While much of the world slowed down during the Covid pandemic, Farragut stayed busy. A list of the town’s accomplishments over the last three years includes the opening of the Farragut Community Center, the completion of Ralph McGill Plaza at the Campbell Station Inn, the completion of Phase 3 of McFee Park, the first phase of improvements to Virtue Road and lane adjustments at Campbell Station Road at the interstate.
A fiscally-conservative budget is what allows a small town like Farragut to have assets like a community center and the new tennis/pickleball courts at McFee Park. This is impressive given that the funding for the town’s parks, greenways, roads and $20 million in insured assets comes primarily through sales tax revenue. The town does not have a property tax.
It’s no small feat to do so much with such a limited revenue stream. But the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) have made it a priority to spend conservatively and sock money away for big projects like Phase 3 of McFee Park. It was an expensive project, but we began saving for it years ago.
Now the town is budgeting for a new list of projects. If you’re interested in how the board makes decisions about funding, now is the time to learn more. Here is the schedule for upcoming budget meetings/workshops:
Thursday, March 23 – Capital Investment Program (CIP) – BMA Workshop
Thursday, April 13 – Equipment fund, CIP, other funds – BMA Workshop
Thursday, April 27 – Program changes and fee schedule – BMA Workshop
Thursday, May 25 – First reading of Budget Ordinance and fee schedule
June 8, Thursday – Second and final reading of Budget Ordinance
The workshops will be held in conjunction with BMA meetings but are not included in the live stream. The public is welcome to attend workshops in person. Check the agenda for workshop times at townoffarragut.org/agendacenter.
BMA meetings start at 6 p.m. and can be viewed live through the town’s website (townoffarragut.org/livestream) or on the town’s YouTube channel.