Jefferson County’s roads are deteriorating faster than the Highway Department can repair them due to heavy mining trucks, underground mining activity, and years of underfunded maintenance. Property taxpayers currently shoulder nearly all road repair costs. A Mineral Severance Tax — already used by 86% of Tennessee counties with producing mines — would generate $13.6 million Read More

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Civic Action: How Citizens Can Help … JEFFERSON COUNTY IS AT A CRITICAL CROSSROAD — PLEASE WE NEED YOUR HELP A. Contact Your County Commissioner – Ask them to vote YES on the Mineral Severance Tax. B. Share the Facts – Talk with neighbors, family, and friends in Jefferson County. C. Use Your Voice Publicly– Read More

Shifting the Burden: Why Jefferson County Must Choose Foresight Over Hindsight March 16, 2025 By Joe Malgeri, Citizen On Thursday, March 12th, voters in Jefferson County witnessed something rare: a candidate forum that revealed not just policy differences, but a fundamental divide in how two people approach leadership itself. The setting was simple. The moderator Read More

JEFFERSON CITY, Tennessee Jefferson City crews are working to fix a sinkhole that reopened on Odell Ave over the weekend. The sinkhole first opened on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 beside Maplecrest Square apartments, near Food City and Regions Bank. It was originally 20 to 25 feet deep. Car swallowed in one of three sink holes Read More

Accountability: Road Damage & Taxpayer Burden 1. Road Deterioration Is Accelerating Heavy truck traffic and underground mining are causing rapid road damage. Quote: “A fully loaded 20‑ton truck causes as much road damage as about 10,000 passenger vehicles.” 2. Property Taxpayers Are Paying Nearly Everything Residents currently shoulder almost all road repair costs. Quote: “Property Read More

The Solution: What the Mineral Severance Tax Does 8. A Fair, Targeted Infrastructure Tax The tax ensures mining companies contribute to the infrastructure they impact. Quote: “If mining causes damage to roads, they should help pay for road repair!” 9. Authorized and Protected by Tennessee Law The tax is explicitly permitted under state law. Quote: Read More

Voting History of the Jefferson County Commission This section provides transparency about how Commissioners voted on the Mineral Severance Tax during the April 21, 2025 vote on Resolution 2025‑23. 6. Commissioners Who Voted YES (Supported the Mineral Tax) These Commissioners voted to adopt the Mineral Severance Tax: Quote: “These Commissioners voted to ensure mining companies Read More

13. Generates $13.6 Million Over 20 Years A major new revenue source without raising property taxes. Quote: “Total 20‑year revenue: $13.6 million.” Revenue Breakdown by Rate (Based on 3.4M Tons Annually) These three tiers together produce the $13.6 million in projected revenue for Jefferson County roads. 14. Enough to Pave 100 Miles of Road This Read More

19. Mining Waste Dramatically Increases Road Wear Most of the material extracted from Jefferson County mines is not zinc, but waste rock that must be hauled on county roads. Zinc makes up only 2.5% to 3.5% of the ore actually mined, while 96.5% to 97.5% becomes limestone waste that significantly increases truck traffic and road Read More

Industry Health: Jobs, Profitability & Future Growth 21. No Job Losses or Bankruptcies in 69 Counties Based on case studies from the 69 Tennessee counties that have successfully implemented this tax, there have been zero job losses and no mining company bankruptcies. Quote: “NO evidence… has caused lost jobs or financial harm.” 22. Mining in Read More

The attached document provides contact information for the Commissioners. Subsequent to this being developed, there was a change in two commssioners. John Neal Scarlett passed away, and was replaced by Aaron Loy. Terry Dockery passed away, and was replaced by W.D. Henry. The contact information for the two new commissioners can be found on the Read More

References used in research included, but not limited to: Jefferson County TN Budget – various years CTAS – County Technical Assistance Service Tennessee Department of Revenue State of Tennessee Laws, including T.C.A. §§ 67-7-201 through 67-7-212. https://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/reference/tax-statistics   U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)  https://minedocs.com   Nyrstar Public Reports   Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Historic Mining Read More

On Thursday, November 13th, I attended a meeting held by the Jefferson County Preservation Society at the Jefferson County Library. I helped with a panel discussion that included stories by Jefferson County citizens about why they were involved with JCPS. Each story was different, but they all had a common theme. Each participant expressed concern Read More

It was very exciting to have a 40+ attendance at the first general meeting of JCPS. Many thanks to all who made the effort to come and participate in the discussion. We are off to a very strong and positive start that will allow citizens to have a voice in county government. The topic of Read More

The title of the article,” Which Way will we go?” asks a question that should be on everyone’s mind if they live in Jefferson County. The article highlights some of the final information included in the recently presented Jefferson County Community Survey. Responses clearly show that the majority of the 1,916 citizens who completed the Read More

Follow up on Feb. 29, 2024, meeting of Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission This item was pulled from the agenda. No explanation was given. Approval was given for this project by unanimous vote. Approval was given for this project by unanimous vote. Since this item will be appealed in March at the BZA meeting by Read More

Meeting Notice Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission February 29, 2024. Agenda New Business Read More