As the weather warms up and students prepare for a relaxing summer vacation, Clarksville-Montgomery County government and officials prepare for the fiscal year 2025-26.
With this year’s proposed $170,727,506 general fund, City Mayor Joe Pitts is “addressing immediate needs” with the city budget, such as the impact of flooding for many residents and a 15-cent property tax increase.
“Every year, I begin by commending our City departments and their leaders for their work during what can only be described as a year of challenge and opportunity. This year is no different,” Pitts said in a budget memorandum to the City Council.
This year, Pitts sent three key priorities he wants to address to the city council:
- Retaining and recruiting the number City employees required to deliver vital services
- Decisively attack problem of neighborhood flooding that residents have dealt with for decades
- Keeping up with the unsolicited growth as Clarksville rapidly becomes one of the most popular zip codes in the nation
“The growth of our city’s population is driving every aspect of our budget, and we are successfully transforming our process from budget-driven goals, to goals-driven budgeting,” according to Pitts. “It is a subtle change, but will be evident during the committee meetings and subsequent workshops.”
Budget details
This year’s budget proposes a 15-cent tax increase, a 2.4% wage increase for city employees, storm water drainage, and new hires for the Police and Fire Rescue departments.
The current property tax rate is 88 cents per $100 assessed value. This year’s budget proposes raising it to $1.03 per $100 assessed, citing growth, inflation, and the need to expand services as the reasons.
The Montgomery County Assessor of Property can reduce the property tax liability of those affected by the flooding. The Montgomery County Trustee has also implemented the state’s property tax freeze and relief programs for low-income and disabled residents.
Pitts has also proposed a 2.5% general wage increase for city workers.
The proposed budget for last year was 5%, and Pitts stated that the decrease this year is more in line with the City’s pre-pandemic increases over the last four years.
“I am proud of how our employees from all City departments work together to meet our citizens’ daily needs, especially during a crisis or extreme challenge.
They give us much to be proud of and should be commended for their efforts. “That is why we are proposing a 2.5% general wage increase for all eligible employees as the centerpiece of our budget proposal,” Mayor Pitts stated.
Pitts stated that the significant change is the unavoidable increase in employee health insurance premiums and the “positive changes” to the health pharmacy plans. He stated that the City’s continued monitoring of health claims trends is necessary to keep the self-insured fund viable.
Planning priorities
The departure of the Project Manager from the Municipal Properties Department provides an opportunity for the City to restructure Project Management/Municipal Properties under the Street Department.
The city’s planning budget remains largely unchanged for the fiscal year 2025. Here are the main priorities:
- Improves infrastructure, alleviates traffic issues, or enhances mobility
- Improves or enhances initiatives that target youth development
- Strengthens community and/or regional partnerships
- Fosters downtown development or supports “Legacy Neighborhood” restoration
- Enhances or reinforces Public Safety
- Expands or supports citizen and community engagement
- Improves operational efficiency/effectiveness or bolsters stakeholder/customer satisfaction
- Supports and strengthens workforce well-being and productivity
Storm drains and Clarksville flooding
Clarksville has already exceeded its annual rainfall total of 30 inches due to rain and flooding from February to April.
Many residents were evacuated in both months as rain continued to fall and flood their homes. During these storms, there were complaints that the City was not doing enough to address flooding and was instead focusing on growth.
New Storm Water Utility proposed
Pitts intends to use this year’s budget to address those concerns, describing stormwater drainage as a ‘priority’ for the city in fiscal year 2026 and beyond.
To address this, the city is considering a variety of approaches.
The Gas and Water Department is seeking a consultant to develop a Storm Water Utility. Once created and enacted, this will take over responsibility for managing the City’s stormwater infrastructure, which is currently managed by the Street Department.
Additionally, the Street Department is collaborating with a consulting engineering firm to address three flood-prone areas in the city.
Codes to change after flooding
This year, the city will revise its building standard to change the codes to limit heavy rainfall on homes, residential and commercial structures. These changes will reflect the heavy rain it has experienced in the last 12 months.
Finally, Lauren Winters, City Grants Director and FEMA/TEMA liaison, is working to provide resources and information to property owners and the city to mitigate the effects of the heavy rain.
