The World According to Oatney

Another real estate offer

I had an extremely busy day yesterday, much of it spent house hunting. We did find another house on which we made an offer, and it was a really good offer (more than what was being asked) on a fine house with lovely wooden siding and a huge garage and a garden-and several blackberry vines.

Since I prefer home-grown vegetables and fruits, the ability to garden and grow them en masse is a blessing. I am sure that if we get this house will will enjoy it thoroughly. Like the last house where we were hosed on a good offer, this house is also in Newport. In house hunting today, I may have inadvertantly uncovered a great political issue: Unusually high property taxes in Cocke County.

Many of you are saying: "But Oatney, it is Cocke County-land and property is nearly all they can tax, otherwise there would be no services." That's true enough, but my retort to that would be: "It is Cocke County-what services?" Newport is a town of 7,500 people. If we move to this house, you could be from my front door to the middle of downtown in less than five minutes. There is no public transit, I suspect because the City of Newport sees no need and never has-they would be correct in that assessment, there is no need and likely never will be. The only services of warrant are Cocke County Schools and the Cocke County Library-water and sewer through Newport can't be as expensive as the city charges in taxes. How do I know this? White Pine in Jefferson County is also a small town. Smaller than Newport, true, but it has water and sewer and all of the necessary city public utilities-its city taxes are nearly negligible.

Perhaps high taxes could be a great political uniter, but it could be an interesting political issue nonetheless.

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 6:55 AM