So, let's look at the city official's tax record. Start with the just passed 17% property tax increase. The tax increase will bring in an additional half million dollars to the city coffers. Why was that necessary? According the Mayor Aikens and council, the out-of-control development in the city is a great thing. If so, why the need for the monster tax increase? Isn't all those new apartment complexes, rental properties and low income housing projects not bringing in tons of revenue for the city? That's what we're told. One of Mayor Aikens stated reasons for the tax increase was, cities around us have higher taxes. That's a poor excuse.  

The fact of the matter is the process the city used to pass the property tax increase doesn't appear to even meet the legal requirements to do so. Only one reading, no ordinance to set the tax levy and the budget they passed didn't even include the property tax increase. But none of this matters, even if they went back and did it properly, they'd still do it again.

According the the brand new 2020 census, the 2nd district, Lenoir City, has the lowest, median household income of all the seven districts at $47,392.00. With this information in hand, what did the city officials all do? A 17% property tax increase of course. Incidentally, the week before they voted to raise your taxes, most all city officials took a  junket to North Carolina staying in a lavish hotel at the tune of over $500.00 per room per night. Talk about tone deaf.

Back to 2018, mayor/council, supported/voted to add a half cent sales tax hike to the election ballot. Of course, that measure was defeated soundly by the voters, even though it was supposedly for the children. Just be glad the mayor/council couldn't pass a sales tax hike on their own or they would have already done it. 

Also, earlier in 2018, mayor/council, supported/voted for the huge state gas tax increase. Mayor/council, sent a letter to Nashville legislators unanimously supporting and encouraging them to pass the gas tax increase. Ultimately, the state did passed the tax increase. Every time we go to the pump now, we all pay for that one.

Then back in 2017, the Coup de Gras of all tax hikes, the Rain Tax. The Rain Tax has to be the greatest scam ever perpetrated on a group of citizens. Every property owner, residential, commercial, nonprofit, church and school has to pay their monthly Rain Tax. That tax ranges from $3.00 per month to $2,000.00 per month. The Rain Tax brings in more than a half million dollars to the city coffers per year. 

So in just four years, the mayor/council, supported/voted for a 17% property tax increase, a half cent sales tax increase, a gas tax increase and the Rain Tax. IN JUST FOUR YEARS. Anybody think they'll stop at these?

Lenoir City's entire general fund budget is based on $12,185,435.00 in revenues. Over one third of that revenue budget, $4,089,649.00 comes from an annul donation from LCUB. The property tax increase and the Rain Tax combined, bring in more than a million dollars per year, forever.

One final note of interest, most all of the cities highest paid employees do not live in the city. The police chief lives in the county as does the city manager, the finance director,  the elected treasurer/recorder, the LCUB general manager and even the school superintendent. But can you blame them? Who wouldn't want to get out of such a high tax city? Heck, for that matter, the mayor and two councilmen live as far out of the city as one can get and still be in the city. They have to drive through the county just to get home. 

Back to the beginning. Does anyone believe if Mayor Aikens didn't support and want all these taxes that any of them would have ever passed? He could have stopped every one of them if he wanted to.

He didn't.