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The Elizabethton City Council unanimously approved on first reading the 2022-2023 budget and property tax rate for the tax year 2022.

The tax rate will remain at its current rate of $1.56 which was set as the certified tax rate during the tax year 2021 reappraisal. The budget was prepared on a property tax revenue neutral basis. If approved on the second reading, the budget implementation will begin on July 1 and allow the billing of 2022 property taxes.

“I want to thank the staff across the city because planning for the next 12 months is not easy,” said City Manager Daniel Estes. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I want to thank the council for asking good questions. It’s a good day when we can build a budget that rewards the staff and that doesn’t happen all the time. It was also a good capital project for us this year.”

City Councilman Michael Simerly said “this is the smoothest budget that we have had” in his four years of service.

In other new business items, the council approved the following:
– Approved on first reading the 2022-2023 City of Elizabethton Board of Education budget adoption for the operational funding request in the amount of $2,400,000. The operational funding request was the same for Fiscal Year 2022. The total school system operational funding amount for 2022-2023 is $35,475,273.
– Approved the 2022-2023 Elizabethton Municipal Airport budget of $145,000 which is the same as 2021-2022.
– Approved on first reading an ordinance for a budget amendment for the War Memorial regarding work performed during the fiscal year in the amount of $4,300. This is a non-budgeted item in the 2021/2022 fiscal budget. There is available money in the fund balance for this fund estimating the year-end budget balance amount to be $63,650.
– Approved the 2022-2023 state highway maintenance contract in the amount of $82,893.15. The State of Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has reimbursed the City of Elizabethton for maintaining State routes within the City for many years with TDOT being invoiced on a monthly basis for the previous month’s expenses recorded by the Street Department. The new fiscal year agreement is an increase of $9,804.
– Approved a resolution to approve Boyd Sports lease agreement.
– Approved a TVA Community Care Fund Grant. The Elizabethton Electric Department will be partnering with the Carter Compassion Center in the Community Care Fund. The Carter Compassion Center (CCC) will provide a one stop help center for individuals and families in need in Carter County and surrounding areas seeking shelter, food, work opportunities, health care, etc. They will assist clients by providing contact information regarding where these services are available in the area. The grant was in the amount of $20,000.