OPINION: Dickson Is Building a City Center While Our Schools Are Falling Apart, Here's What People Need to Understand
DICKSON TIMES | OPINION
By Justin Spurlock, Editor
There is a growing frustration across Dickson County, and I understand why.
We have public schools that are decades old. Buildings need new roofs, heating and cooling systems need replacing, and infrastructure that should have been addressed years ago is now becoming increasingly expensive to repair.
At the same time, residents are watching the City of Dickson move forward with tens of millions of dollars in new construction projects, including a downtown City Center, an aquatic center, and a new fire station.
Naturally, people are asking questions.
How can we afford a new City Center when our schools need millions of dollars in repairs? Why are we building an aquatic center when some of our classrooms are in aging buildings? Shouldn't we be spending that money on our children instead?
These are fair questions. In fact, I think residents should be asking questions anytime local government commits to spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.
But I also think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about how our local governments collect and spend money.
And before we decide that the City of Dickson is spending money that should be going to our schools, we need to understand where that money actually comes from.
The City of Dickson and Dickson County Are Not the Same Government
Let's start with something basic.
The City of Dickson and Dickson County are two entirely separate governments.
The city has its own mayor, City Council, budget, tax revenues and responsibilities. The county has its own mayor, County Commission, budget and financial obligations.
Dickson County Schools operates under the Board of Education, with funding coming from the state, local tax revenues, federal sources and county appropriations.
When the City of Dickson decides to build a new fire station or recreation facility, that money comes from municipal funding sources.
When Dickson County needs to construct a new school or renovate an existing one, that responsibility falls primarily on the county government and school system.
These projects are not being funded out of one giant bank account.
That distinction matters, but there is another difference that I believe is even more important.
The City of Dickson Has a Major Financial Advantage: Retail Sales
Think about where people in Dickson County spend their money.
If you live in Charlotte, Burns, White Bluff, Vanleer or almost anywhere else in Dickson County, there's a good chance you regularly travel into the City of Dickson to shop.
You might buy groceries at Walmart, purchase something at Lowe's, eat dinner at a restaurant or shop at one of the many businesses along Highway 46.
And it's not just people from Dickson County.
People from Hickman County, Humphreys County and other surrounding areas come into Dickson to shop. Travelers along Interstate 40 stop at our restaurants, gas stations and retail establishments.
Every time someone makes a taxable purchase inside the City of Dickson, that transaction can generate revenue for city government.
It doesn't matter whether the person lives inside the city limits.
That is an enormous advantage for a municipality that serves as the commercial center of a much larger region.
Here's how it works.
Tennessee's general sales tax rate in Dickson County is 9.75%. Of that, 7% is the state tax and 2.75% is the local tax.
Under Tennessee law, half of the local option sales tax is generally dedicated to public education.
The other half goes to the local government entitled to receive it, generally based on where the sale takes place.
If someone spends $100 at a retailer inside the City of Dickson, approximately $1.38 of the local sales tax is designated for education, while another $1.38 is attributable to city government, before applicable deductions and adjustments.
Now imagine that happening thousands of times every day.
Millions of dollars in taxable retail sales can translate into millions of dollars in revenue for municipal government.
And here is the point I really want people to understand:
The City of Dickson doesn't have to rely exclusively on the people who live inside the city limits to generate the tax revenue that supports its operations and capital projects.
It benefits financially from shoppers across Dickson County and beyond.
So Who Is Really Paying for the City Center?
The City of Dickson is pursuing major capital investments that could total approximately $60 million to $65 million, including the City Center, aquatic center and new fire station.
The city is using municipal financing mechanisms that allow construction costs to be repaid over a period of years.
Those payments ultimately must be supported by legally available city revenues.
And a substantial portion of the city's financial resources comes from sales taxes.
That means people who live outside Dickson city limits contribute to the revenue base that makes projects like these financially possible.
Think about that.
A family living in Charlotte may never pay a penny in City of Dickson property taxes, but every time they shop at certain businesses inside the city, they help generate municipal sales tax revenue.
Someone traveling through Dickson from another state can do the same thing.
In other words, the financial burden supporting the city's operations and projects can be spread across a much larger group of people than just the residents of the City of Dickson.
Now, does that mean tourists and shoppers from neighboring counties are paying for the entire City Center? Absolutely not.
City residents also contribute through sales taxes, property taxes and other revenues. And the precise sources used to repay the construction debt matter.
But it does mean the city's tax base reaches far beyond its city limits.
And that is a major reason why the City of Dickson can have financial flexibility that Dickson County government may not enjoy to the same degree.
Dickson County Schools Face a Different Financial Reality
Now let's talk about our schools.
Dickson County Schools receives funding from several sources, including Tennessee's education funding formula, local sales taxes, county property taxes and federal programs.
Remember that half of the local sales tax we discussed earlier?
That money is legally dedicated to education.
It is collected by the Tennessee Department of Revenue and distributed through the local government revenue system for school purposes.
The Dickson County Commission cannot simply take that education money and decide to build a road, purchase county vehicles or fund an unrelated project.
It is designated for schools.
But here's where things get complicated.
There is a significant difference between the money required to operate a school system every year and the money required to repair or replace aging school buildings.
Teachers must be paid. School buses must operate. Utilities must be covered. Classrooms must have supplies.
Those recurring operating expenses consume substantial resources.
Meanwhile, replacing a roof, upgrading a decades-old HVAC system or constructing a new school can require millions of dollars in additional capital funding.
The State of Tennessee provides substantial support for public education, but that doesn't mean it simply hands Dickson County a check large enough to replace every aging school building.
Much of the responsibility for major school construction and renovations falls on local government.
And those costs can be enormous.
Dickson County Schools has discussed a first phase of facilities improvements estimated at approximately $47 million, involving a proposed combination of school system reserves and county funding.
That is only part of the larger challenge of maintaining and improving facilities across the district.
Unlike the City of Dickson, county government does not ordinarily receive the unrestricted municipal share of sales taxes generated by the many retailers operating inside Dickson city limits.
The county certainly has other revenue sources, including property taxes collected throughout the county, and the schools receive their dedicated portion of local sales taxes.
But the county cannot simply spend the City of Dickson's municipal sales tax revenue on school construction.
That is the financial distinction I think too many people are overlooking.
City Residents Are Also Paying for Our Schools
There's another misconception worth addressing.
People who live inside the City of Dickson pay county property taxes just like people who live outside the city.
They also pay additional municipal property taxes.
That means a homeowner inside Dickson contributes to both city government and county government, including the county's responsibilities for public education.
City residents are not avoiding the financial obligations associated with maintaining our schools.
They are helping fund both governments.
Meanwhile, people who live outside the city can contribute to city revenues whenever they shop in Dickson.
Our local economy is interconnected, even though our government budgets are separate.
Could the City of Dickson Give Money to the Schools Instead?
This is where I think we need to be careful.
It would be inaccurate to suggest that every dollar the city spends on a municipal project could automatically be redirected to Dickson County Schools.
The City Council doesn't control the school system's budget, and money legally restricted to particular purposes cannot simply be shifted wherever officials might prefer.
At the same time, I wouldn't go so far as to say the City of Dickson could never contribute financially to an eligible educational project.
There may be lawful ways for local governments to cooperate or provide financial assistance, depending on the project and applicable legal requirements.
But that would involve separate governmental decisions.
It would not change the fact that the city and county operate under different financial structures.
And it certainly wouldn't mean the City Center's financing could simply be transferred into the school system's bank account.
That Doesn't Mean We Should Ignore the Problems in Our Schools
I want to make something very clear.
Explaining why the City of Dickson can finance major construction projects is not the same thing as arguing that the condition of our schools is acceptable.
It isn't.
We should be deeply concerned about aging school facilities.
We should expect our elected officials to develop realistic, long-term plans to repair and eventually replace buildings that have reached the end of their useful lives.
We should ask how we reached the point where so many improvements are needed at once.
Were repairs delayed? Was enough money set aside for maintenance? Did previous county commissions adequately plan for the future? Have we been too reactive instead of proactive?
Those are questions worth investigating.
I also believe residents have every right to scrutinize the City of Dickson's construction plans.
A $60 million project deserves serious public examination, regardless of how much sales tax revenue the city collects.
Taxpayers should know how much will be borrowed, how long it will take to repay that debt, how much interest will be paid and what the ongoing operating expenses will be once these facilities open.
Nobody should get a free pass when spending public money.
But criticism should be based on an accurate understanding of how the money is collected and who controls it.
We're Comparing Two Different Financial Situations
I believe this is the heart of the issue.
The City of Dickson has developed into the retail and commercial center of a much larger region.
Because of that, it can generate substantial municipal revenue from people who don't necessarily live within its boundaries.
The City Center, aquatic center and fire station are municipal investments supported by the city's financial resources, including a tax base that extends beyond its residential population.
Dickson County Schools, meanwhile, serves children from across the entire county and faces major infrastructure needs that require a combination of school, county, state and other funding.
Those are different financial realities.
And comparing the city's construction projects directly with the county's school repair needs, without acknowledging those differences, can create the mistaken impression that government officials are simply choosing one over the other.
That isn't how the funding system works.
My Final Thought
I don't think we should be satisfied with the condition of our aging schools.
I don't think we should stop asking questions about the millions of dollars being spent on municipal construction.
And I certainly don't think we should assume that government spending is justified simply because officials say they can afford it.
But I do think we need to understand the difference between city money and county money.
The City of Dickson is able to draw financial support from a much wider population through retail sales taxes, while Dickson County must confront its school infrastructure problems through a separate system of funding and financial obligations.
That doesn't make the school problems any less urgent.
It doesn't mean the city projects are automatically good investments.
And it doesn't mean residents are wrong to question the priorities of their elected officials.
It simply means the solution to our school infrastructure problems isn't as easy as telling the City of Dickson to stop building a City Center.
If we want better schools, we're going to have to have a serious conversation about school maintenance, long-term capital planning, county funding, and the financial commitments necessary to catch up on years of aging infrastructure.
That's a much more difficult conversation.
But it's the one Dickson County needs to have.
— Justin Spurlock
Editor, Dickson Times