Summer Kickoff Block Party Rocks Downtown Smithville

May 28, 2021
By:

The 3rd Annual Summer Kickoff Block Party last Saturday evening rocked downtown Smithville. Weather-wise, it was one of those perfect Smithville evenings, and lucky attendees were treated to excellent music from three (3) live bands, with The Kinfolk adding the finishing touch to a truly memorable evening, performing on the patio of the soon-to-be in operation new Harvester Event Center.

(Click link below to view photos by Matthew Antoniak)

https://www.flickr.com/gp/mmantoniak/0Y4Mg0

Multiple food trucks offered something for everyone, and did a brisk business all during the festivities-vendors sold arts & crafts from displays set up directly on West Main St. which was closed off for the event.

The downtown merchants sponsoring this free community event were Button Willow, Lake Home Realty, Magnolia Roots, 105 Market on Main, The Male Room, and The Harvester Event Center.

Look for these community-minded folks who are business owners and have also invested and improved properties located in historic downtown Smithville for more re-vitalizing concepts and events coming up in the near future.

May 27, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The county and cities may soon get down to finalizing their proposed budgets for the 2021-22 fiscal year now that they know what their new certified property tax rates are going to be.

The latest reappraisal cycle has been completed and the state has set the certified tax rates for each city and county according to overall changes in assessments.

Typically, when overall appraisals for a county go up, the certified tax rate comes down. Of course its up to the county commission and the city councils whether to adopt the new lower certified property tax rates or raise them. However public hearings are required by the state before any effort is made by the county or cities to increase the rates above the certified rates.

Change of assessment notices were mailed out last month in DeKalb County and many property owners saw increases in their appraisal value. But Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell said based on the new certified tax rates that does not necessarily mean increases when the tax bills come due this fall.

“DeKalb County is on a five-year reappraisal cycle, which means sales over the previous four years are analyzed to come up with the new value for the fifth year”, said Cantrell. “Most real property owners will see an increase in their appraisal due to the high sale prices over the past four years. But just because your appraisal value may have increased does not necessarily mean that your property tax bill will increase. Typically, in a reappraisal year, the DeKalb County Commission would decrease the tax rate to bring in the same revenue as the prior year. The tax rate is set each year by the county commission based upon budgetary needs,” he said

In the case of DeKalb County the new certified property tax rate is $1.7308 per $100 of assessed value, down from the current rate of $2.12350.

For the cities, Smithville’s new certified property tax rate is 0.7523 cents per $100 of assessed value, down from the current rate of 0.8990 cents.

In Alexandria the new certified tax rate is 0.5666 cents per $100 of assessed value, down from 0.7944 cents.

Liberty’s new certified property tax rate is 0.1422 cents per $100 of assessed value, down from the current rate of 0.18990 cents.

If you have any questions about your appraisal you may schedule a meeting with the DeKalb County Board of Equalization which will be meeting Tuesday June 1 through Friday June 4, and again on Monday June 7 from 8:30AM to 4:00PM. Call (615) 597-5925.

May 27, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County High School has named the outstanding underclassmen for the year

These students were voted on by DCHS faculty and staff based on student work ethic, character, and citizenship:

Freshmen – Abby Cross and Conner Close

Sophomores – Jacklyn Kleparek and Brett Walker

Juniors – Jenna Cantrell and Brayden Tubbs

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