Last Edited: July 02, 2024 @ 2:12 pm

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TENN – In a special-called public meeting on June 21, 2024, the Montgomery County Budget Committee conducted a final review of the proposed 2024-2025 budget. After additional cuts, including the almost 30 million in reductions from previous budget meetings, the Budget Committee approved a budget to present before the full County Commission on July 8 at 4:30 p.m., with a proposed county property tax rate of $2.18. A public hearing will be held at 5 p.m. on July 15 followed by a special budget voting session at 6 p.m.

When the revaluation was completed in the spring of this year, property values in Montgomery County and across Middle Tennessee realized increases between 52.8% to 72.8%, with an average 64.5% increase for Montgomery County. The current tax rate for Montgomery County is $2.99, which was established in 2019. The certified tax rate from the State of Tennessee Board of Equalization set a revenue-neutral amount of $1.83 for Montgomery County.

If a proposed tax rate of $2.18 is approved by the County Commission, the average home valued at $346,000 will pay approximately $25 more per month. Each penny added to the tax rate is valued at $894,000. 

“One of our greatest challenges is that inflation for materials has increased by 22.88% since 2019. The Budget Committee spent many hours listening to presentations from every elected office and department. Our focus remains on education, infrastructure, and public safety and that is what we’ve done with this budget,” said Montgomery County Mayor Wes Golden.

The adjustments made by the Budget Committee during the budget process resulted in nearly 30 million in reductions from the proposed requests with more than 20 million in capital projects and another 10 million in personnel requests, reclassifications, and capital outlay.

“Adding any burden to our residents is not something anyone wants to do but we are not making good headway in paying down our debt at our current rate. To be good stewards of tax revenue we need to pay more than we owe, which requires making changes to the budget,” said Mayor Golden. 

It is important to note debt from the F&M Bank Arena is not funded through property taxes but through industrial pilot project funds and hotel/motel taxes.

To calculate individual county property tax amounts based on the proposed rate, plug in a property value along with the proposed rate of $2.18 using the example found at https://mcgtn.org/assessor/property-tax-and-proration-calculators on the Assessor of Property Office web page.

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Tenn. – Montgomery County Government offices are closed on Thursday, the Fourth of July Independence Day Holiday. County offices will reopen on Friday, July 5. 

For information on Montgomery County Government and services offered online, visit mcgtn.org.

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TN – Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue celebrated 14 newly certified firefighters on Tuesday evening at Civic Hall as family members and others attended to show their support. 

Montgomery County Mayor Golden told the new firefighters he was proud of them. “You are the ones who run into a fire to help when others run out. We appreciate what you stand for and what you do,” added Mayor Golden.

Fire Captain and Training Officer Kevin Falsetto followed expressing the importance of ethics in Montgomery County Fire Service while reading through the standard of ethics. 

“Everything you do now represents all of us. Be proud of your accomplishment to become certified, and hold high the standards of Montgomery County Firefighters,” expressed Falsetto.

The new firefighters came up individually to receive their certificates from Training Officer Captain Logan Face, their badge Deputy Chief Randy Steeley, and a fire service coin from Montgomery County Fire Chief Ed Baggett.

To become a volunteer firefighter with Montgomery County, candidates must complete 108 hours of training through the Tennessee State Fire Service & Codes Enforcement Academy over a 2-month period. Continuous Monthly training is required to maintain membership as a volunteer firefighter.

For information about Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Service, visit mcgtn.org.

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Caption: Back row left to right: Chief Ed Baggett, Training Officer Logan Face, Kevin LeBaron, Austin Lehmann, Patrick Shay, Doyle Vandament, Hunter Goodfellow, Albert Cabell, Rocco Santarsiera, Jack Whittaker, and Training Officer Kevin Falsetto.

Front row left to right: Deputy Chief Randy Steeley, David Moulton, Will Johnson, Jelissa Mandujano, Lilli Cobb, Nolan Brown, Jorja Forsberg, Sarah Morais, Mayor Wes Golden.

Not pictured are William Frisin, Jeffrey Louissaint, and Riley Drake.

Last Edited: May 31, 2024 @ 1:16 pm

The Montgomery County Veterans Service Organization and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4895 will hold the annual Flag Day ceremony on Friday, June 14 at 10 a.m. at VFW Post 4895, 1701 Haynes St., Clarksville. The public is invited to attend.                      

The ceremony is held to properly destroy—by burning—worn, damaged, or otherwise unserviceable American flags in a dignified and proper manner.

Damaged U.S. flags may be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Montgomery County Veterans Service Organization, 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 405, Clarksville, or at the VFW anytime during their business hours prior to the ceremony.

For more information, please call the MCVSO at 553-5173 or e-mail [email protected]. 

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Tenn. – Homeowners in Montgomery County have been contacting the County Register of Deeds Office about letters they have received from a “Clerk’s Property Office” with a Nashville, Tennessee address. The letter requests that consumers send a check or money order to a Clerk’s Office in St. Petersburg, Florida. The purpose of these letters is to make money, ($89 on average), for info that is free or less than $1 at your local Register of Deeds Office. While the letter may or may not contain accurate information regarding an individual’s property and contains a disclosure reading it is not endorsed, affiliated, or approved by a government agency and is not from a government agency and a copy of your deed may be obtained from your local county office for free or a lesser charge, it is important to note the correspondence is not from the Montgomery County Register of Deeds’ Office. 

“Our Office has a FREE Fraud Alert service at www.mylandalert.com, to assist with the early detection of property and mortgage fraud. We encourage our residents to sign up for this service especially since fraud comes in many forms. For example, identification impersonation can happen when someone steals your identity and uses it to transfer the property title to themselves or the impersonation is used to borrow money against a property. We want you to be protected. Signing up for the service is one way to help protect yourself and your property,” said Register of Deeds Julie Chadwick Runyon.

The Property Fraud Alert notification service alerts subscribers via email or text each time a document is recorded with their name on it. While this program cannot prevent fraud, it allows property owners an opportunity to take the appropriate actions early should they determine they have been the victim of possible fraudulent activity. 

“It is important to know that if a document meets the state’s recording requirements, my office is legally mandated to record it. That is why I am making every effort to educate Montgomery County residents about the potential threats and encourage Montgomery County residents to sign up for the free Fraud Alert service. While I cannot prevent fraud, I can work to help protect our people by deterring it,” added Runyon.

Please contact the Register of Deeds Office at 931-648-5713 or [email protected] for questions or a copy of your deed for anyone who can provide an address or the recording reference. The Register of Deeds team is here to assist the residents of Montgomery County. 

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Caption: Julie Chadwick Runyon explains the property fraud alert system to a resident couple who came by the office with concerns regarding the fraud alert.