DeKalb May Local Option Sales Tax Report
by: Dwayne PageJun 20, 2025
DeKalb County’s local option sales tax collections for May, 2025 were up significantly compared to the same month last year but were off a bit from April 2025.
According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, DeKalb County collected $222,504 in local option sales taxes in May 2025, up from $175,278 in May 2024 but down from April’s number of $226,958.
Smithville’s collections for May were $422,648, better than $397,525 in May 2024 but down from $429,764 in April.
Alexandria’s local option sales tax collections stood at $36,980 in May, up from $29,309 in May 2024 but down significantly from $56,812 in April.
Dowell town’s collections for May were $4,193, an increase from $3,499 in May 2024 and slightly better than $4,030 in April.
Collections in Liberty stood at $16,396 in May, down from the $18,367 taken in during May 2024 and well under April’s collections of $30,206.
Net collections for the county and cities combined in May were $702,724, better than the $623,979 shown for May 2024 but below April’s number of $747,771.
May collections reflect activity for the previous month.
Smithville’s Jamboree Launches with July 3rd Kick-Off at Evins Park
by: Dwayne PageJun 20, 2025
The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce and the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree Board invite the public to a spirited evening of music and dance as the 2025 Jamboree celebrations begin with a Kick-Off Party on Thursday, July 3rd, at Evins Park in downtown Smithville—generously sponsored by Farmhouse Realty and Studio 105.
Evins Park, located across from Justin Potter Library and the Smithville Post Office, will serve as the festive backdrop for this community celebration drenched in red, white, and blue pride.
Event Schedule 6:00 PM – The Smithville Community Chorus, under the skillful direction of longtime director Faye Fuqua, will deliver a moving patriotic concert. Immediately Following – Six square dance teams, led by Smithville’s own Square-Dancing Queen, Mary Ann Puckett, will take the stage with lively, crowd-pleasing performances by the Old-Time Dance Club.
Dance Teams:
·Smithville Select
·DeKalb Dancin’ Delights
·Center Hill Hoedown
·Caney Fork Circle Eights
·Ragland Bottom Roundup
·Little Liberty (making their debut this year)
Thanks to Farmhouse Realty’s commitment to community values and Studio 105’s creative dedication to local arts, this night will sparkle with hometown energy and Appalachian tradition.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and gather friends and family for an evening that sets the tone for a festival rooted in heritage and heart. Parking is available at the former Smithville Review parking lot, located at 106 So. 1st St., Smithville.
The Jamboree You Love Just Keeps Getting Better! Come be part of the tradition Thursday, July 3rd, at 6 PM for the Jamboree Community Launch Party. Let the music begin!
For more information, visit smithvillejamboree.com or www.visitdekalbtn.com.
Alexandria has new alderman
by: Dwayne PageJun 19, 2025
Alexandria has another new Alderman. Debbie Fisher was appointed by the Alexandria Town Council during Tuesday night’s regular monthly meeting. She was then sworn into office by City Recorder Jessica Howard.
Fisher succeeds former Alderman Jeff Ford who resigned that position to accept the mayor appointment last week.
Aldermen David Cripps and Sherry Tubbs voted for Fisher while Aldermen Bobby Simpson and Luke Prichard passed. Mayor Ford cast the tie breaking vote in favor of Fisher.
Fisher said she is honored to be selected to serve the Town of Alexandria.
“I live on West Main Street and have since the fall of 2015. I spent 28 years with the Wilson County government in the finance department and 12 of those years I was the assistant finance director and the rest of my time there I was the insurance manager and risk manager for the whole county. I worked with all the county departments. My background is with county government, but I am hoping my county background can help here. I’m hoping to be helpful,” said Fisher.
The monthly regular city meeting was held a week earlier than normal due to the fair coming up next week.
In other business, the aldermen for budgetary reasons voted to eliminate two city hall positions held by financial officer Rhonda Conatser and part time water clerk Amber Ahlgard but to pay them through July.
“One of the things we are struggling with is our budget,” said Alderman Sherry Tubbs.” There was a lot of hiring and promises of more money that we could not afford. We hired a new lady Amber Ahlgard two months ago, but her position is one we will have to do away with right now. We will also need to let Rhonda go.
She has tried and done a great job but was not given the tools meant for the job. We do need a CMFO (certified municipal finance officer) but we will have to hire one already trained. I’m told MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) will advertise for us to find a CMFO,” said Alderman Tubbs.
The aldermen adopted a continuing budget resolution to keep city government operating past July 1 until a new budget is adopted.
When asked during public comments, Mayor Ford announced that the city is perhaps moving closer to hiring a city attorney. “We interviewed an attorney today (Tuesday). They are discussing it, and we are discussing it”, said Mayor Ford.
Earlier this month, the Aldermen adopted an ordinance to authorize the city to collect a $5.00 fee for both written and electronic citations prepared by a law enforcement officer, according to TCA § 55-10-207. However, once a city adopts such a fee, the ability to collect it must sunset five years from the ordinance’s adoption.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, the aldermen approved a police department request to spend $5,478 for the purchase and installation of the needed printers and equipment for city police patrol cars to support the e-citation system.
The $5.00 fee received must be apportioned as follows:
(1) $1.00 of such fee will be retained by the city court clerk; and
(2) $4.00 of such fee will be transmitted on a monthly basis by the city court clerk to the law enforcement agency that prepared the traffic citation that resulted in a plea of guilty, or nolo contendere, or a guilty judgment.
The law enforcement portion shall be accounted for in a special revenue fund of said law enforcement agency and may be used only for the following purposes:
(1) Electronic citation system and program related expenditures; and
(2) Related expenditures by the local law enforcement agency for technology, equipment, repairs, replacement and training to maintain electronic citation programs.
However, the clerk’s portion shall be used for computer hardware purchases, usual and necessary computer related expenses, or replacement, and may not revert to the general fund at the end of a budget year if unexpended.
During public comments, one city resident asked if funds were able to “stop doing band aids when it comes to roads in this town (street repairs)”
“Roads are very pricey, and we don’t know where we are on the budget,” said Mayor Ford. “The town has been operating basically off of the bank account balances since last August. We are putting our budget back together so we will be looking at that (roads). Just listening to the public, the people of this town as far as I view, they treasure trash pick-up, and they don’t like potholes. There may be a few other things that you guys are big on but that’s what makes it on Facebook, social media, and the public square. That is certainly things that we as a board will look at,” said Mayor Ford.
The alderman set Saturday, October 4 as the date for Ole Timers Day at the request of a business owner so plans can be made now. The event will start at 9 a.m.
In the future, Mayor Ford said he would like to get reports from the business community, seniors, and maybe even the fair board to keep the city in the loop on what they are doing. He said it’s an open invite but not required.