CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – As the City of Clarksville and the City Council continue to work toward the passage of their FY 2026-27 budget, the city has released a statement on the overall budget process.

This comes after the first reading of the FY city budget has been voted down on three separate occasions. as council members have balked at proposed double-digit property tax rate increases.

“We are optimistic that this process will conclude in a way that serves the city’s, and tax-paying residents’, best interests,” said the release. “Like most of middle Tennessee and the Southeast region, Clarksville has uniquely experienced spiraling, unsolicited growth, and we need a budget in place that supports the needs of all city departments and the residents served by them.”

Reacting to growth, instead of keeping pace, costs more

The release said a budget is needed that keeps pace with and stays ahead of the steep growth curve. “In the long run, reacting to growth and providing patchwork solutions to challenging public safety or infrastructure issues and their required support services will only cost the city more than would be otherwise needed with the right fiscal planning, done now.”

The City of Clarksville said we cannot continue to “kick the can down the road” with respect to budgeting. “The city goes above and beyond the call of duty to operate efficiently now and is committed to striving for the best-possible efficiencies going forward,” said the release.

“However, given Clarksville’s current population growth rate, the resources now needed, to sustain at least the same level of operational efficiency well into the future, realistically exceed what has been needed in prior years. Inflationary pressures also factor into this.”

No excesses or ‘frivolous spending’ in city budget

The City of Clarksville said all departments within the city government work together cohesively, with a common goal of keeping the city’s residents and visitors safe, and served by basic municipal facilities, programs and services that the public verbally demands year-round.

“To that end, all city departments – and the employees of these departments who are also residents, neighbors, friends and community servants – are vitally important, and have to have the right fiscal support to accomplish their work.

“And, we have to make the City of Clarksville a place of employment that continues to attract and retain the best-qualified and skilled individuals out there. This requires a combined commitment to competitive pay and benefits, and the right work environment. We cannot and should not settle for less.”

The release said that are “no excesses in Clarksville City Government’s budget, no great surpluses, and no frivolous spending.” The city said what actually exists today throughout the City of Clarksville, budgetarily speaking, is quite to the contrary.

“Together, we will make the right choices and succeed in adopting a budget that works both for now, and the future of Clarksville,” the release said.

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