Spring Hill Aldermen ponder city's future

Board plans daylong meeting to examine city's future
Possible property tax among retreat topics
The Tennessean• May 14, 2008
SPRING HILL — The city's future — and its parks, projects, streets and the possibility of resurrecting the property tax — will be hashed out at a retreat later this month for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
"It's good for the board to get together and talk about what we see as priorities," Mayor Danny Leverette said. "We can't look at Spring Hill as a city of 7,000 people anymore. We've grown to about 25,000 in the last eight years. It's time to sit down and talk about what we all want for our city. We won't all be lock-step on a monthly basis, but it will be helpful to better understand each other."
The May 24 retreat at Lipscomb University will also be educational for Spring Hill's new city administrator and finance director, Kenneth Weaver and Jim Smith, respectively.
Alderman Rick Graham, chairman of the city's Finance Committee, said it's not likely the city can continue without a property tax given the predicament it faces; building fees are no longer sufficient to support the budget.
The board eliminated the city property tax rate of 19 cents per $100 of assessed value in August 2005.
Leverette said people he has talked to are starting to understand that the board faces some difficult decisions.
"I think it is paramount that people will be able to see how their money is being spent," he said.
"They need to be able to see a return for their investment, right out of the gate."