By Lewis Loflin
Sullivan County, like much of East Tennessee, is a strong Republican area resistant to new taxes, creating funding challenges for county projects. Notably, the county jail has not been a priority despite significant needs.
The Sullivan County jail, expanded to hold 600 inmates, housed over 800 by 2012, with some sleeping on cots or the floor (*Bristol Herald-Courier*, July 17). Sheriff Wayne Anderson, frustrated with funding shortages, considered alternatives like ankle bracelets, attributing 90-95% of incarcerations to drug and alcohol abuse. Commissioner Bob Neal claimed the Sheriff’s Office strained county finances, while Anderson countered this as "uneducated," highlighting cost-cutting efforts.
The county delayed its 2012-13 budget past July 1, approving a 20-cent property tax increase on July 30, raising the rate from $2.13 to $2.33 per $100 of assessed value (*BHC*). This added $60-$100 annually for most property owners, funding schools, highways, and reserves, but not the jail. [Updated: Tax rate stabilized post-2012; jail issues persisted.] Bristol resident Don Evans criticized the unprofessional conduct of Sheriff Anderson and Mayor Steve Godsey, who faced a grand jury probe for dumpster use but was not charged (*TriCities.com*, August 29, 2012).
Sheriff Anderson filed a $9.9 million lawsuit on August 27, 2012, claiming the budget was inadequate (*TriCities.com*, August 28). [Updated: Settled in 2013 with partial funding increase.]
A proposed wheel tax ($20 per vehicle on 144,000 vehicles, raising $3 million) and sales tax increase (from 2.25% to 2.75%, adding $600,000 yearly) were considered for November 2012 (*Kingsport Times-News*, July 31). The wheel tax was rejected, but the sales tax increase passed later. [Updated] The 2012-13 budget cut $800,000 from general spending, including parks and redevelopment authorities. Commissioner Dwight King favored the wheel tax to avoid higher business taxes (e.g., $900,000 for Eastman Chemical), despite prior $60 million tax breaks yielding few jobs.
The new tax rate aimed to collect $79.7 million, though businesses like Eastman, taxed on equipment ($316 million) and real estate ($120 million), resisted further contributions (*BHC*, August 13). The county’s low cost of living is offset by low wages and a nearly 10% sales tax.
Sprint relocated its call center from Bristol, VA, to Sullivan County in 2011, receiving a $548,250 state grant with a $49,871 local match from surplus funds (*BHC*, August 13, 2012). [Updated: Sprint scaled back operations by mid-2010s.] Bristol, TN, offered $25 million for The Pinnacle, featuring a Bass Pro Shop near Exit 74, competing with Bristol, VA’s $50 million Exit 7 project and the Bristol Mall, which closed and became a casino by 2022. [Updated] Kingsport’s Mayor Phillips noted their inability to match the $25 million, losing the deal.
Developers favored new sites over vacant properties (e.g., Bristol Mall, Euclid Ave.) due to taxpayer funding incentives, prioritizing sales tax revenue over job growth.
Religious controversies over Ten Commandments displays (1990s-2005) faded by 2012, with the plaque remaining but public debate subsiding (*Kingsport Times-News*, January 25, 2006). Evolution disputes in schools also waned (*KTM*, 2003). Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District ranked 421st of 436 nationally in 2008, with low education (22% without diplomas), life expectancy (74.9 years), and median earnings ($21,639) (*BHC*, July 20, 2008). [Updated: Rankings improved slightly by 2020s, no 2025 data.]
Sullivan County Schools faced funding resistance, with C. Bridwell expressing frustration in 2003 (*KTM*, June 24). Sullivan North remained open in 2007 despite closure threats but closed in 2021. [Updated] College graduates faced low-wage jobs ($6/hour), as noted by a county official (*Tarnoff Report*).
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
Lewis Loflin Personal Homepage and Resource Collection
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Hypsithermal Warming Spreads Civilization - Explores the Mid-Holocene Warm Period’s (approximately 7000 BCE to 3000 BCE) role in advancing early human civilizations.
