Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent The Elizabethton City Council met in a special called meeting Monday at City Hall to approve on second reading and public hearing an ordinance for the proposed fiscal 2025–26 budget and 9-cent property tax rate increase. Council voted 7-0 to approve the budget and tax rate increase.

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Star Correspondent

The Elizabethton City Council met in a special called session Monday afternoon at City Hall, unanimously passing the second reading and public hearing of the ordinance adopting the city’s fiscal 2025-26 budget and property tax rate, which includes a 9-cent increase.

The new fiscal year, which began Tuesday, July 1, comes with a property tax rate increase from $1.65 to $1.74 per $100 of assessed value. The increase fulfills city charter requirements and aims to maintain and expand essential city services and capital improvements.

Council voted 7-0 in favor of the budget and tax rate ordinance after months of deliberation during spring budget workshops.

The FY 2026 budget includes continued funding for city operations and departmental functions, capital projects aligned with City Council’s strategic goals, and compensation adjustments for city employees. Included are a 4% across-the-board raise and funding to cover a 3% increase in health insurance premiums.

Additionally, the budget includes a $125,000 increase in the city’s operating contribution to the Elizabethton City School Department, bringing the annual total to $2,525,000. Street paving will also receive a boost with a $33,000 increase in funding, a 4% rise from the previous year’s original budget.

Council also passed, again with a 7-0 vote, the second reading and public hearing of the Elizabethton Board of Education’s 2025-26 budget adoption ordinance.

In new business, Council approved a resolution awarding the bid and contract for the long-anticipated Franklin Pool Renovation Project. The City of Elizabethton received a $630,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the First Tennessee Development District (FTDD) in December 2023 to aid in the pool’s upgrades.

Renovations will include resurfacing the pool, installing new gutters, adding a heating system and updating the chlorination system at the popular community facility.

The city partnered with FTDD in February 2024 to manage administrative and technical services for the project. In April 2025, AE4H20 Inc. was selected as the project’s architect and design consultant.

AE4H20 issued a request for proposal on behalf of the city, with bid openings held on June 18. Only one bid was received — from DWR Aquatics Inc. — with a proposal totaling $1,597,389. The company estimates project completion within 130 days from the notice to proceed.

Though the grant will reimburse $630,000, the city budgeted $1.6 million in the FY 2026 budget to ensure full funding for the renovation.

Construction on the Franklin Pool is expected to begin within two weeks of the bid award.

Monday’s session capped off a busy fiscal preparation season for Elizabethton officials, with multiple funding priorities balanced through strategic planning and community-focused investment.