At the Cannon County Commission meeting, residents and a local contractor asked commissioners to amend the county's school facilities privilege tax, commonly called the adequate facilities tax (AFT), so that true one-for-one replacement homes that do not increase residential density would be exempt.

Daniel Wagner, who identified himself as representing Patriot Pump Network and as a Cannon County resident, told the commission: "We're asking for you to amend the school facilities privilege tax resolution so that true 1 for 1 replacement homes are exempt when they do not increase residential density." Wagner said the AFT'which the county applies in addition to building-permit and zoning-compliance fees'is intended to offset growth-driven capital needs for schools, roads and emergency services. He argued that replacing a three-bedroom house with another three-bedroom house does not create additional students, traffic or demand for new services and therefore should not trigger the AFT.

Two residents who spoke during public comment reinforced that point. John Taylor (District 1) told the commission the county can amend or repeal local fees and criticized the current charges, saying the fee structure was excessive; he singled out what attendees described as the zoning and AFT charges (cited in meeting remarks as roughly $0.95 and $0.90 per square foot). Melissa Martin (District 3), a landlord and contractor'who said she and her husband once owned the property at issue'said replacing an unsafe house with a new, more energy-efficient home improves neighborhood values and does not increase demand on schools or roads.

Wagner also told commissioners he had discussed the change with a former CTAS (County Technical Assistance Service) adviser and that his understanding is the commission has authority to amend its original AFT resolution and readopt it without state approval. He cited Tennessee Code Annotated regarding county authority to impose and structure such taxes and pointed out that some other Tennessee counties, including Montgomery County, have adopted explicit replacement exemptions.

In addition to the exemption request, Wagner proposed creating a county capital improvements fund to allow some AFT revenue to support roads, bridges and emergency services affected by growth rather than directing 100% of receipts to school capital and debt service.

Commissioners asked staff and legal counsel to review the proposal. One commissioner said, "I would also like to have opinions of the attorney," and another recommended the budget committee calculate how much school revenue would be lost if an exemption were adopted. The chair said the item would be placed on an upcoming agenda for fuller discussion and possible amendment.

Next steps: The commission directed staff to request a formal legal opinion, asked the budget committee to model the fiscal impact on school capital revenues, and scheduled the item for a future meeting so commissioners can consider changes after receiving that information.