The Baxter Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the first reading of the town’s 2026-2027 fiscal year budget Thursday night.
Mayor Danny Holmes said the board spent significant time reviewing the financial plan for the general, special revenue, and water and sewer funds. Holmes said the process of balancing the budget is never easy,
“I know y’all had a chance to look at the budget, and I know it was tough, and it always is tough, but I think we’ve come up with a pretty good budget for this year,” Holmes said.
Holmes said the biggest challenge is managing infrastructure needs resulting from rapid residential and commercial growth. The budget and tax rate ordinances will require a second reading and a public hearing before final adoption.
The board also authorized the issuance of capital outlay notes not to exceed $220,598.99 to fund road improvements. City Recorder Sharon Cariile said the town received a bid from one bank for a 10-year term at a 4.25 percent interest rate to cover Baxter’s portion of the State Industrial Access road project at Portobello.
“We’re growing so fast, we can’t let these contractors take advantage of us, because the next bunch of council people have got to deal with that,” Codes Inspector Bob Lane said. “And it’s money and interest and it is what it is.”
Lane said the town is experiencing an unprecedented level of construction, specifically noting that the D.R. Horton projects are moving as fast as the developers can build. Lane said he believes Baxter currently has as many houses under construction at one time as Cookeville.
“I’ve never seen, we are growing, most people don’t have any idea,” Lane said. “I don’t think Cookeville has got any more houses being built at one time than we do.”
In other business, Councilman Dustin Stanton said the town needs to address non-functioning streetlights at the Interstate 40 interchange during an upcoming meeting with Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation. Stanton said the lights have been a problem for nearly two years and often fail when it rains.
“They need to work, we’re paying, these citizens, everybody in this town pays for that,” Stanton said.
