County property tax remains unchanged
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Bledsoe County property owners will be paying the same property tax rate of $2.063 per $100 of assessed value in 2026-27. County Commissioners met in special session Monday, June 22, setting the property tax rate and budget with a projected half-million dollar shortfall.
In 2026-27, one penny is expected to generate $27,891.64 in revenue. The county’s General Fund is expected to bring in $8.9 million in revenue while expenditures exceed that amount by $500,000 with anticipated expenditures at $9.4 million.
Included in the county’s budget is an across the board 5 percent raise for county employees included in the General Fund.
The budget allows for a total of $88,237 to be appropriated for nonprofit organizations including $66,000 for fire prevention and control (distributed to the county’s ten departments), $7,000 to the Rescue Squad, $2,237 to the Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency, $4,500 to the Bledsoe County Senior Citizens Center, $6,500 for Soil and Water Conservation Service, and $2,000 in contributions to other agencies.
Included in the school system’s budget is a 5.5-percent raise for teachers and a 10-percent for other school system employees making less than $40,000 annually. A 3-percent raise was included for employees making over $40,000 per year.
Total anticipated expenditures for the school system are $20,568,278 which is $2.2 million over the projected revenues of $18,349,899. Despite the $2.2 million overage, the school system expects to have a $6.3 million fund balance for fiscal year 2026-27.
Commissioners present and voting unanimously to approve the property tax rate and 2026-27 budget were Ruth Burton, Roy DeBord, Heath Hudson, Robert Reece, Tanya Roberson, Ronnie Sapp, Roger Simmons, Andy Swafford, Johnny Mack Swafford, and Perry Swafford.