January 30 Livestock Forage Program Signup Deadline Has Arrived

January 30, 2025
By:

Do you have cattle, sheep, goats, or equine animals? If so, you could be eligible to receive payment from the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency. According to Donny Green, County Executive Director, signup for the Livestock Forage Program will end January 30, 2025.

The Livestock Forage Assistance Program (LFP) was approved on September 24, 2024 for DeKalb and Cannon counties due to recent and extreme drought conditions that have affected livestock grazing during the 2024 normal grazing period. LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock on land with permanent vegetative cover or planted specifically for grazing.

Since the LFP signup began in October 2024, just over 400 livestock producers in DeKalb and Cannon counties have been approved and received $887,909.

If you are a livestock producer and have not filed your LFP application since the signup period began in early October, please visit the FSA office in Smithville to file your application before the January 30, 2025 deadline. There are no approval provisions for late filed LFP applications.

For more information, call the office at 615-597-8225, Ext. 2, or come by the Smithville USDA Service Center located at 647 Bright Hill Rd., Smithville, Tennessee. The Farm Service Agency’s office hours are 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

January 30, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County property taxpayers have a month to pay their 2024 county property taxes.

2024 Property taxes are due and payable through February 28, 2025 before any interest becomes due on March 1, 2025. Interest will accrue on March 1, 2025 @ 1.5% per month. If you choose to mail in your tax payment, it must be postmarked on or prior to February 28, 2025 to avoid any accrued interest.

Trustee Sean Driver reported to the county commission Monday night that as of Monday 55.94% had been collected of the $16.5 million in 2024 DeKalb County property taxes to be collected by February 28, 2025 which includes property, residential, commercial, personal, and public utility taxes.

“For prior year 2023 taxes, we were responsible for $12.9 million and at this time we still have about $282,000 out. We are at 97.81% collected. We have notices ready to go out Friday, January 31 that gives individuals that have not paid their 2023 taxes another chance to pay those before April 1, 2025. I do have to relinquish those that are unpaid to the Clerk and Master April 1, 2025.

The Trustee’s office offers up to 6 different options to pay your property taxes:

1. Come in person to the office to pay

2. Mail in your payment

3. Pay online @ www.tennesseetrustee.org, then select DeKalb and follow the instructions to the next screens – The Vendor BIS/I3 Verticals accepts Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or American Express – The Vendor convenience fee of 2.75% on the total tax bill will apply and fees are subject to change using Credit/Debit Cards. Also, a $2.75 fee will be assessed on an E-CHECK payment of any amount. DeKalb County does not collect any online payment fees.

4. A QR (Quick Response Code) is also on your notice to access the website with your I-phone, smartphone, etc. @ www.tennesseetrustee.org

5 A Dropbox is located on the outside of the building at the County Complex (County Offices Section) for your convenience after hours and/or weekends.

6. Partial Payments are accepted, and you the taxpayer sets the amount to pay until full payment is satisfied.

Eligibility for Property Tax Relief:

The State of Tennessee offers qualified property owners Tax Relief on property taxes. This program was implemented in 1973 and the program has a few changes every year. At this time, DeKalb County has 431 applicants on the program for 2024. So, as a property owner for 2024, you can qualify for Tax Relief if:

(A) Your DeKalb County home is your primary residence,

(B) You are 65 years old (or older) on or before December 31, 2024, or

(C) You are under 65 years of age with a totally and permanently disability per SSA or another qualifying agency, and last

(D) Your 2023 Annual Income of all living owners on the deed and their spouses that DID NOT exceed $36,370.00.

If the State of Tennessee qualifies you for Tax Relief, then you can receive a rebate up to $134.00 for the 2024 tax year. You must pay your 2024 tax bill IN FULL to start the application process. Applications are handled, executed, and sent to the State of Tennessee by the Trustee’s office.

The State of Tennessee also offers Tax Relief to Disabled Veterans and the Surviving Spouses of a Disabled Veteran. You must provide proof from the Veteran’s Administration that you have a total and permanent disability rating that was service connected. You and your spouse will NOT have to report any amount of income to apply as a disabled veteran or the widow/er of a disabled veteran. If the State of Tennessee qualifies you as a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran, then you can receive a rebate up to $740.00 for 2024.

Meanwhile, DeKalb County has a “Tax Freeze” program authorized by the state and Trustee Driver explains the qualifications for that.

‘TAX FREEZE’

• Established through voters in the State of Tennessee through a referendum passage in 2007

•The Program is only for ELDERLY – 65 years or older

•Income Limit (2023 Annual Income) is $36,370.00. All owners on the property

•Can only have Tax Freeze on your primary/principal residence

•The TAX AMOUNT is frozen. The property value, assessment, and tax rate are Not Frozen.

•You can apply or have both Tax Relief and Tax Freeze.

•Applications are administered and executed by the Trustee’s office.

•There are acreage limits that can be frozen.

The Trustee’s office is accepting applications for the Tax Relief & Tax Freeze Programs through April 5, 2025. If you would like to inquire more about a possible Tax Relief for property taxes or about the Tax Freeze Program, come by the County Complex in the Trustee’s office @ 732 S. Congress Blvd – Room 103, Smithville, TN 37166 or call @ 615-597-5176.

January 30, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

Will they, or won’t they?

The Alexandria Mayor and Aldermen are scheduled to meet Friday night, January 31 at city hall and on the agenda is the “local sales tax” issue.

A decision was expected December 17 by the mayor and aldermen on whether they would extend the town’s local option sales tax agreement with the county through the year 2055 to help support long term debt payment on new school construction as the other three municipalities have done but there was no vote, because there was no meeting due to the lack of a quorum.

This month’s meeting, set for Tuesday, January 28, was postponed until Thursday night, January 30 but then delayed again until Friday night, January 31 at 7 p.m. at city hall

Alexandria has not yet publicly signaled whether it will or won’t extend its sales tax agreement. The county’s self-imposed January 1 deadline to hear from Alexandria was extended to February 1, 2025.

Under the existing sales tax agreements with the county, which are set to expire in 12 years on July 16, 2037, the four cities, Smithville, Alexandria, Liberty, and Dowelltown turn over to the county for schools a greater percentage of their local option sales tax collections than they would otherwise be required to do. By law, the municipalities must contribute 50% of their sales tax money to the county for schools but by agreement, since 1968, the towns give basically two thirds of their share and all that sales tax money goes into what is called the Local Purpose Tax Fund for Schools to help fund school operation and debt. Officials say the county must be able to count on that extra sales tax money coming in from the cities over the life of a 30-year bond up to $55 million in order to cover the costs of a new school without having to use or raise property taxes to fund it.

All five county schools have benefitted over the years from this local purpose sales tax fund which has helped support various school construction and renovation projects including at DeKalb West School. In fact the debt has apparently yet to be retired on the Tornado Safe classroom addition project which was completed over 10 years ago. The construction debt on Northside Elementary School was paid off only recently, within the last two or three years.

Meanwhile the Alexandria city meeting agenda for January also includes the following:

*Mayor Beth Tripp opening the meeting

*Roll Call

*Prayer and Pledge

*Approval of previous meeting minutes

*Zoning-second and final reading

*County Mayor Matt Adcock (scheduled to speak)

*Open floor for residents (public comment)

*Local Sales Tax

*Department monthly reports (mayor, fire, police, streets, financial, attorney)

*Unfinished business

*New business- Seay Church, Senior Citizens Center

*Any other business properly submitted by board members

*Adjourn

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