Amid a major spike in the assessed value of Hamilton County homes, County Mayor Weston Wamp said Monday that he doesn't expect to suggest the county commission raise property taxes.
"I plan to present a fiscally responsible budget that does not require a tax increase," Wamp said in an emailed statement Monday.
Hamilton County in 2021 — the most recent previous property reappraisal year — also adopted a revenue-neutral, state-certified property tax rate.
With his statement, Wamp joined representatives of several of the nine other governments inside Hamilton County in staking out a position on property taxes as reappraisal notices are delivered to property owners.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported last week that East Ridge's city manager, Scott Miller, likewise said over email that he would not recommend a tax increase. East Ridge's city council approved a 28% tax increase — its first in 10 years — in 2021.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly told the Chattanooga Times Free Press last week that his administration would draft a budget based on strategic goals before presenting a plan to members of the city council.
Property reappraisals in Hamilton County are done every four years, and on average, home values increased by about 60% from January 2021 through January 2025, amid what county Assessor of Property Marty Haynes described in a Monday press conference as high demand for housing.
Haynes said Monday that staff in his office started mailing out reappraisal notices last week. They'll continue to mail those letters through April, he said.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga home sales, prices rise last year despite national slowdown)
But though new values have been noted, how much property owners will pay as a result is an open question. The assessment by itself means that about a third of county homeowners will likely see no change in their payments, Haynes said.
Another third of property owners will probably see their bills go down, he said. And the last third of homeowners — those whose property increased by more than the average — will soon pay more, regardless of potential property tax rate changes.
Property taxes since 2021 have been set at a rate of $2.37 for every $100 of assessed value in the county. Hamilton County commissioners, not the assessor's office, will decide whether the tax rate rises along with home values later this year.
By state law, in a reappraisal year the property tax rate must shift so that the government doesn't automatically collect more money than it would if the new values were unknown. In a year during which values increased, the law requires that the rate be adjusted to keep revenue neutral.
If Hamilton County commissioners decide, after that adjustment, to increase the tax rate, they have to hold a public hearing and take a vote on the new rate. Haynes said Monday that he expects the revenue-neutral rate to be announced over the summer.
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The 2025 reappraisal marks the second time in as many reappraisal cycles that the county has tracked its largest-ever increase in home values. In 2021 the county assessor's office estimated an average 26% increase in property values.
Home values in Chattanooga's North Shore, along with parts of Ooltewah, Collegedale and East Brainerd, rose most dramatically in recent years, Haynes said. Commercial property values also increased by about 50% over the past four years, Haynes said.
The assessor's office derived the new values by looking at sales prices of comparable homes, he said. A map on the assessor's website shows recent sale prices for addresses in the county, in which there are about 140,000 homes.
The median sale price of a home in Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee, and Catooosa, Dade and Walker counties in Georgia was $329,950 as of February, according to a Greater Chattanooga Realtors report. The association estimated a $266,056 average sale price for the same areas in 2020. Homeowners in Tennessee are taxed on 25% of their properties' value.
Spiking property values are a hot topic among homeowners, especially, he said. He said Monday that he had already started to receive questions from the public about the notices.
"I often get asked: 'Well, what's the average going to be?'" Haynes said of the increase in home values his office has tracked. "It's going to be between 40% and 80%, depending on where you live in the county, for the most part."
There's both an informal review process that property owners can initiate, if they think assessors made mistakes in valuing their property, and a formal appeals process. A QR code on the notice will send property owners to the form they need to start a review. June 6 is the deadline to appeal an assessment to the county board of equalization.
Property owners can also call (423) 209-7990 to discuss the appraisal with a staff member of the assessor's office.
Contact Mariah Franklin at [email protected] or 423-757-6354.
Mariah Franklin covers Chattanooga city and Hamilton County government for the Times Free Press. A Knoxville native, she used to write about politics, crime and county government for The Daily Times in Alcoa, Tennessee. She attended Maryville College and the Johns Hopkins University. In her free time she enjoys figure skating and listening to country music.
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