their sales tax dollars.
 
“We need to focus, and this is something Dr. Barker and I totally agree on, is having counselors in schools and talk to these kids and see what’s troubling those children whether it be a home or school or wherever, to try to talk to them and prevent something like this from happening,” Aikens added.
 
Jeanne Barker, Lenoir City director of schools, could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts.
 
Bobby Johnson Sr., Lenoir City Board of Education member, said he didn’t believe a sales tax hike was necessary.
 
“I mean that’s my opinion about it,” Johnson said. “I mean we may have to have it. ... I thought maybe it might go through because it was on the education purpose for safety of the kids, but we’re doing pretty good so far with what we’ve got. We’ve not had that much of a problem. I don’t know, we’re just going to have to probably get together and try to work with what we’ve got. Tighten up our belts.”
 
Johnson also serves on city council. He said some of the school district’s wants may still be a possibility.
 
“Just have to wait and see how we can do it or not,” he said.

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12/4/23