Williamson County assessor warns 2025 reappraisal could push Franklin values ~55–65%; certified tax rate aims to hold revenue neutral

Williamson County Property Assessor Brad Coleman told the Franklin Budget & Finance Committee on March 20 that the county’s 2025 reappraisal is likely to raise assessed values across Franklin by roughly 55–65 percent and that the county will calculate a certified (revenue-neutral) tax rate before any jurisdiction sets a new rate.

Coleman said the appraisal effective date is Jan. 1, 2025, and that his office expects to mail value notices in May. He said the certified tax rate — the rate calculated to keep a jurisdiction’s total property tax revenue flat after a reappraisal — would be calculated by his office and certified by the state comptroller’s Division of Property Assessment before municipalities set their budgets and tax rates.

Why it matters: a large increase in assessed value does not automatically equal a proportional increase in taxes. Under Tennessee law Coleman cited, the certified tax rate is intended to prevent jurisdictions from raising additional revenue solely because values were updated. But individual taxpayers can pay more or less depending on how their home’s change compares with the countywide average.

Coleman gave city-level figures that city staff used in their budget planning: assessed value for the City of Franklin in 2024 was about $7.6 billion; an illustrative 55 percent increase would raise that to about $11.7 billion. Using that estimate, Coleman showed an “indicated” certified tax rate of about 0.211 (compared with the City of Franklin’s 2024 rate of 0.3261). At that indicated rate, the illustrative total city tax revenue would remain near $25 million, the same as under the 2024 assessed base.

Coleman said the county will send more than 100,000 notices to property owners and will field informal appeals in May. Informal appeals are phone calls, emails or in‑person meetings to confirm property characteristics and comparable sales. If taxpayers remain dissatisfied, cases advance to the county Board of Equalization in June; Coleman said about 99.5 percent of residential appeals are resolved at the informal or county board level. Beyond that, taxpayers may appeal to the state board or chancery court.

City staff and elected members asked for detail on revenue impacts. Staff noted that, based on Coleman’s 55 percent example, one penny on the tax rate would generate roughly $1.1 million for the city; staff said the final number will move if the reappraisal final percentage is higher than 55 percent. Coleman emphasized that new construction (“growth”) is handled separately and is not included in the certified tax rate calculation; growth money remains available to local jurisdictions.

Coleman gave three simple household examples to illustrate how the certified tax rate works: if a house increases exactly at the county average, the owner would pay about the same in city taxes as the prior year; if a house increased less than average the owner might pay slightly less; if it increased more than average the owner might pay slightly more — despite the revenue-neutral adjustment at the jurisdiction level.

Key timeline Coleman provided: values are effective Jan. 1, 2025; the assessor’s office will finalize values in March–April and send notices in May; informal appeals occupy May; the county Board of Equalization hears formal appeals in June; the comptroller will review and certify tax rates in May; tax bills reflecting final rates will be mailed in October by Williamson County Trustee Karen Paris.

Committee members and staff acknowledged the timing challenge for the city budget; staff said the budget presentation schedule has been shifted to give more time for the reappraisal numbers to firm up.

"We're coming into the home stretch of our reappraisal," Coleman said, adding that while final numbers were not yet certified his office was preparing owners for “a big” reappraisal year and the incoming questions that notices will generate.

Coleman and city staff urged property owners to review the notices and use the informal appeal process if they believe details (square footage, year built, construction type) are incorrect. Coleman said permits and field measurement records are used to verify characteristics before any value revision.