Elect Austin Shaver - 2nd District County Commissioner

Five Points

Property Tax – I am adamantly opposed to any and all tax increases. In a time when all of Loudon County’s residents are feeling the strains of the current economic situation, I do not believe they need their government adding to these burdens. I believe that, with sound fiscal management and sustainable spending practices, the current revenue streams and funds available to Loudon County are sufficient to meet all reasonable budget needs.

Wheel Tax – My feelings towards the wheel tax are based on the same underlying reasoning as is my stance on the increase in property tax. Currently, Loudon County residents only have to pay $24 per year to register their vehicles. The $50 wheel tax being put to referendum will more than triple this requirement. Again, the county cannot continue to spend frivolously when there is plenty but expect the citizens to make up the difference when finances again become lean from excessive expenditures.

Schools – Given my stance on the two major tax increases, many will ask how I propose to pay for the very much needed school improvements, especially in Greenback. In early 2007, the Loudon County and Lenoir City School Systems paid nearly $50,000 for a comprehensive and thorough report on the state of schools in the county. The report was produced by a joint venture of the Public Building Authority and the Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission. The report indicated that some $27,000,000 would be needed to build a new school in Greenback while another $15,000,000 spread across the other county schools would be needed to sustain their projected growth. Between the reserves available to both the Loudon County Commission and the School Board, as well as the increased tax base from the natural growth of Loudon County, there are more than adequate funds to meet these needs. In 2005, there was a $0.21 property tax increase and in 2006, the Adequate Schools Facilities Tax was passed. Both of these measures were promoted as being sufficient to meet the schools needs. I, for one, do not believe government should ask its citizens to pay for necessities through further increased taxes when reduced spending and use of current funds will be sufficient for the job.

Senior Tax Freeze – In addition to opposing raising the current taxes, I also support the implementation of the Tennessee Property Tax Freeze Act of 2007. In 2006, Tennessee voters, by a margin of 5-to-1, voted to allow such tax freezes to be implemented, but this must be done at the local level. This law allows the property taxes of county residents over the age of 65 to be frozen at the rate during which time the taxpayer first became eligible. It is available to those whose incomes are less than the median income for those 65 and older according to the last federal decennial census. For Loudon County, this income limit would currently be $32,000. At present, 18 counties and 9 municipalities have adopted the tax freeze. I believe the time has come for Loudon County to join them.

County Employee Insurance – In recent years, much discussion has been devoted to the topic of increasing the portion of insurance to be paid by county employees. With my own insurance costs having recently more than doubled, I can certainly understand the concern of those employees. I believe that, first, other cost saving measures should be utilized. Second, and only as a last resort, if insurance costs must be raised, then it should be done so only for new county hires subsequent to the adoption of any increase.