Rental taxes to senior exemptions; Rutherford Co. Property Assessor candidates sound off

Incumbent Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell faces a campaign challenge from former County Commissioner Virgil Gammon.

Each qualified as a Republican competing in the March 5 primary, according to the Rutherford County Election Commission. The winner will advance unopposed by a Democrat or independent in the the Aug. 1 election for a four-year term.

Mitchell won his county property assessor seat in 2012 as a Democrat before winning reelection as a Republican in a GOP-leaning county in 2016 and 2020.

Gammon served one four-year term on the County Commission as a Republican before retiring in 2022, the same year he unsuccessfully campaigned against Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh in the Republican primary.

Mitchell and Gammon are among 18 local candidates who recently qualified for 2024 elections.

Who's running for office? 18 candidates qualify for Rutherford County and Murfreesboro offices

Gammon wants more revenues from rental properties

If elected, Gammon said one of his goals will be to assess more rental properties at a commercial 40% property tax rate instead of the 25% residential rate. He estimates another $8-10 million can be collected annually to help fund schools and government services by requiring more rental property owners to pay the commercial rate.

"You can only have one residence if you are a taxpaying citizen," Gammon said. "The way this county is growing, you've got to pay your fair share."

Gammon is concerned about rental houses being used by renters as a business while the tax rate remains at 25%, he said.

Although he supports residents and local small businesses that rent houses for residential use at the 25% property tax rate, Gammon questions why hedge fund companies with investors who don't live in Rutherford can come in to the county and buy many homes to rent with the lower residential property tax rate.

"They should be commercial," Gammon said.

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Mitchell refutes more revenues possible from rental properties

Short term rental property houses, like those offered on AirBnB or VRBO, are taxed at the 25% and 40% rates, said John Dunn, spokesman for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, which has regulatory oversight of the state's 95 county property assessor offices.

"You're allowed one primary residence and one additional property at 25%, but any additional short-term rental properties must be at 40%," Dunn said.

All long-term rental houses are charged at the 25% rate, Dunn said.

"Tennessee property owners can own as many residential properties as they'd like, and as long as they are truly long-term rental residential properties, they will be classified at the 25% assessment level," Dunn said. "There are some people in Tennessee who own dozens of long-term rental homes in our state, and all of those are assessed at 25%, which is accepted under the law."

Mitchell said the county will not gain revenues from the short-term rental houses by increasing taxes to 40%.

"Without a change in the state Constitution, that will not happen," he said, adding that he took an oath to uphold the law. "We are 100% in compliance with state law as verified by the Comptroller."

Mitchell said his office requires property owners of short-term rental houses to sign an affidavit about a second home qualifying at the 25% residential rate.

The incumbent property assessor also said the county needs to be careful about higher tax rates that contribute to the rising costs of homes and lack of affordable housing.

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Candidates differ on tax breaks for senior citizens

Mitchell said his one of goals include changing statewide policy on taxes. He's hopeful the Tennessee General Assembly will agree to exempt senior citizens who have owned homes for at least 20 years from paying property taxes.

“They’ve already built their communities through paying their property taxes," said Mitchell, adding that the state has sufficient surplus revenue to reimburse the local governments for the proposed tax exemptions for senior citizens. "They have earned the right to have relief from onerous property taxes."

Gammon described the tax exemption proposal as a "smoke screen." He contends the existing policies offering tax relief and tax freeze from future property tax hikes are sufficient for senior citizens.

Senior citizens should still pay property taxes that fund schools and government services for their grandchildren, Gammon said. He also worries about the impact of lost revenues if an exemption for seniors is passed.

"I'm a senior citizen also," he said, noting he still earns compensation from a pension, Social Security and Medicare benefits and through work as a self-employed private investigator. "We need to pay our fair share."

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Candidates tout management experience

Another issue involves the management of the 30-member Property Assessor's Office staff.

Prior to Mitchell's election in 2012, he owned and operated Nashville's Shelter Insurance Agency for 15 years and won recognition from the Nashville Scene in a "Best of Nashville" category. He had one part-time employee.

"I handled the entire agency operations myself," Mitchell said. He also served as a men's jewelry buyer for Service Merchandise, where he was "in charge of $15 million in inventory."

Gammon touts his upper management experience with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, where he was a second-in-command chief deputy for 17 years and third-in-command deputy chief for five years. He oversaw more than 500 employees, including those watching over a jail inmate population that typically ranged from 800-900.

Gammon had a 38-year career with the Sheriff's Office.

Prior to that, he served as a military police officer during a three-year active-duty Army career and another six years with the Tennessee Army National Guard.

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Gammon, Mitchell each back decent pay for staff

One of Gammon's priorities is ensuring that property assessor employees have proper and fair pay, he said.

"Take care of them," Gammon said. "I’m going to have their back, and they're going to have my back."

Mitchell contends he pays his employees better than what they'd earn working for other county offices.

"I work extremely hard to make sure the employees in the assessor’s office are compensated fairly and accurately," Mitchell said. "We have our own pay scale. We know the demands of their jobs. And the only thing that limits our our ability to pay them is the County Commission giving us the funding, and I fight ever year for it."

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Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow his tweets on the X social media platform @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

Who's qualified for 2024 elections

• Rutherford County Property Assessor: Rob Mitchell, a Republican incumbent; Virgil Gammon, Republican

• Rutherford County Highway Superintendent: Greg Brooks, a Republican incumbent;

• Rutherford County Board of Education Zone 2: Stan Vaught, Republican; Nicholas Rourke, Republican; Robert Brooks, independent; John Duncan, independent

• Rutherford County Board of Education Zone 3: Caleb Tidwell, incumbent Republican; Timothy Holden, Republican; Tiffany Fee, Democrat; Lorri Johnson, independent

• Rutherford County Board of Education Zone 5: Claire Maxwell, Republican incumbent;

• Rutherford County Board of Education Zone 6: William "Butch" Vaughn, Republican; Chase Williams, Republican

• Murfreesboro City School Board (elected at large for four seats), and all who qualified are independent candidates: George "Butch" Campbell, incumbent; Jimmy Richardson III, incumbent; David Settles, incumbent; Jeanette West-Price

Source: Rutherford County Election Commission

2024 Election dates

• March 5: Primary for U.S. President, Rutherford County property assessor and highway superintendent, and seats for the county and Murfreesboro school boards

• Aug. 1: election for county and Murfreesboro offices and primaries for state and federal offices

• Nov. 5: Election Day for president, and other offices for federal, state, Smyrna, La Vergne and Eagleville governments

Source: Rutherford County Election Commission

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rutherford Property Assessor candidates tout differing views on issues