Policies for advancing education, housing, and accountability
Investing in Classrooms
David ran for office to advocate for the investments that matter most in our community. Chief among those is our responsibility to fully fund public schools. Schools in Hamilton County must have the resources to compensate teachers like professionals, shrink classroom sizes, and rebuild our crumbling schools.
Our leaders in Hamilton County and the State of Tennessee have failed to raise the revenue needed to fund our schools, and instead have turned to driving the county further into debt to address facilities needs and sending public tax dollars to private schools.
David has proposed solutions like a referendum on the ballot to raise an estimated $52m/year for rebuilding schools by implementing a half-cent "special local option sales tax" for five years.
David also proposed a referendum on the ballot to fund a 7.5% raise for teachers in Hamilton County Schools by implementing a wheel tax.
Investing in Housing
As housing costs continue to rise, we need policies that expand opportunity, protect green space, and ensure our infrastructure is ready for growth.
If we continue treating low-density sprawl as the default pattern for growth, we will inevitably fail to protect natural green spaces in Hamilton County. To protect green spaces and waterways, we need to encourage builders to develop more densely where infrastructure is ready, instead of spreading farther and farther outward.
Tax incentives for affordable housing are one of the best tools in our belt for encouraging builders to create units that working families can afford. The City of Chattanooga's PILOT program offers a discount on property taxes to projects that produce affordable units for a minimum of 15 years.
Finally, the County needs to proactively invest in infrastructure. We cannot keep approving growth and then playing catch-up on overcrowded roads, over-capacity wastewater systems, and overflowing stormwater infrastructure. Better long-term planning will make growth more sustainable and more affordable for everyone.
Housing policy is ultimately about whether working families can afford to live here and whether growth improves our community instead of straining it.
Let’s Work Together
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