Blount County commissioners voted unanimously on Thursday to tell the county's budget committee to stick with the new certified tax rate, or go lower, when it finishes the 2026–27 budget. The decision comes as updated property appraisals are landing in mailboxes across the county and could set the stage for a noticeable drop in the county levy. Commissioners cast the move as a preemptive guardrail, so homeowners are not blindsided by tax hikes while the county works through the reappraisal numbers.
Meeting in Maryville, the commission passed a resolution directing the budget committee to use the certified rate or less. All 21 commissioners co-sponsored the resolution, and it passed without a single dissenting vote. Estimates discussed at March budget workshops suggested total property values climbed roughly 18 to 20 percent, which would push the estimated certified tax rate into the 1.29 to 1.31 range per 100 dollars of assessed value, a drop from the current 1.59 rate, as reported by The Daily Times.
What the certified tax rate means
The certified tax rate is meant to be revenue-neutral. It is a calculation designed so a county brings in roughly the same total property tax revenue after a countywide reappraisal as it did before. According to the Tennessee Comptroller, the State Board of Equalization reviews that calculation and requires public hearings if a local government wants to set a rate that would collect more revenue than the certified figure, per the Comptroller.
What’s next: meetings and timing
The Budget Committee is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. on May 14, followed by a county workshop at 6 p.m., with a public hearing for rezoning later that evening, according to Blount County public notices. That schedule gives residents a window to show up, ask questions, and weigh in at the committee and workshop sessions before the commission takes a final vote on the budget and tax rate.
What homeowners should expect
Residents who are already receiving reappraisal notices should not assume their tax bill will automatically go down. Individual bills will depend on whether a property's new assessed value rose more or less than the countywide average. March estimates suggest the county levy could fall to around 1.29 to 1.31 dollars per 100 dollars of assessed value, down from 1.59, roughly an 18 to 20 percent cut, if commissioners stick with the certified rate, as reported by The Daily Times.
