Williamson Commissioner Proposes Sales Tax Increase For Brentwood Schools Project

BRENTWOOD, TN — Raising the county's sales tax and moving money from the highway fund can pay for the Brentwood Middle and High schools expansion, County Commissioner Jeff Ford says. Ford, who represents Brentwood's District 6 on the commission, made his proposal on the commission's online message board Monday afternoon.

Williamson County Schools is asking for approval for a $17 million expansion to the shared campus of BMS and BHS and without it Director of Schools Mike Looney says the district will have to rezone hundreds of Brentwood students, sending them to schools elsewhere in the county. That eventuality has caused great consternation in Brentwood, perhaps equaled only by the prospect that a property tax increase would prove necessary as the county continues to grow apace.

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But, Ford wrote, a sales tax increase would render a property tax increase unnecessary. Sales tax increases must be approved by the county's voters in a referendum and Ford says the commission should start that process. Unlike property taxes, Ford wrote, the sales tax burden is shared by non-residents.

"We are a regional center of tourism, retail and employment. These out-of-county residents shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants, and stay in our hotels. The revenue collected from this tax increases as the retail base expands, making it a stable source of revenue," he wrote.

Ford also calls for moving 3 cents of the property tax millage out of the highway fund into the general debt service and rural debt service funds.

"Reducing the $0.03 cents of property tax in the Highway Fund reduces the revenue in that fund by approximately $600,000. Moving $0.01 to the General Debt Service increases the revenue in this fund by at least $1,000,000. Moving $0.02 to the Rural Debt Service Fund increases the revenue in that fund by at least $1,600,000. This is sufficient revenue to fully fund debt service for both the BMS/BHS expansion," Ford wrote.

He further called for issuing 30-year rather than the standard 20-year bonds, as he believes the longer-term bonds gives county officials more flexibility as the county continues to grow.

Other points in his plan call for a long-range fiscal planning committee and a change to the way the district calculates projected student population.

The commission is set to vote in May on an intent to fund the Brentwood project.

Image via Williamson County