Clarksville budget under review; 'Tennessee Wings of Liberty,' 'home rule' discussed

Clarksville is in the midst of finalizing and putting its annual city budget to a vote this week.

If a city council budget working session Thursday afternoon was any indication, budgeting and taxation in the coming fiscal year — that's highlighted by a November city election — probably won't be a source of discord.

In fact, the council isn't shying away from other time-and-energy-consuming hot topics this budget season, including whether to end long-standing state Legislative private act amendments to the city's charter in favor of home rule public referendums for changing charter provisions.

The charter is essentially the "Constitution" of Clarksville city government. A measure to put the home rule question to a public vote in November 2024 passed on the first of two readings in the council's six-hour, regular monthly session Thursday night.

The budget thus far

In the afternoon presentation from Laurie Matta, the city's chief financial officer, the council saw a breakdown of revenues and expenditures, and an overview of the proposed $144.1 million city budget for 2022-23.

On the revenue side, no change is proposed in the current city property tax rate of $1.24 per $100 of assessed property value.

In all, the city budget supports 19 departments. Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts has said several items are highlighted in the proposed budget, including:

Transferring a portion of property tax collections to capital projects funds to support the city's Transportation 2020+ Master Plan, moving highest-priority highway and street projects forward to combat traffic congestion and meet the challenges of growth.

Implementing a 5% general wage increase for all city employees. The increase, Pitts said, is largely in response to wage inflation and increasing difficulty recruiting city employees.

Matta emphasized Thursday that the 5% increase is currently deemed a placeholder rate in the proposed budget and could be negotiable as the findings of a city pay study come back.

Adding 16 city police officers and 15 new city firefighters to help Clarksville meet the demands of growth and its impact on public safety.

Adding a position in the city's Human Resources Department to focus on "diversity, equity and inclusion" in the city's workforce.

And adding new capital projects to include:

• An administration and training facility for Clarksville Fire Rescue Department

• A fueling center and salt shed on property donated by the Clarksville Regional Airport for a planned city-county public safety campus

• Continued work on the Rossview Athletic Complex next to Interstate 24, at Exit 8

• Renovations to Edith Pettus Park and Bel-Air Pool

• Seeking $7 million for the regional recreation center complex in the northeast part of the city.

A public hearing and possible first-reading vote on the budget is set for Thursday, June 9 at 4:30 p.m.

If everything stays on schedule, the second and final reading vote for adoption of the new city budget would be held on Tuesday, June 14, 4:30 p.m.

Wings of Liberty

The city and Montgomery County government are each proposing to contribute $1 million toward the "Tennessee Wings of Liberty" Museum honoring Fort Campbell and its history and legacy.

The addition of "Tennessee" to the formal name of the long-anticipated museum comes as a nod to the state Legislature, which appropriated $20 million of the estimated $35 million Fort Campbell museum project in its latest session.

Deputy State House Speaker Curtis Johnson (R-Clarksville) and 22nd District state Sen. Bill Powers (R-Clarksville) jointly made the announcement about this, and other state funding directed to Clarksville-Montgomery County.

On Thursday afternoon, retired Brig. Gen. Scott Brower made a pitch for the museum before the city council, as he moves about the community striving to generate fund-raising and excitement for the project.

"We've got about $10-$15 million left to go to get this done," Brower said, adding "the Army wants us to have one hundred percent of the funding in hand before we start work on it."

The estimated 60,000-square-foot museum would be a replacement for Fort Campbell's existing 6,000-square-foot Don F. Pratt Museum on post.

A key difference is that the much bigger museum would be built on the Tennessee side of Fort Campbell at the corner of Fort Campbell Boulevard and Tiny Town Road and would be fully accessible to the public without requiring military visitor passes for entry.

Seen as a major tourist attraction in Clarksville-Montgomery County's, and Middle Tennessee's, future, the museum is predicted to attract around 300,000 visitors per year.

Part, but not all, of the emphasis of Tennessee Wings of Liberty would be to "honor the legacy of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 5th Special Forces Group and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment."

It's anticipated that the museum would have an annual economic impact of nearly $30 million for the region when fully operational, generating 177 direct and indirect jobs and about $530,000 in tax revenues.

"We envision breaking ground on the museum in the summer of 2023 and opening it to the public in 2025," Brower told the council.

Home rule

Looking ahead, the council and city haven't heard the last of "home rule," by any means.

The shift to home rule has already happened in some other Tennessee cities, the ordinance sponsor, Councilperson Trisha Butler, emphasizes.

She initially wanted to have the referendum question — on whether to shift from having the state Legislature sign off on private act charter amendments to home rule public referendums on charter changes — placed on the ballot for voters to decide along with this year's Nov. 8 city election.

In short, it would essentially be a referendum on whether to have more city referendums.

But many on the council have balked, saying they need much more time to study the pros and cons of it and learn more about how it compares to the existing method of changing the city charter.

An amendment to Butler's ordinance from Councilperson Brian Zacharias was considered and quickly approved Thursday night, giving the council two more years to do just that.

Reach Jimmy Settle at jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0247. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville budget under review, being voted on this week