Shelbyville City Council moved closer to a possible property tax decrease during Thursday’s February meeting.

But the decrease is far from actually approved, with more steps in the process still needed.

The initial discussion on a proposed ordinance to set the municipal property tax rate for fiscal year 2023-24 specified the current rate of $1.59 on each $100 of assessed valuation, Council members were told at a recent study session that number could be changed at Thursday’s meeting.

Council member Bobby Turnbow proposed amending the rate to $1.48, a figure he’d mentioned at the study session. His motion to amend, and a subsequent motion to actually change the number, both passed 4-2 with council members Henry Feldhaus and Stephanie Isaacs opposing.

Feldhaus reminded the council that tax rates, according to Tennessee law, must be based on city budgets approved for each fiscal year. Discussions have not yet begun on Shelbyville’s fiscal year 2023-24 budget, making Thursday’s vote more of a statement of intent rather than an actual finalized decision.

Courts denied

A resolution which would have allowed Shelbyville Parks & Recreation to apply for a grant for funds to build new tennis and pickleball courts was denied by the council.

Two applications were discussed. One, for $1.5 million with the city contributing 50 percent - or $750,000 - was denied 4-2 with Turnbow, Marilyn Ewing, Thomas Christie and Gary Haile voting against. Feldhaus and Isaacs were in support.

That application would have funded two new tennis courts, pickleball courts and upgrades to existing pickleball courts.

The second option, a $750,000 request with the city’s match $375,000, would have been for two tennis courts.

Several meetings had been held between Parks & Recreation Director Mike Alsup and H.V. Griffin Park users about their wishes for use of funds. Ewing had earlier expressed concerns about what she felt was a lack of community input.

Those attending the meetings had expressed support for the tennis and pickleball courts, along with upgrades of soccer facilities.

More actions

Other council actions, all passed unanimously Thursday and discussed at previous study sessions:

• An annexation request for 124 acres on the south side of Union Street for the proposed Swing Acres development, was passed on to Shelbyville Regional Planning Commission for further study.
• A $165,000 professional services agreement with Griggs & Maloney, a Murfreesboro engineering firm, was approved. The firm will do a preliminary engineering report on repairs and upgrades to Shelbyville’s ailing flume system. Also approved was a contract with Neel-Schaffer, another engineering firm, for work on the city’s greenway/riverwalk trail system.
• Ordinances passed on first reading concerning rezonings of properties on Sevier Street (commercial to medium-high density residential) and Calsonic Way (low-density residential to light industrial, allowing an access road to the new Cartwright Elementary School). Public hearings must be conducted before second and final readings, scheduled for the council’s March meeting.
• Three Ford pickup trucks, with a combined cost of approximately $143,000, will be purchased from a dealer in Henderson through a statewide contract. One truck, to be used by Shelbyville Police Department’s Criminal Investigation (detective) Division, will be paid for through the police drug fund at no cost to taxpayers. The other trucks will be used by Shelbyville Fire Department first responders and the Parks and Recreation Department.
• A 2012 Honda Civic, seized by Shelbyville Police Department in a drug case, will be sold as surplus. Proceeds will be placed in the city’s drug fund.
• The reappointment/redistricting map for Shelbyville, based on the 2020 census, passed first reading. That map was published in the Tuesday, Feb. 7 Times-Gazette and can be seen at t-g.com.
• A resolution to adopt a new Planning and Community Development fee schedule was approved.