Knoxville, TN (Story courtesy of WVLT) – Knoxville City Council met Tuesday night and discussed several topics, including Mayor Indya Kincannon’s proposed $499 million net budget.
Among the top items within the budget are an unchanged property tax rate, public safety accounting for more than 20% of the proposed budget to cover salaries and benefits for police officers and firefighters, affordable housing, improvements to parks and recreation facilities and Transforming Western, a multi-year investment to create hundreds of affordable houses.
In Tuesday night’s meeting, the city council approved the first of two readings for the proposed net budget. With a legislative budget hearing and public hearing slated for May 7, council will vote on a second reading of the budget May 26.
As for other items approved during the meeting, a $17 million grant will fund safety improvements on a 0.75-mile stretch of Chapman Highway between Blount Avenue and Woodlawn Pike. It will create a shared bicycle and pedestrian pathway that’s separated from motorized vehicles, landscaped medians and enhanced pedestrian crossings at key intersections. A plan to partner with the Downtown Knoxville Alliance to purchase a small parcel at 314 Union Ave. near Krutch Park for $450,000 was also approved.
