Probably not surprising to anyone, Lenoir City council, led by Mayor Tony Aikens will raise Lenoir City property taxes by a whopping 14 cents, nearly 17%. This will be the largest property tax increase in modern times. Every property owner in the city is going to feel this one.

The public notice above ran in Wednesday's Daily Edition for the first time giving the public a whole four day notice that they intend to pass a massive property tax increase.

The city had already noticed in The News Herald and the Daily Edition that they were having a special called meeting at 9:45 am, Monday June 21st, to adopt their annual budget but none of the previous meeting notices included any mention of the property tax increase. They waited till the last minute to spring that little nugget on their tax payers. Of course it wouldn't matter if the had given a thirty day notice and five hundred people showed up to object, the council would still vote for a property tax increase. Remember, no one ever votes no.

Add a 14 cent property tax increase to an increase in the garbage pick up fee and the Rain Tax and before long it's going to be real expensive to live in the city. If Mayor Aikens or any council person tries to tell you they aren't raising property taxes, they're lying to you. 

I don't care who you are, everyone should have grave concerns with a governing body that would not only tax their citizens mercilessly, but try to sneak it in when most property tax payers have to be at work, is just...democrat like, tax and spend. Where does this end? Is there no taxes that Mayor Aikens and the council won't put on their citizens? Not so far.

You can't help but look at Lenoir City voters as akin to someone suffering from battered spouse syndrome. No matter how much they get beat up, they keep going back over and over. Lenoir City elected officials keep beating their residents to death with more and higher taxes, and residents keep electing the same people over and over.

The definition of insanity, keep doing the same thing and expect different results.