Sumner County panel gives Lincoln Property 60 days to pay disputed facilities tax; Hendersonville urged to pursue developers

Sumner County’s legislative committee on April 13 voted to give Lincoln Property Company 60 days to make outstanding Adequate Facilities Tax payments and asked the county law director to follow up with the city of Hendersonville about remaining arrears.

The decision followed public comment from Jeff Sassy, identified as an alderman and finance chair for the city of Hendersonville, who told the committee the city “respectfully opposes the county's demand for alleged unpaid adequate facilities tax on commercial development to be paid by the city” and urged the county to pursue the actual developers instead.

County staff reported a recent payment from Lincoln that reduced the county’s outstanding balance. A county staff member said, “Today, we had a payment that came in. I have that as a handout here,” identifying the payment as $57,717.06, which staff said lowered the total owed. Commissioners debated whether the city had a duty to verify payments and whether prior county correspondence (February 2024) clearly directed the city to begin verifying AFT payments on commercial permits.

Several commissioners pressed staff and the alderman for options. Commissioners discussed three paths: (1) work cooperatively with the city to get developers to pay; (2) pursue developers individually; or (3) initiate litigation against the city to recover delinquent amounts. County staff described the county’s policy intention as designating the city as the responsible party to direct developers to pay but said actual money is transferred directly to the county when developers remit payments.

Committee member S3 moved an amendment to reduce the amount the county would seek from Hendersonville by carving out the portion Lincoln is actively paying and to require the city to immediately recoup funds for projects where a certificate of occupancy already had been issued. After discussion, the committee amended the motion to give Lincoln a 60‑day repayment window. A subsequent proposal to earmark $100,000 for a volunteer fire department from the repayment failed on grounds of questionable legal authority. The committee then approved the amended main motion to allow Lincoln 60 days to complete payments and directed the law director to draft a letter to Hendersonville outlining next steps.

The committee did not record a roll-call vote with member-by-member tallies in the public record available in the transcript; the chair declared the motion carried after the voice vote.

Why it matters: The AFT dispute affects who bears financial responsibility for tens of thousands of dollars tied to commercial development and could set precedent for how Sumner County and its municipalities verify and collect facility-related levies going forward. The committee’s action prioritizes getting current payments from a large developer while preserving the county’s options to pursue additional collections.

Next steps: County officials said staff will return with a status update after the 60‑day window and the law director will send the requested letter to Hendersonville.