One thing you can say about the county mayor and most of the county commissioners in Hamilton County, Tennessee; they are insistent about no property tax increase.
One can say there is fear - don't want to be ridiculed on a billboard nor face the wrath of election recall by local tea party activists. But it is much deeper than that.
Our county government leaders blindly place all of their eggs into economic growth - growth will give us necessary revenue increases they reason. That's what happened in the late 1920s too; see how that went.
It doesn't matter what the policy is - there are always strengths and weaknesses. And dependent on economic growth, cutting spending and not increasing revenue has weaknesses. Don't let anyone try to fool you that it doesn't. Every policy has pros and cons.
I don't believe in political cycles either on the local government level. Local government doesn't change on cycles; they respond to the needs of the community. Except for this county government we have now - it only responds to the needs of economic growth; not to the community. I don't think a county government responding to public education needs or to community needs is ever coming back to Hamilton County.
My prediction - there will continue to be a strong resistance to a property tax increase in Hamilton County for a long time. But there will come a time that economic growth doesn't pay the county government bills; and that, would be the worst time to increase property taxes.
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