Funny Business in Tennessee, AKA Taxes

Our annual game of whose house cost more is in peril.

First—and from the looks of it, only—reported by The Pamphleteer, a curveball audit request has been lobbed at the Davidson County Property Assessor’s office. As sticker shock spreads across the county, some folks are having a knee-jerk reaction to the 40–45% rise in their property valuations; which means much higher tax bills. And when the numbers start climbing, folks start naming names. This time, they’re calling out the entire tax assessors office and calling in Lauren Riley to handle it.

According to Riley, her office received a “generic request” from a single anonymous city council member for an audit to be conducted on the Assessor’s Office to see if the assessments were “appropriately performed”. (You can watch the full Audit Committee meeting here.)

Vivian Wilhoite, the duly elected Assessor of Davidson County, showed up to the June 24 Metropolitan Nashville Audit Committee meeting in full force—ready to defend both herself and her office. But get this: Wilhoite wasn’t even notified by Riley’s office. Instead, she found out at 10 p.m. the night before, via text from a “lawyer friend,” while she was out to dinner. (A dinner I still haven’t been invited to, by the way.)

Wilhoite Did Not Come to Play

Wilhoite went on to explain the State Comptroller audits her office quarterly, and that Jason E. Mumpower, Comptroller of the Treasury, sets the standard. (Yes, the same Comptroller who recently spoke disrespectfully to the entire Board of Tennessee State University during a state committee hearing on their finances.)

“The General Assembly makes the laws,” Wilhoite emphasized, making it clear, Republican lawmakers—not her office—put these standards in place. “So if you’ve got an issue,” she implied, “take it up with them.” Meanwhile, as Wilhoite laid down the facts, Council Member Courtney Johnston looked visibly uncomfortable—annoyed even—as if she’d just realized this audit wasn’t going the way she’d hoped.

Possibly, because Wilhoite wasn’t even supposed to be there in the first place, since neither she nor her office had been formally informed. Riley later apologized, stating it is standard procedure to notify any office or individual subject to an audit—and that, in this case, that protocol wasn’t followed. Wilhoite continued by ramming home these appraisals have been fully stamped by the mayor and he now wants frequent appraisals and has no issue with the math.

Between that 10 p.m. text and the start of the committee meeting, Wilhoite had made the rounds to call up every big hitter in town to aid her in her defense against this surprise audit and its vague implications of impropriety. She named the State Office of Property Assessments, Jason Mumpower, some trusted lawyer friends, and Robin Pope, Executive director of the Security of the State Board of Equalization. Pope, she said, spoke with her before the meeting—and was supposedly just as perplexed by the audit talk as she was. According to Wilhoite, none of these offices had received any formal notice either.

Wilhoite made it clear: it wasn’t fair—not to her, and not to the office she was elected to lead—that another elected official would request an audit anonymously. As she put it, elected officials should have the courage to stand behind their actions. If you’ve got a problem, come through and say it with your chest—that was the sentiment in the room, and Wilhoite didn’t shy away from making that point loud and clear.

Wilhoite reminded the committee that her office conducted around 300 outreach presentations across the county, covering all council districts. According to additional data she presented, Davidson County is leading the way in property assessments compared to the other 94 counties in the state.

When "Just a Request" Starts to Sound Personal

If you ask me, which no one is, all fingers point to Courtney Johnston. After Wilhoite finished reading the room, Courtney raised her hand to comment but was not called on. She then interrupted Riley, who was asked to explain the process when receiving “complaints”, to interject the audit request was not a complaint. Johnston emphasized it was just a request and nothing more. Turning her focus to Wilhoite, Johnston stated, “A lot of defensiveness coming, I just wanted to say that. The defensiveness is a little alarming.”

Johnston repeated her point once again. It was not a complaint. It was just a request for an audit.

Let’s be real, calling Wilhoite “defensive” in that moment felt less like a neutral observation and more like classic tone policing. Rather than addressing the substance of her response, Courtney zeroed in on how it was delivered. When anyone stands their ground, especially in spaces where they are being publicly questioned without warning, labeling their reaction as "alarming" conveniently shifts the focus away from accountability and toward respectability politics.

Johnston mentioned she had asked Riley who filed the complaint, and Riley refused to say. “Good for you for keeping your secret,” Johnston added, prompting audible laughter from others in the room. Johnston went on to say she does not know the motivation behind the audit request, but admitted, “I know as a council member that I have received a lot of questions and complaints… about this.”

Johnston went on to point out that it has been eight years since the last audit and that audits should be done regularly. She stated when there is such a large jump in appraisals and people are being impacted in a significant way, she believes transparency is essential. “I do not have any issues with an audit,” she said, adding, a deep dive would be better than just doing presentations, so people can have a better sense of trust and know the process is working the way it is supposed to.

Johnston then redirected back to Wilhoite, saying, “You’re very defensive and to a certain extent, I don’t understand that.” She turned to Riley and asked, “This wasn’t a complaint, I don’t know how it came in,” to which Riley replied, “No, it wasn’t a complaint.” Courtney repeated, “It wasn’t a complaint, it was just a request, and for that reason I am going to be supportive of the audit itself.”

Johnston went on to say she does not expect any wrongdoing, adding, “And so I think it would help you, because I don’t think you are the most popular person right now.” At that point, Councilmember Burkley Allen chimed in to say, “No fault of your own.” Allen added she agreed with Courtney’s assessment and that transparency and trust are important in this process.

Finance Director Jeneen Reed spoke up to note the State and Finance Office work closely with Wilhoite’s office. She suggested before seeking additional information or using more resources, the city should first reach out to the state and review what has already been assessed and documented regarding Wilhoite’s office. Vice Mayor Angie Henderson added if the state has already conducted an audit and continues to audit regularly, that information should be reviewed and shared publicly. She suggested doing so might help address the public’s concerns and possibly ease some of the dissatisfaction.

Johnston jumped back in, saying she personally thinks it’s a bad look for someone to request an audit after such a massive increase in property values and for the city to simply say no. She emphasized just pointing people to the “state’s website” is not enough, repeating twice, “It’s a really bad look.”

Others began to chime in, clarifying it is not that they disagree with the idea of an audit. The issue is whether it makes sense to spend additional resources without first reviewing what is already available. They argued the city should look at the state’s existing audit reports before doing anything else, to avoid duplicating what the Comptroller’s Office has already done. The conversation began to sound more like a concern about being fiscally responsible, not wasting taxpayer money on repetitive work. As one person put it, before we rush to hire a private firm to do the same thing again (which, no doubt, a firm most likely would happily take the cash, I mean do the audit) we should go back to whoever made the request (maybe, Courtney;)), with the information from the state, and ask what exactly they are looking for that has not already been addressed.

Wilhoite spoke up again to clarify she was not trying to be defensive. She simply wanted to state the facts—her office is already audited continuously by the State of Tennessee, and her team works very hard to meet those standards. She explained the audit notice came out of nowhere, and respectfully asked, in the future, people reach out directly if there are concerns.

Vice Mayor Henderson pointed out Wilhoite’s office was not properly notified about the audit request, seemingly in defense of what was being labeled as defensiveness. She directed her comments to Riley, urging proper notice be given to any office placed on the agenda moving forward.

Let’s Shift Gears

Economist Art Laffer, a Presidential Medal of Freedom award holder, has been working his way through the halls of the Tennessee State Capitol as of late, and is making some waves with his audacious idea of property tax caps. While I and many others lobbied the statesmen last year to stop the East Bank Authority bill from passing, Laffer’s name came up after one of our many meetings, alluding to the fact his assessment of the East Bank Authority matched a lot of the ideas we were presenting on why it wasn’t a good idea.

In a recent interview Laffer dropped a bomb, I knew about for sometime, “prevent large one-time county property taxes increases that he says stunt growth”. While his idea seems quite provocative, he is a Presidential Medal of Freedom award holder, so I’d say he’s ideas have some weight to them, which I think many property owners across Tennessee might latch on to. Who wouldn’t want a nice - night - I mean cap to their property taxes.

Rae Keohane, Daughter of Tennessee contributor and longtime Tennessee and Nashville advocate, adds her thoughts to this conversation:

Art Laffer is a leading economist who served on the Economic Policy Advisory Board under President Ronald Reagan, and we know how successful the economy was during that time. I agree with him on the issue of property taxes, and I also believe there needs to be an audit of the Assessor’s Office. I cannot believe my condo went up $156K in value in just three years—especially when larger or same-sized units in my building sold for less than my assessed value. I went through the appeal process and did not get any satisfaction

When Deep Research Meets Shallow Politics

One of Laffer’s golden blue points he argues is, “property tax increases are especially damaging for inner cities and points to Memphis as a prime example with residential rates at 1.8%”. With all the media attention on Memphis right now, you’d think the loudest voices in the city would be latching onto Laffer’s ideas for their own political shine. But no. Because why actually help your community if it means admitting that someone on the red side might have a point? I guess when you can no longer manufacture an enemy, winning elections gets a little harder.

Speaking of elections, one major reason I opposed the Titans Stadium deal came from the insights of one of Art Laffer’s own pupils—someone who advised me during my first political campaign for City Council and again during my 2023 run for Mayor. His expertise helped me shape my ideas and respond to some of the most pressing questions Nashvillians were asking.

At one mayoral forum, as I broke down the reality behind the Titans deal, I caught a visible head shake of disapproval from one of the five at-large winners of the Council race. Ironically, that person is an accountant. What the public didn’t know at the time was the information I shared had been curated by none other than a pupil of a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. I never stepped on stage without deep research and solid facts. I wasn’t out here getting advice from the local H&R Block tax filer. I was getting it from someone trained by a man who advised presidents and governors.

I say this not to diminish anyone’s credentials, but to highlight the depth of the research and guidance I sought. When I spoke, I was drawing from insight shaped by someone trained under a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient—an economist who advised presidents and governors. I didn’t base my positions on surface-level talking points. I came prepared, and I tried to warn my community. But in true fashion, the message was overlooked.

Instead, they elected a man who spent time on the City Council fighting against tax increases and pitching alternative solutions, only to become a mayor co-signing for one of the largest tax assessments in our city’s history.

On June 8, 2020, at 5:10 PM, Mayor Freddie, then Councilmember O’Connell, replied to me after I questioned the proposed tax increase and questioned his alternate plan. He wrote, “Because they really don't want me to be right that we have options beyond a massive property tax rate increase. I have requested that a proper substitute be prepared, but I can already tell you Finance is going to send a transmittal letter suggesting that it's non-viable….But please encourage your CM to support it!”

And just like that, the man who once believed there were better options than massive tax hikes now presides over one of the largest property tax appraisal our city has ever seen.

So the next time you feel the sting of your rising tax bill or hear whispers to ignore reason, ask yourself—who is really looking out for you? Because some of us were doing the homework, asking the questions, and telling the truth all along. You just have to decide when you're ready to listen.

Authors Note:

I write not for applause, but for awareness. My goal is and has always been to shine a light where others would rather cast shadows. If this piece made you think, good. If it made you uncomfortable, even better. The truth isn’t always easy to hear—but it’s necessary if we ever want real change. - Stephanie Johnson, learn more about my journey here.