Knoxville to ask voters to approve half-cent sales tax for neighborhood investments; groceries exempted

Knoxville City Council voted to ask city voters this fall to approve a half‑cent increase in the local option sales tax to fund a five‑year Neighborhood Investment Plan targeted to sidewalks, greenways, parks, community facilities and affordable housing.

Mayor (name not specified) told the council the proposal is designed to accelerate projects residents have long requested, saying, “the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” The council approved placing the measure on the ballot after several hours of public comment and debate among council members over priorities, equity and process.

The ballot measure would raise roughly $47 million a year for the city if approved, and the council separately adopted an ordinance to exempt the retail sale of food and food ingredients from that increase as allowed by state law. The grocery exemption was presented to reduce the burden on low‑income households; Judith Pilow of CAC testified that…