NO, Norris declines forgiving tax penalties
After a half-hour of comments and discussion, the Norris City Council on Monday night decided not to forgive penalties totaling about $44 charged to a woman who failed to pay her property taxes last year, and who said that she never received her tax bill.
Mayor Chris Mitchell and others on the council said they were reluctant to write off the penalties because there were at least 29 other people who didn’t pay their taxes on time, and were also charged penalties, which include interest of 2% a month on unpaid balances.
The woman also asked the city to instruct the Anderson County law director to write off collection charges for the account, which, when combined with the city’s interest charges, would total $117 on a tax bill that originally was just over $200.
Although some people in the audience at the meeting suggested that writing off the extra charges would be the neighborly thing for the council to do, the mayor said the others who didn’t pay on time might also come to the city and expect the same treatment.
City Manager Adam Ledford said the total interest charged on all 30 of the delinquent tax accounts amounted to more than $3,500, as of April 18.
While the council did pass a motion to ask the county’s attorney to drop the county’s collection charges, Ledford did say that he was told the county would not drop its penalties unless the city did the same.
Anderson County is responsible for collecting unpaid city property taxes through litigation.
Also Monday, the council:
• Approved a contract for $15,895 with Cannon & Cannon Consulting Engineers to study how the city could develop an emergency water source in the event its primary source, a spring in the Norris Municipal Watershed, was not providing the necessary water supply.
• Approved a resolution to continue an annual contract with the East Tennessee Development District for “local planning advisory services,” in the amount of $8,917 for the year.
• Heard from the city manager that preliminary reports from the closeout of fiscal year 2022-23, which ended June 30, showed total general fund expenditures of $1.8 million during the year, against total revenues of $1.945 million.