KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Knoxville City Council member Andrew Roberto said Wednesday that he will vote against Mayor Indya Kincannon’s proposal for a sales tax increase.
In May, Kincannon introduced the proposal to generate additional sales tax revenue. It was approved by the City Council in June, meaning Knoxville voters will decide its fate during the upcoming November election. If passed, it would raise the local sales tax half from 2.25% to 2.75%. The mayor said the money would speed up the completion of existing projects, including infrastructure upgrades, like paving projects and sidewalks near schools, and creating more affordable housing units.
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Roberto criticized the plan on Wednesday in a post on his Comments from the Councilman blog. He saying it lacks specifics, like which streets would be paved, where the affordable housing would be located and what would be getting repaired. “Without specifics, voters cannot be confident their tax dollars will be used as intended,” he added.
“No clear explanation was given for the urgency or specific plans behind this move, even when I provided space for these concerns to be addressed at the City Council workshop on May 29th. In addition, the sales tax proposal was not mentioned to city staff during the Mayor’s Budget Hearings in March, nor was it discussed at City Council’s Legislative Budget Hearing on May 13th,” said Roberto…