Jonesborough adopts annual budget with tax increase after public opposition to proposed connector road

The Town of Jonesborough Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday adopted its fiscal 2025-26 budget, including a property tax rate change, after a night of public comment in which multiple residents urged the board to drop a proposed connector road and to slow or phase tax increases.

The budget vote followed more than an hour of public comments during which residents said the town had not sufficiently consulted neighborhoods over a proposed connector from New Hope Road to the Sweetgrass/Ben Gamble area, and raised concerns about affordability for senior homeowners. "I created a petition that generated nearly 500 signatures," said Chase Blazer, identifying himself as an Air Force veteran and Jonesborough resident. "There has been little to no outreach on social media, no town halls being held to gauge public opinion."

The debate matters because the board explicitly tied the connector to the capital plan in the budget. Residents living in The Meadows and nearby neighborhoods described environmental, safety and property-value concerns if a road were routed through trail and wetland areas. "It will destroy a section of the trails that are used by many…