Cumberland County’s approved budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year features no tax increase.
The tax rate will remain at $1.135 per $100 of assessed value. Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster said the tax rate has not changed in Cumberland County for nearly a decade.
“We fund the things we need first and then if we can’t afford it, we don’t spend it,” Foster said. “And the flip side of that, also the other side, is the income over the years, there has been a significant increase in income on the sales tax side. Now that has steadied off now, but that was good for all the counties.”
Foster said expenditures, including funding for the school system, are an estimated $177 million. The county added several new positions as well as capital expenses.
“There were some positions added to solid waste and a few other judicial-type clerk positions that were added as well,” Foster said. “A lot of capital spending that was needed with ambulances, sheriff’s cars, backhoes, equipment, things like that. Significant upgrade to our digital communication system. Lots of needs met with this budget.”
Foster said the most challenging part of the budget was making sure there were enough funds for pay raises and a new salary scale. The budget includes an additional six percent raise for county employees, as the second half of the 12 percent raise the county had aimed for after conducting a pay study. Foster said being able to follow through with the raises and improve the county’s pay scale will help with employee retention.
“Well, you know if you got a salary scale that after all these years of funding increases is still 12 percent behind, you can imagine the turnover that creates,” Foster said. “And you know that’s bad on the taxpayer as well, If you have to continually retrain, you have officers that can be on the road, you’ve got paramedics that you can’t get on the road, and you’ve got people that are being trained in all these positions, and you never have that expertise that stays in there that can provide the things that we need.”
Foster said he does not expect to have any major capital projects during this budget cycle. Foster said Cumberland County is one of the lowest tax counties in the state of Tennessee. Foster said overall, he feels good about the budget.
