CLARKSVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Montgomery County Commission met this week to discuss funding options for a new school in the county, including a potential $25 increase to the county wheel tax.
Mayor Durrett on Wednesday presented the commission with the Joint Land Acquisition Committee’s proposal for a new 110-acre CMCSS campus at the intersection of Rossview Road and Kirkwood Road. The proposed site would include an elementary, middle and high school, along with athletic facilities, parking infrastructure and a school bus complex.
Under the proposed plan, CMCSS would be able to begin construction on a middle school by January 2021, with the rest of facilities being added at a later date.
“What we are trying to do is get a school built as quick as we can, but also protect the taxpayers’ dollars,” Durrett told commissioners.
Addressing traffic
Mayor Durrett stressed the importance of addressing traffic on Rossview Road before adding another school campus to the area.
“I have said this from Day 1: I don’t think we need to go and build a school complex without the transportation infrastructure in place.”
When speaking to Clarksville’s Rotary Club earlier Wednesday, Durrett said he’s working with the state to widen Rossview Road from International Boulevard to Hayes Lane. Durrett said he has a “firm commitment” that, if Montgomery County will handle the engineering and the right-of-way, TDOT will expand the road.
Price tag for Kirkwood, other schools
The proposal places the total cost for CMCSS’ five-year construction plan at $177.97 million. This includes not only the new school, but expansions to existing schools.
This plan includes $10 million, split between 2020-21 and 2021-22, for design of right-of-way for roads to the Kirkwood site, with the roads to be built by TDOT.
To build, or to build bigger
According to CMCSS Chief Operations Officer Jim Sumrell, the current proposal is for three prototypical CMCSS schools with room for expansion. This includes a 1,200-student elementary school, a 1,500-student middle school and a 2,000-student high school.
The schools would be built smaller initially and then expanded when the need arises. For example, the high school would initially accommodate 1,600 students and could be expanded to the full 2,000 when needed.
Some commissioners voiced interest in building the schools to full capacity right away to avoid higher materials costs. However, Sumrell stressed that this would incur unnecessary maintenance costs, including climate control and janitorial staff.
“The money that the mayor just showed you is based on building those prototypical schools that are expandable. If you want them bigger, taller, then these numbers are based on prototypical schools,” said Sumrell.
Funding questions
Durrett proposed two funding options for the CMCSS plan: an increase to the property tax or an increase to the wheel tax.
The proposal claims that school debt could be covered by increasing property taxes from the current rate of 2.99 to 3.0855 (approximately 9 cents). For a family with a $200,000 home, this would equate to a difference of $48 per year, or $3.98 per month.
Durrett also offered the option of a wheel tax increase
In 2017, Montgomery County raised the wheel tax by $18 to a total of $49, which is similar to a majority of Tennessee counties.
The proposed $25 increase would make the tax $74, placing Montgomery County in the top 10 in wheel tax costs in the state.
The proposed wheel tax increase is projected to generate excess revenue for the county with approximately 1% growth. Durrett said this excess revenue would help Montgomery County to “start down the journey of getting out of debt on the county general side.”
“We have two funding options. We have wheel tax, and we have property tax. The least impact on Montgomery Countians is a $25 wheel tax increase as opposed to a 9 cent property tax increase,” said Durrett.
Commissioner Garland Johnson spoke, praising CMCSS’ work in developing their plan but questioning the timing of the wheel tax proposal.
“I see the long-range plan, and I think it’s a great idea. The problem I have with it is, to do an increase after we have had so many people out of work due to COVID. I understand the long-range idea of getting the county out of debt, but the next administration may come in and decide they don’t want to go down that path, and we basically hurt our people by this increase for nothing if the next administration doesn’t go along with it,” said Johnson.
The proposal laid out at the budget roundtable will be included in the agenda for the County Commission’s meeting on Tuesday, September 8 at 6 p.m. at the County Courthouse. While normally held on the first Monday of the month, the meeting has been pushed back one day due to Labor Day.
Those who cannot attend in person can watch the meeting via the county’s YouTube channel.
The Link LonkAugust 28, 2020 at 03:07AM
https://clarksvillenow.com/local/county-commission-discusses-25-wheel-tax-increase-for-new-kirkwood-school/
County Commission discusses $25 wheel tax increase for new Kirkwood school - Clarksville Now
https://news.google.com/search?q=Wheel&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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