CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville City Council has rejected a proposed annual budget that would have included a 24-cent property tax increase, lowered Thursday night from its initial 31 cents.
Also at the meeting, several council members shared concerns about the budget process, transparency, and what’s unfolding with the Ajax Turner Senior Center.
At the beginning of May, the City of Clarksville released the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget, and it included a 34% property tax rate increase.
At the end of May, the City of Clarksville addressed why the increase is needed, which included the city’s deputy CFO saying that as the city has focused on avoiding a property tax rate increase, they have lost sight of the need to keep the budget structurally sound.
Concerns over budget process, transparency
Councilperson Eric Claunch said that after reviewing the budget, he recently submitted proposed budget amendments to the CFO, and only hours later, he began receiving calls, one after another. “With very specific information about the amendments that I turned in prior to today to show faith in the process,” he said. “That same faith was not offered.
“I will not speculate on why I received specific calls about specific dollar amounts that I turned in to the CFO for the budget; I also understand that was a courteous thing that I did not have to do. I could have brought them here tonight and not turned them in.”
Claunch said he is a no-vote with how the budget is currently proposed until the City Council is able to have real conversations about the dollar amounts being moved.
‘This should concern every member of this body and the public’
Councilwoman Ambar Marquis said she had a similar experience. “I had amendments, and it seems like a similar story,” she said. “I’m also a no-vote on this budget. You see, this budget asks taxpayers to pay more while providing less transparency than they deserve. It asks us to approve millions of dollars in spending while significant questions remain unanswered.
“It asks us to trust a process that, frankly, doesn’t deserve that trust. Over the last several months I’ve poured myself into financial reports for the city that are published online trying to understand what this position is prior to this budget.”
| PREVIOUSLY: ‘It is time that we quit eating steak on a bologna budget’: Clarksville council on budget, tax hike
Marquis said she submitted her amendments earlier this week, and almost immediately, her amendments made their way through City Hall and to members of the public. “I suspect based off the conversations that I had with members of the public that even some of the members up here have my amendments,” she said.
“This was followed by many calls, many messages, and lobbying efforts directed against my proposals, with very specific information,” she said. “This should concern every member of this body and the public. This budget should be conducted openly, honestly and transparently. Instead, what I have witnessed is a coordinated effort to defend the status quo, rather than to address the legitimate concerns that have been raised.”
Significant changes to budget buried in document
Marquis said throughout this year’s budget process, information about important changes has only surfaced after she asked specific questions. “Specific allocations, transfers, financial decisions are often not presented openly for discussion, instead, they are discovered through review, then explained afterwards. That shouldn’t be it; transparency shouldn’t depend on whether a council member happens to notice something then ask about it.
“The public should not have to rely on elected officials stumbling across questionable entries in order to understand how their money is being managed. If funds are being shifted, priorities are being changed, projects are being restructured, those conversations should happen in the open.”
Marquis said she’s tired of hearing the only solution is raising taxes and said the city does not have a revenue problem nearly as much as it has priority problem. “We continue discussing new spending obligations, new debt, new projects, while refusing to have a conversation about efficiency, accountability and reform,” she said.
“We continue to approve expenditures while basic questions about performance and outcomes go unanswered. We continue asking taxpayers for more while demanding very little from departments that repetitively fail to meet expectations. That is not sustainable.”
Marquis said while some departments have performed exceptionally well and deserve to be recognized, there are others who have demonstrated poor stewardship of taxpayer resources and continue to operate as though accountability is optional. “And it is not,” she said. “If a department consistently fails to deliver results, misses targets, ignores concerns or mismanages resources, there should be consequences.”
Marquis said the budget before them is inflated, lacks efficient transparency, and relies too heavily on taxpayers to solve the problems.
Ajax Turner Senior Center: ‘I think we need to keep that center as a nonprofit’
Councilwoman Wanda Smith presented an amendment regarding plans to remove funds for the Ajax Turner Senior Center and moving them to Parks and Recreation.
“It is a nonprofit organization, and it costs less to operate as a nonprofit. $800,000 is the funds that we gave every year to the Senior Citizen Center so they can operate,” Smith said. “But if it’s in the hands of the city, it costs us almost $1.2 million. That’s a difference of $400,000. So, I’m asking us to put the money back into the Senior Citizen Center. We can fix the leadership – that’s what some had concerns about.”
Councilman Travis Holleman pointed out that a city takeover comes with liability problems.
“As many accidents as the senior center has had – citizens falling, medical issues – everybody likes to sue the city. We all know that. So, if we take over, I think that will open up floodgates for lawsuits. In that effect, I do think that it’s a better deal to have the senior center under Ajax Turner, because they assume the liability, and on top of that we are saving money.”
| MORE: Ajax Turner Senior Center to close June 15 to pack for move, closed-door meetings questioned
Councilwoman Stacey Streetman said in the past, the City of Clarksville paid the annual amount of $800,000 because they were located in a city building. “It’s already been said they are not going to be in our building going forward starting July 1,” Streetman said.
“If anyone has been paying attention, it has been absolutely chaotic over there over the last few weeks. We’re talking about giving $800,000 to the Ajax Turner Senior Center that won’t have anything to do with us. We are not giving our local tax dollars to other nonprofits. I’m sure there are plenty of nonprofits out there that would love to have it.”
Streetman said the reason for the increase in spending is because of what they have to replace. She also said they are unaware if the center is currently on or off budget, because of the delay in quarterly reports.
“I just have concerns with handing over the $800,000,” she said. “If we take the $1.2 million away, we’re stopping the process for the senior center that the Parks and Recreation is trying to do there; leaving the adult daycare still closed. I’m not sure how that serves anybody in that population.”
Smith said that the city wouldn’t have to replace anything if the city wasn’t terminating the lease. “We wouldn’t have to replace anything if this hadn’t happened,” she said.
‘When the government takes something over, we wind up messing it up’
Councilman Tim Chandler asked, “If this is removed from the Parks and Recreation budget, what’s going to happen? I mean obviously, there will not be a center open. Then on the other hand, though, another question is about the name of the Ajax Turner Senior Center. Are we going to have a legal fight over that, because they have it under grant money. Do we actually own that? No, because it’s not our grant.”
Chandler said he has never seen a more overwhelming disappointment in Clarksville throughout his 71 years. “They don’t want us to take it over,” he said. “To be honest with you about it, I don’t care if it’s the city, the county, the state or the federal government, most of the time when the government takes something over, we wind up messing it up.”
Chandler said he’s in favor of the amendment and that he’s received far more communications with residents that oppose Parks and Recreation taking over the center than those who support it.
Claunch asked why both sides can’t just work together and come up with a solution that benefits everyone, for a center that has been on Clark Street for 50 years.
Councilman Jimmy Brown asked Mayor Pitts if the amendment were to pass, what about the terminated lease for the senior center. Pitts said if that were to be the case, the city would have to bring the lease back to the City Council for approval.
Clarksville Now has reached out to the City of Clarksville to clarify what statute, ordinance or part of the city charter allowed Pitts to terminate the lease without council approval.
Pitts addresses senior center and concerns over last 3 years
Pitts then addressed the council and those in attendance saying, “I didn’t arrive at the decision to cancel and terminate the lease overnight. It has taken me three years,” he said. “The Police Department has been called to the center several times over the past few weeks and three times over the last week.
“Another former director addressed the council and said the mayor is just listening to those that want to complain. Doggone right I am; that’s my job. I submit that that is my job, and I’ll continue to do my job until the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31 of this year.”
Pitts said he previously met with the board and four of the past five executive directors to discuss major concerns over the past three years, which includes retaliation against a staff member who happened to complain about a director’s spouse interfering with her job. He said she also complained about sexual harassment in the workplace and that she was terminated.
“The former director of the adult day center was terminated – the only person qualified and approved by the state to operate the adult day center. What is the result? The premature closing of the adult day center, and there’s 15 families in the city that are without day services right now for their loved ones who have cognitive challenges. One person had to quit her job because of the lack of services.”
Pitts also said there are accounting irregularities in the billing of services of the adult day center, and the nonprofit status was suspended for months due to the “failure of filing reports.”
“Folks, that is fertile ground for legal action, and we’ll be complicit if we don’t address it,” Pitts said. “We have an obligation to make sure it’s run and run right, because we are spending taxpayer money.”
He said the amendment before the City Council is wrong and does not serve the best interests of the community, the city, the taxpayers but especially the seniors who are served.
The amendment was voted down 2-11 with only Smith and Holleman voting in favor.
Amendments help reduce proposed tax rate to $1.16
Streetman introduced several budget amendments, with her first being a proposal to remove redundant fleet tracking equipment in the city’s IT budget. The proposal meant the city saving $18,000, and the amendment was approved 9-4.
Another Streetman amendment approved was a reduction in the legislative administration budget by more than $17,000. The council approved the motion 11-2.
The third Streetman amendment that was approved by the council dealt with the removal of $524,800 from various departments. It was approved 8-5.
After a short recess, the council approved Brown’s amendment to remove two proposed positions within Building and Codes. It was approved 7-6.
Streetman introduced one last amendment to lower the proposed property tax rate to $1.16 instead of $1.23 based off the amendments approved, and a change in the fund balance policy. The amendment was approved 10-3. That would make the tax increase 24 cents instead of 31.
First reading voted down 2-11, what’s next
Following the amendments, the council disapproved the first reading of the budget 2-11 vote. Voting in favor of the budget were Streetman and Pitts.
Next up, the council will meet Thursday, June 18. Since they disapproved the first reading, another special session will have to be scheduled and held before the end of the month.
When asked what happens if a budget isn’t approved by the end of June, City CFO Christen Wilcox said that according to city code, the City Council would have to continue to meet until a budget has been approved.
“Also, after June 30, our budget will stay the same as it is currently right now. So, our 2026-27 budget would become what is our 2025-26 budget at the moment,” she said.
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