Claiborne County Commission sets $2.30 tax rate, overrides mayor's veto to restore education allocation

The Claiborne County Commission voted Aug. 21 in Tazewell to set the combined property tax rate for fiscal year 2023-24 at $2.30 per $100 of assessed value and to restore a five-hundredth-of-a-cent allocation to the Claiborne County Board of Education.

Commissioner David Mundy moved to adopt the $2.30 levy, seconded by Commissioner Nathan Epperson; the roll-call on the original motion carried 14-7. An amendment offered by Commissioner Eric Jones to raise the levy to $2.35 failed on a 10-11 vote.

Separately, the commission conducted a roll-call vote to override County Mayor Joe Brooks' prior veto of Resolution 2023-081, which would reinstate the five (0.05¢) cents of real property tax previously allocated for School Resource Officers. The override passed 14-7. The clerk recorded those voting for and against on the public record.

A related budget proposal to transfer an additional $25 from the wheel-tax fund (Fund 176) to the general fund (Fund 101) was defeated. The wheel-tax transfer (Res. 2023-087) received eight votes in favor and 13 against.

Why it matters: the tax-rate vote and the veto override change how local property-tax revenue is allocated for schools and county operations in the coming fiscal year. Restoring the five-hundredth-of-a-cent to the Board of Education reverses the county mayor's veto and returns the specified local revenue to school funding.

What the record shows: the commission's minutes list roll-call tallies and named commissioners for each recorded vote; motions and seconds for the tax levy and the veto-override were entered into the minutes. No additional statutory citations or external approvals were listed in the record.

Next steps: the adopted levy will be included in the county's 2023-24 budget documents; the clerk spread the resolutions and votes on the meeting minutes.