Knox County Government

Knox County Government The official page of Knox County Government in Knox County, Tennessee, providing information on programs, special events and public notices.

Knox County, Tennessee was created on June 11, 1792 by Governor William Blount from parts of Greene and Hawkins counties, and has the distinction of being one of only eight counties created during territorial administration. It is one of nine United States counties named for American Revolutionary War general and first United States Secretary of War Henry Knox. Parts of Knox County later became Blount (1795), Anderson (1801), Roane (1801), and Union (1850) counties.

06/05/2026

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' Weekly Update

TRANSCRIPT:
It’s Friday. Time for another weekly update.

This week, I was happy to recognize Marilyn Childress for her tremendous service to our veterans community at a meeting of the East Tennessee Military Affairs Council. Marilyn is a veteran herself serving in the United States Navy as a corpsman during the Vietnam War. Since then, she has been deeply involved with veterans’ issues. She currently serves on Governor Lee’s Tri-Stars and Stripes Council for Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families, and she is the founder of the Veterans Heritage Site Foundation. Over the years, Marilyn has identified 230 veterans grave markers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thanks to her efforts, those graves are covered with a wreath on Wreaths Across America Day. We all very proud of you, Marilyn!

Great work by our Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic, who chased down a new street drug which is ten times more deadly than fentanyl. This story recently received national recognition in the New York Times. Speaking of Dr. Mileusnic, we expect to be cutting the ribbon at our new forensic center building in early August.

Join our Parks and Rec Department for Reel Fun Kids’ Fishing Fest this Saturday, June 6 at The Cove at Concord Park from 10AM - 1PM! The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will also be there for an afternoon of hands-on fishing fun, outdoor learning, and plenty of chances to cast a line! No gear? No problem! We’ll have fishing poles and materials available to borrow while supplies last. Free Fishing Day kicks off Tennessee’s Bobby Wilson Free Fishing Week! Anglers of all ages can enjoy license-free fishing on June 6, and youth ages 15 and under can fish license-free through June 12.

And if you ride a motorcycle, you don’t want to miss the Operation Hero’s Hill ride on June 20th with NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace and yours truly. The ride starts at Rusty Wallace Nissan on Clinton Hwy. Registration begins at 9am and kickstands are up at 11. The cost is $20 per motorcycle and that includes a ride T-shirt. Proceeds go to benefit Operation Hero’s Hill. Again, that’s June 20th at Rusty Wallace Nissan. I hope to see you there.

Until next Friday, I hope everyone has a great week!

05/25/2026

Pastor Chris Edmonds describes his Dad's heroic actions as a POW in WWII. Master Sergeant Edmonds was awarded the Medal of Honor. Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs has proclaimed Monday, May 25th, 2026 Roddie Edmonds Appreciation Day in Knox County and urges all citizens to join this observance.

Our offices and convenience centers will be closed Monday, May 25th for Memorial Day. We will reopen at regular business...
05/24/2026

Our offices and convenience centers will be closed Monday, May 25th for Memorial Day. We will reopen at regular business hours on Tuesday, May 26th.

05/23/2026

Congratulations to all of our graduating high school seniors. Finishing high school is a big accomplishment and sets the stage for your next phase of life. Big thank you to teachers and school staff, and to all the parents out there, for helping another class walk across the stage.

05/20/2026

Students at FultonHigh School are building their future careers alongside skilled trade mentors as they build tiny homes for Operation Hero's Hill. This project is an opportunity for Knox County high school students to get hands-on learning experiences and build real-world construction skills. Operation Hero’s Hill will create 20 tiny homes to help veterans who are having a tough time securing housing.

Please visit OperationHerosHill.com for more information and to find out how you can help.

05/15/2026

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' Weekly Update

TRANSCRIPT:
It’s Friday. Time for another weekly update.

Monday was my final budget address. Thank you to everyone who attended and to folks who organized the event.

While there is nothing fancy in this upcoming budget, it addresses the County’s ongoing needs and should be a good start for the next administration. The proposal fully funds Knox County School’s requested budget, including getting teacher pay up to the state mandated $50,000, a year ahead of time and includes funding for the County’s first K-8 school at the old Rule High School site. It also includes $26M for road and infrastructure projects, adding another $100,000 to the paving budget. In addition to a 3% raise for Sheriff’s officers, our proposal provides funding for new patrol cars and other equipment.

This year’s budget does NOT include a property tax increase, fulfilling a promise I made when I first ran for mayor. Additionally, the County maintains a superior AA+ bond rating. Since I’ve been mayor, we have increased our rainy-day fund by $30M, which brings that fund up to $111M, an increase of 36.5%, and we’ve put another $19M in our debt service reserve fund, bringing that total up to $34M, an increase of 122.6%. We’ve put this money aside to help get us through an upcoming period of higher debt service payments as some 20-year-old balloon loans come due. Overall, I’m happy to say that the County is in good financial position as the next mayor takes over.

Many of you received a letter from the Property Assessor last week updating your home values in accordance with the latest reappraisal. Across the county, home values increased by about 60% on average. HOWEVER, that does not mean your property taxes are going up by 60%. Your new property tax bill depends on your home’s increase or decrease relative to that 60% average. For instance, if your home was previously appraised at $200,000 and it went up to $320,000, your property tax will remain the same. If it went up to $330,000, your bill will increase a little. If it went to $310,000, you’ll see a slight decrease. The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has a great video explaining this process. You can find it at the link below.

I still have about three-and-a-half months left in office and I expect to be working as hard on my last day as I did on my first day, but as I begin looking back over the last eight years, I want to say how blessed I feel to have represented you as mayor. Knox County truly is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of that.

Until next Friday, I hope everyone has a great week!

Tennessee Comptroller's Videos: https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functions/pa/property-taxes/understanding-tennessee-property-assessments.html

05/12/2026

Captain America is my favorite superhero. While this replica is not made of Vibranium like Cap’s shield, it’s still pretty cool. But here’s what makes it so special to me. My team gave this to me for my birthday last year. They all signed the back of it. And, here in the center are the words by which I lead my life, a quote from Captain America himself -
Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world – ‘No, you move.’

05/12/2026

I believe a major component of a mayor’s job is ensuring we nurture an environment in which commerce can flourish. A thriving economy means more people have a better shot at the American Dream. I am extremely proud of the work we’ve done in this area. Since I took office, we have witnessed the creation of approximately 8,000 jobs and an influx of 725M dollars in capital investment. The crown jewel, of course, is Greenheck Group’s campus at the Midway Business Park, which will probably end up being the single largest economic development project in county history. Projects like this one don’t just happen. It took a lot of work by the state department of Economic and Community Development and the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce.

05/12/2026

One of the essential functions of local government is public safety and law enforcement. Since I’ve been mayor, we have made significant investments in this area, with funding for the Sheriff’s Office increasing by almost 30 million dollars. It has been an absolute honor to serve alongside my friend, Sheriff Tom Spangler, these past eight years. Sheriff Spangler is an unwavering advocate for the folks who work in the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Working with Tom and his Finance Director Allison Rogers, we have increased salaries by up to 54 percent for correctional officers and 42 percent for patrol. And we’ve fully funded the required contributions to all our defined benefit plans. For the UOPP specifically, that totals 77 million dollars. This year’s budget also includes 1.9M dollars for vehicles and 2.2M dollars for body cams and other equipment. Please give a round of applause to our Sheriff’s Office for the tremendous job they do keeping our community safe.

05/11/2026

This proposed budget includes funding for schools to increase teacher pay by 2.5 percent. That will bring us to the state mandated starting teacher pay of 50,000 dollars, a year ahead of schedule. Under the leadership of Superintendent Rysewyk, Knox County Schools and, most importantly, our young people enrolled there, are flourishing. In 2022, the State identified KCS as a District in Need of Improvement - putting them in the bottom 5 percent of districts across the State. In four short years, KCS has increased reading and math scores by over 10 percent, earning an Advancing Designation - the 2nd highest classification in the state with no signs of slowing down. Along with investing in people, this proposal also includes 12M dollars for facility upgrades, and 64.6M dollars to construct the County’s first K-8 school, the Mechanicsville/Lonsdale/Beaumont solution.

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400 E Main Street
Knoxville, TN
37902

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