CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City Council adopted the 2025 fiscal year budget Tuesday night in a close 7-6 vote. The approval comes after weeks of discussion, which continued on Tuesday night, with a number of proposed amendments from council members.

Councilperson Wanda Allen proposed the city tax rate to be set at $0.86 to match the budget from fiscal year 2024 instead of the proposed $0.88 per $100 of assessed value. However, she was met by opposition due to the possible budgets cuts it would entail.

Councilperson Stacey Streetman asked for City CFO Laurie Matta to speak. Matta said her main concern with the amendment would be city departments not having enough funding to accomplish their new fiscal year goals. “Every year, department needs are different,” Matta said. She used the Clarksville Police Department as an example.

Matta said for fiscal year 2024’s budget, CPD had new hires that didn’t start working until the end of January. “In FY 2024’s budget, there is only six months’ worth of their salary in there, and for FY 2025 I would have to make sure we have enough to cover them for the entire year.” Matta also said she’s concerned over the funding for ballistic vests if they were needed to be replaced over the next fiscal year, as well as body worn cameras and their license renewals, which increase over time due to inflation.

The amendment to reduce the proposed tax rate was voted down 4-9.

General wage increase reduction

Councilperson Deanna McLaughlin reintroduced her amendment to reduce a proposed general wage increase for city employees from 5% to 3%.

“The rationale behind this, although it would be nice to get everybody a significant wage increase, the 5% is basically $3.9 million of our tax increase,” McLaughlin previously said. “The 3% is a compromise … and it should save us a little over $2 million. Last year, if you all remember, we did do wage increases at budget time, and then we were asked to come back and do additional wage increases to get the pay scales up per market.”

McLaughlin’s amendment was voted down 5-8.

Moving Frosty Morn’s $32 million elsewhere

Councilperson Ambar Marquis introduced an amendment that would reallocate $32 million worth of funding for the renovation of the Frosty Morn building in the Red River District to two other projects: the athletic complex being developed off Exit 8 and Mason Rudolph improvements, once it’s future has been decided.

An aerial view of the Exit 8 Athletic Complex, showing the roads near completion and the Red River at top. (City of Clarksville, contributed)

Marquis said at the last council meeting the Frosty Morn funds have been sitting there for years and aren’t being utilized, at a time when the city has other needs. Marquis said the reallocation of funds would save the city millions of dollars. She said the city could still utilize the Frosty Morn site in a way that benefits the community, suggesting partnering with the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council to bring a grocery store to the site instead.

When asked what the current plan for Frosty Morn is, Mayor Joe Pitts said, “The sole purpose is to provide amenities to the Red River Neighborhood community and the surrounding communities. As we know, that neighborhood is quickly becoming gentrified.

“If we sell this property, in addition to the development of the Vulcan property, they’re getting squeezed on one side by a state university and this side by a private development. So, my intent is to develop this as a community gathering space, and it will have multiple uses. It will have event space, food truck court, an outdoor venue, primarily for the community to use.”

Pitts added they’ve also spoken with a medical and dental provider that may be interested in establishing a clinic as part of the project. “I would caution us against abandoning this project. There’s a lot of community interest in seeing this building restored,” Pitts said. “I think it would be an error to abandon this project at this point.”

With the council split on what to do, the amendment was narrowly voted down 6-6, with councilperson Karen Reynolds abstaining.

Fiscal year 2025 budget totals

The budget passed 7-6. Voting yes were Pitts, Brian Zacharias, McLaughlin, Wanda Smith, Streetman, Joe Shakeenab and Keri Lovato. Voting no were Dajuan Little, Wallace Redd, Marquis, Travis Holleman, Allen and Reynolds.

The full city budget is valued at more than $885 million, according to a city news release sent out after the meeting.

The City of Clarksville expects to end fiscal year 2023-24 in a better financial position than originally projected.

“We originally projected use of $14.6 million of fund balance in fiscal 2024 for one-time expenses, and we are only going to use $10.2 million,” Matta said in the release. Matta also emphasized that the fund balance exists for continuity of city operations and to mitigate financial risk.

Twenty-two new positions have been funded in the 2025 fiscal year budget, with 12 of those for the Clarksville Police Department and three each for Clarksville Fire Rescue and Building and Codes. Meanwhile, the Street Department, Finance and Revenue, Information Technology and Human Resources are all set to gain one new position. Clarksville Gas & Water and CDE Lightband will each add new positions.

As for the capital project budget for fiscal year 2025, the City of Clarksville has budgeted $108 million, with $25 million coming from grant funds and the other $83 million in new funding.

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