The services provided by Knox County (the County) are made available as a result of revenues collected.
By far, the greatest amount of revenue received is from property taxes. The assessed value of property is established by the Property Assessor. The County Commission approves the property tax rate based on the needs presented in the budget.
Taxes for the 2007 fiscal year are levied at a rate of $2.69 per $100 of assessed value. The 2007 tax rate is divided between General Government and the Schools as follows:
|
Amount:
|
% of Total Levy
|
|
| General Government: | ||
| General Fund |
$1.24
|
46.10%
|
| Debt Service Fund |
$0.22
|
8.18%
|
| General Purpose School Fund |
$1.323
|
44.70%
|
| Total Tax Levy |
$2.69
|
100.00%
|
These taxes are collected by the Trustee's Office.
After property taxes, the second largest revenue source is the State of Tennessee. These may be reimbursements for taxes paid on alcohol, or funds to repair roads, provide health services for the needy, support the schools, etc. These funds are forwarded by the state to various offices in the county, receipted in the Finance Department and banked through the Trustee’s Office – as are all revenues.
The remaining revenues (about 12% of the total) are received from a variety of sources.
Debt Administration
At year-end, the County and the Board had the following debt amounts outstanding:
|
The County
|
The Board
|
Total
|
|
| Bonded Debt |
$286,151,355
|
$248,346,448
|
$534,497,803
|
The County maintains an AA bond rating by Standard and Poor’s and an Aa2 by Moody’s Investor Services. Subsequent to year-end, Moody’s upgraded the County’s outlook from stable to positive.
During the year the County and the Board jointly issued $77,000,000 general obligation bonds to fund the first year of the County’s Five-Year Capital Plan. In 2007, the County plans to issue $39,000,000 in bonds in accordance with the second year of the County’s Five-Year Plan.
