Fire tax committee approves method to hold Bradley County harmless for annexation-related revenue losses

A six-member fire tax committee formed under an April city–county growth-boundary agreement approved a proposal to reimburse Bradley County for fire-tax revenue lost when properties between the old and new urban growth boundaries are annexed into the City of Cleveland.

The committee voted, by voice, to approve the procedural methodology and to forward the proposal to the City of Cleveland council and the Bradley County Commission for incorporation into the previously approved annexation agreement. The committee also agreed to meet again in the coming weeks to continue separate discussions about automatic first-response dispatching.

The proposal specifies how reimbursements will be calculated and paid when an eligible parcel is annexed. Under the approved method,…