Housing Needs Being Answered
As business and industry continue to recover and grow in our community, the need for more local housing becomes increasingly apparent. We are fortunate to have great local builders like Carlyle (https://www.carlyleliving.net/) who has and will continue to serve our community for years to come. If we could replicate Carlyle 10X, we may could fill the need in Hamblen County.
As of late, we have seen additional builders committing to our area with the addition of Mitch Cox (https://mitchcox.com/) and a few others considering developments. It is the same concept as the Chamber lives by in shopping local, it is also important to live local. Living local commits you and your family to a community where you live, work and play. Living local supports your local infrastructure, schools and parks as those property taxes stay local instead of going into the coffers of the surrounding communities.
As we consider new industrial projects, we were looking at a property that straddled county lines. The company asked where they would be taxed. We told them they would be taxed by the neighboring county, at a .50 cent increase per $100 in the tax rate. The prospect asked why that community’s taxes were so much higher, yet the community offered little retail development, 1/3 of the available parks and “our employees will shop, eat and live in Hamblen County anyway.” My response was almost too simple, “Morristown and Hamblen County have planned properly, managed tax resources and invested in areas where the entire community could realize a return”.
The investment of housing growth in our community will not only support tax revenues and the ability to live local for our generation, but for generations to come.