Located in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Blount County covers an area of 584 square miles. The county has an elevation of 989 feet above sea level and it's located near the geographic center of the eastern United States and is within 500 miles of approximately 50 percent of the U.S. population. Our area has been one of the fastest growing counties in Tennessee, increasing its population by 22 percent from 1970 to 1980 and an additional 10.5 percent from 1980-1990 and 17.7 percent from 1990-2001. The county has approximately 117,000 residents and it has been projected that by 2010 that will grow to over 123,000. McGhee Tyson Airport is conveniently located in Blount County and Knoxville is only minutes away. A web of highways and interstates connecting commerce are also quickly accessible.

Join the thousands of other people who call Blount County their home -- a place connecting business, technology, nature and people.

Weather

Annual Average Temperature: 59 degrees
Monthly Average High Temp: Jan 47 degrees/July 87 degrees
Monthly Average Low Temp: Jan 30 degrees/July 68 degrees
Annual Average Snowfall: 12"
Annual Average Precipitation: 48"
Elevation: 989' above sea level
Prevailing Winds: Southwest
Mean Length of Freeze Period: 186 days

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History

Blount County is one of the oldest counties in Tennessee. The County was the tenth created in Tennessee when a part of Knox County was separated by the Territorial Legislature in 1795. It was named after William Blount, Governor of the Territory of the United States "South of the River Ohio." The County seat was authorized to be laid out in 1795 and was named Maryville in honor of Mary Blount, the wife of Governor William Blount. Settlement of the area began in 1785 mainly with Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The early settlers were thrifty and energetic people who moved westward from Virginia and North Carolina. These settlers, for the most part, were not wealthy landowners, but instead were looking for fertile land to farm, ample water supply, and abundant resources of lumber. Lumbering was the first primary industrial trade in Blount County.

Today, lumbering has been replaced with many varied occupational opportunities. Over 100 manufacturing plants can be found in Blount County. The principal employers for the residents of the County are DENSO Manufacturing TN Inc, Alcoa Inc, and Blount Memorial Hospital.

The County contains 584 square miles and is bordered on the east by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and on the west by the great chain of lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Little River, flowing out of the Great Smokies, winds it way across the County and pours into the Tennessee Valley lakes. The Little Tennessee River parallels the southern border. The County is served by several major highways: U.S. Highway 129, 411 and 321, as well as State Route I-140, 33 and 95, and State Highway 73 leading directly into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. McGhee Tyson Airport is located within the city limits of Alcoa. The facility is the principal commercial airport for East Tennessee.

The County has a population of approximately 117,000. The County seat of Maryville has a population of 24,106. The City of Alcoa, formerly known as North Maryville and named after one of our largest employers, Alcoa, Inc., has a population of 8,118

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Seniors earn victory as property tax freeze OK’d
By Joel Davis
of The Daily Times Staff
Although they sang “Silent Night,” the 25-or-so people gathered in front of the Blount County Courthouse on Thursday were there to make their voices heard.
They sang to convince the Blount County Commission to vote for the 2007 Property Tax Freeze Act to allow property taxes for qualified senior citizens to be frozen a present levels.
Apparently, it worked. The County Commission voted 12-9 to approve the freeze, despite questions that remain about the program.

County resident Ron McTigue was one of the organizers of the rally.

“It’s a no-brainer,” McTigue said during public comments. “Eighty-one percent of the people voted for it. ... Please God, let them give us a Christmas present. That’s all I ask.”

Commissioners David Ballard Jr., Tonya Burchfield, Ron French, David Graham, Brad Harrison, Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, Joe McCulley, Monica Murrell, Wendy Pitts Reeves, Steve Samples and Mike Walker voted yes. Commissioners Gary Farmer, Steve Hargis, John Keeble, Gerald Kirby, Holden Lail, Mike Lewis, Kenneth Melton, Bob Proffitt and Chairman Robert Ramsey voted no.

Seniors will have to apply each year for the program, which would initially freeze their property tax rate at the current $2.23 per $100 of assessed value in the event of tax increases; however, people applying for the first time in future years will pay the then-current tax rate.

Much of the discussion prior to the vote centered on whether the freeze would actually help seniors with large amounts of property.

“I have not been so much in favor of this until lately,” Reeves said. “It had not occurred to me the impact this would have in encouraging senior citizens not to move off of large acreages of land.

The county would end up saving money “... by not paying for children that move onto that land who will have to go to school,” Reeves said.

There are conditions of the law as it is written that would not make it as advantageous for large landowners, however, Walker said.

“Only five acres of the property would be eligible for the freeze,” he said.

An existing state program, which about 3,000 people in Blount County are currently eligible to use, provides property tax rebates to certain seniors with qualifying incomes or disabled veterans or their surviving spouses.

“(The property tax freeze) is going to be far more difficult to implement and to maintain,” Proffitt said. “Maybe the basic one should be strengthened.”

According to the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury’s Office, the Property Tax Freeze Act would allow the property taxes of qualifying homeowners to be frozen at the amount of taxes owed in the year they first qualify for the program. The income limit for participation in the tax freeze program in Blount County is $31,220. This limit can change from year-to-year, meaning that a person might not stay eligible. If they lost eligibility, their tax bill would jump to current levels from the frozen amount.

Lail said that aspects of the new program could possibly hurt seniors, if their eligibility for the program changed.

“The question is can we do something that will have a lasting and positive affect on them?” he said.

In November, a majority of Tennessee voters approved a constitutional amendment that would allow local governments to exempt homeowners 65 years old or older from year-to-year increases in property taxes.

Figures from the Comptroller’s Office indicate the program could cost the county about $22,241 per each 1 cent increase of the tax rate.

In any case, Samples said he is not convinced that the commission will have to raise taxes during the next fiscal year, adding that Blount County Schools has enough fund balance (more than $6 million) to pay for the opening of two new schools.

Information provided by the County Technical Advisory Services suggests that four out of 10 people age 65 or older in Blount County would end up paying more during future tax rate increases if the program is authorized.

In other business, the County Commission voted unanimously to revise local regulation to give the animal control officer the power to seize animals that have attacked people or other animals, if their owners do not keep them chained or confined.