Bradley County Commission approves tax hike for first responder, county employee pay

BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- “One of my sons doesn’t have health insurance because we can’t afford it and the county’s offering isn’t strong enough to cover both of our kids.”

The Bradley County Commission had a major decision to make regarding a property tax hike on Friday.

First responders in Bradley County have seen other agencies in nearby counties surpass them in pay, as firefighters just starting out in the county fire department made just $41,000.

Some neighboring agencies see their new recruits make over $50,000.

With this imbalance, they have been asking the commission for some time for a raise, and on Friday they got their wish as the Commission approved a 15% pay raise by a 9-5 vote.

However, not everyone in the audience was pleased as this raise comes with a property tax hike at 8.5 cents.

For example, the annual property tax bill for a $350,000 home would go up by roughly $75 a year.

This didn’t with residents like Josh Humberd, a Bradley County farmer, who told commissioners his take home pay from selling soybeans has dipped by 15% in the last decade with all the input costs going up.

Humberd criticized first responders who attended the special called meeting saying, “It is a conflict of interest to have those who are getting paid by the taxpayer to be here with their hands out, and their sole agenda is for the taxpayers to literally put more money in their pockets, while taking even more hard earned money out of ours.”

He along with other residents say this decision will harm farmers especially, as property values continue to soar across Bradley County, as they have doubled since 2015.

Others continued to criticize the idea of paying for a 15 percent raise, as one resident, Deborah Gleason, said, “I’ve lived in an era where you had to get a second job if you had to make ends meet… I never got a 15 percent raise.”

Bradley County Mayor Gary Davis said that he did not support the increase, as his original budget still raised county employee pay by three to six percent without a tax increase.

Mayor Davis said, “This is not about pitting our residents against our responders. It’s a decision that the government has to live within its means just like the people we serve are expected to do.”

However, nine of the 14 county commissioners disagreed with the mayor.

One of those who voted for the raise, Bill Winters, said, “I’m tired of seeing these folks only get 2-3% raises over all of these years… If we don’t give these people their money they’re going to leave and then who is going to take care of your wife like they took care of my wife.”

Several firefighters and sheriff’s deputies spoke to the Commission, saying that they wanted to continue serving the citizens of Bradley County, but didn’t know how much longer they could continue doing so financially if they did not get this raise.

One firefighter, Noah Cripe, said, “I see every day our firefighters coming in and they’re worried they can’t make their mortgage this month. They are paycheck to paycheck. I’ve had someone tell me, ‘I have seven dollars left till next paycheck’ stuff like that. I think this raise will really help us out.” 

Those on both sides of the issue say they do not want any animosity between taxpayers and their first responders.

Cripe said, “I don’t want this to be a division between first responders and the community, but I want this to bring us together and let our residents know that we want to retain good employees.”

The new tax and raises go into effect on July 1.