With no discussion, the Dickson City Council adopted a $35.2 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year during a brief special session Monday, June 17, 2024.
The ordinance adopting the FY2024/25 budget does not set a property tax rate as Mayor Don L. Weiss Jr. said the city is still waiting for a certified rate from the State Board of Equalization following the state-mandated reappraisal of properties across Tennessee.
“We still do not have the certified rate from the county,” Mayor Weiss said. “We spoke with the Assessor’s office this afternoon, I think as late as about 3:30, and they basically told us that the State Board of Equalization has received their data from the Assessor’s office, but because of the extensive increase in new growth it is taking them more time to go through the data in order to get the certified rate. Part of that also being that, anybody that appealed their reappraisal, they did not finish those hearings until today. So, we hope to have the certified rate by the July 1 meeting.”
An ordinance to set the property tax rate was deferred to the July 1 council meeting for first reading with a public hearing and second reading to be scheduled.
City Administrator Rydell Wesson said no changes have been made to the budget draft that was presented at the May 20 Finance and Management Committee meeting and approved on first reading June 3. The draft budget was presented with a projected property tax rate of 72 cents per $100 of assessed value, a reduction from the current 77.35-cent rate.
Nobody spoke during a public hearing on the new budget and the council unanimously approved it on second reading. The new budget takes effect July 1.
“I do want to thank all the department heads, Mr. Wesson, and (Acting City Administrator) Mr. (David) Travis, (City Recorder) Chris (Norman), (City Treasurer) Tammy (Dotson) for all the work they did on the budget,” Weiss said following its passage. “I think it’s a very good budget. It’s one of the larger budgets we’ve had in the city, but I do think it’s a very good budget. I do appreciate all the department heads and everybody’s work on the budget.”
The new budget projects $13.3 million in revenue from state and local sales taxes, an increase of 4.5 percent over FY2023/24, and just under $5.5 million from property taxes, an increase of 24.8% percent. Sales taxes generate 42 percent of the city’s revenues while property taxes account for 18 percent.
The budget includes:
• Four percent raises for all employees;
• A sanitation truck for $225,000 that was originally ordered in 2021 and hasn’t been delivered;
• Three Ford Explorers for the police department for $150,000;
• A pickup for the fire department for $63,000;
• A personnel transport van for $48,000;
• A brush truck for $270,000;
• Garage equipment for the Public Works Department for $34,100;
• 400 garbage cans for $26,000;
• A pickup for the Parks and Recreation Department for $50,000;
• Security cameras for the Public Works Department for $11,595;
• A front-deck mower for the Public Works Department for $28,904;
• A zero-turn mower for the Public Works Department for $17,262;
• A forestry mower for the Public Works Department for $8,500;
• $350,000 for a playground and pavilion with restrooms near the Skatepark behind Dickson Fire Department Station #1;
• $750,000 for paving;
• $100,000 for sidewalks;
• $135,000 to upgrade the high-mast streetlights on the Interstate 40 ramps at Highway 46;
• $2,200 for computers and equipment for the Office of Planning and Zoning;
• $2,500 for recreational equipment for the Senior Activity Center; and
• An increase in the city’s allocation to the Humane Society of Dickson County under its Animal Control agreement from $60,000 to $100,000 and adds $15,000 for a spay/neuter program.
Ongoing or new projects included in the FY2024/25 budget are:
• Downtown Revitalization Phase VI, which is Church Street from East College Street to East Rickert Avenue and includes a $1,167,334 Transportation Alternative Program grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation;
• Downtown Revitalization Phase VII, which is Frank Clement Place and West Railroad Street from Center Avenue to South Charlotte Street and includes a $1,365,254 TAP grant;
• West College Street Phase I, which is from North Mulberry Street to Walker Street and includes a $1,271,424 Multimodal Access grant from TDOT;
• West College Street Phase II, which is from Walker Street to Polk Avenue and includes a $1,199,895 Multimodal Access grant;
• Traffic signal improvements on Highway 70 at Weaver and Beasley drives and on Highway 70 at Highway 96 in Phases II and III of the Intelligent Transportation System project that uses Surface Transportation Block Grants;
• Phase I of improvements at J. Dan Buckner Park that includes two basketball courts, two courts striped for tennis and pickleball, a pavilion with restrooms, a playground and new parking and access that is Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant with a $625,000 Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant for the $2,855,000 project;
• Phase II of improvements to J. Dan Buckner Park consists of reconfiguring the large baseball field into three 225-foot multiuse fields with a new concession stand and restroom building, a new playground, additional parking and a covered practice facility/batting cage in the area where the Municipal Pool was removed. The city has applied for a $4,000,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant from TDEC:
• The city is building three more tennis courts and a new playground at the Lester Speyer Community Recreational Complex and Tennsco has pledged to fully reimburse the city the cost of the project with $1.6 million included in the FY24-25 budget. Tennsco owns the facility and leases its operation to the city’s Park and Recreation Department;
• The Tennessee Department of Transportation has approved a $689,000 State Industrial Access grant for improvements to the intersection of Tennsco Drive and Highway 47 that include widening the turning access and a turning lane to improve safety;
• The extension of Alexander Drive to Gum Branch Road is expected to be substantially complete this summer. The need for additional fill material at the Gum Branch Road end pushed the project cost to $3.5 million. The intersection with Highway 46 is being redesigned to add a dedicated turn lane and the cost of that project is not known at this time;
• The city has received a $295,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All grant from the Federal Highway Administration to develop a safety action plan that will identify improvements that can be considered for city streets and intersections; and
• The city has applied for a $150,000 Historic Development grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for roof and interior repairs to the historic War Memorial Building.
Mayor Weiss previously outlined three other projects as priorities that are not funded in the FY2024/25 budget. They include:
• A partnership with the YMCA to design, build and operate an aquatic and recreation center at Henslee Park with an estimated cost of $25 million;
• A new City Hall on the site of the Municipal Building at an estimated cost of $25 million; and
• A new Dickson Fire Department Station #2 on property on Marshall Stuart Drive in the William D. Field-Dickson County Industrial Park being donated by The Jackson Foundation with an estimated cost of $3-4 million.
The FY2024/25 budget reflects an increase of 5.3 percent over the current budget and projects using $3.7 million from the city’s $22 million fund balance. Despite projecting to use almost $2 million from reserves in the current budget, the city expects to finish the fiscal year June 30 with an almost $700,000 increase in its fund balance.
In other business at the June 17 special session, the City Council:
• Conducted a public hearing on and unanimously approved on second reading Ordinance #1551 to amend the FY2023/24 budget. Nobody spoke during the public hearing;
• Unanimously approved on second reading Ordinance #1550 to increase the purchasing limit requiring competitive bids from $10,000 to $25,000; and
• Unanimously approved Resolution #2024-11 to supplement the state Property Tax Relief Program for FY2024/25.
The next regular session of the City Council is 7:00 pm Monday, July 1, in the Council Chambers at Dickson City Hall, 600 East Walnut St. All meetings are open to the public.
Source: City of Dickson
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