Now she's back at it again. Any time we get a lot of rain, someone on social media will inevitably bring up the Lenoir City Rain Tax as a joke. This rain event was no different.

Apparently, unable to stop herself, Councilwoman Wampler felt compelled to respond again.

Nothing in the above post is even close to correct. First, the amount of rainfall we have has nothing to do with the Rain Tax. The Rain Tax was 100% discretional tax passed by the city council with Bobby Johnson, Sr. the only councilman that did not vote for it.

The rates were set by a government agency? Ms. Wampler and the Lenoir City Council were the government agency that set the rates and they can raise them any time they want. In this post she has changed from claiming all the Rain Tax goes to the EPA to praising the mayor and the Rain Tax manager for figuring out a way to pay the city's debt without a new property tax increase. Excuse me Ms. Wampler, a ten cent property tax increase would have been a lot cheaper on most residents and businesses than the Rain Tax. Of course, a property tax increase would not have been on the churches and schools like the Rain Tax is. The $600,000.00 a year she mentions is the amount of Rain Tax money the city is squeezing out of the residents, businesses, churches and schools each year for nothing. 100% of the Rain Tax goes into the city general fund.

If in fact councilwoman Wampler is correct and the Rain Tax money is being used to pay off city debt, the city is in extreme violation of the state law that allowed them to pass the Rain Tax. 

I've asked this before and I'll ask it again, does Councilwoman Wampler really believe this stuff she's saying or is she intentionally trying to be deceitful? I have no idea, but somebody, Mayor Aikens, desperately needs to tell her the truth.