Chairman Jeff Phillips and Mayor Joe Carr
Rutherford County approved Mayor Joe Carr’s proposed budget, which effectively balances the budget and does not include a property tax increase, by a vote of 21 - 0 today. The Rutherford County property tax assessment remains unchanged at $1.8762 per $100 of assessed value, still one of the lowest rates in Middle Tennessee.
Consistent with his conservative principles, Carr proposed a budget prioritizing targeted pay increases for public safety personnel at the Fire Department, Emergency Medical Service, and Sheriff’s Office. For the first time, the starting salary for certified officers at the Sheriff’s Office will be over $60,000.
“Raising the starting salary for certified and booking officers within the Sheriff’s Office was a priority of mine when putting together this year’s budget,” Carr said. “Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh and I, acknowledging the importance of this decision, began working to increase the starting compensation at the Sheriff’s Office in the fall of 2024.”
The budget also provides a pay increase for all county employees. Specifically, the Rutherford County pay table was lifted by 2% for all employees. In addition, employees with a year of service with the County will also receive an additional pay increase of 1.75%. This increase is in addition to the 4.25% increase County employees received in January 2025.
“With this budget we continue toward the goal of getting the County pay table in line with other counties and cities in Tennessee while at the same time avoiding property tax increases. I am very proud of the fact that this is the first time a Rutherford County Mayor has given pay raises to county employees three years in a row, with a balanced budget.” Carr said.
The budget included an increase in the Maintenance of Effort for the Rutherford County Schools of approximately $2.9 million from local revenue. The Rutherford County School operating budget represents approximately 67% of the total budget appropriations. The total budget as passed is $948,496,123.
“I want to thank the department heads for their willingness to create a budget void of excessive spending and increases,” Carr said. “As the county population continues to grow, the departments within the County continue to do more with less. This year’s budget took a stand firm approach with our conservative principles intact, as in previous years. These principles have led to Rutherford County being one of only two counties in Tennessee to receive a AAA bond rating from two major rating agencies.”
The full budget may be found at https://rutherfordcountytn.gov/budget_committee
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