JC Commissioners work on budget that includes new aquatic center

Johnson City Commissioners reached verbal consensus Thursday on a fiscal 2027 budget that includes funding for a new $37 million aquatic center, $5 million for new infrastructure and services and a 28-cent property tax increase. The budget that will begin July 1 and must be approved on three readings, beginning June 4, with required second and third readings set for June 11 and June 25. Commissioners expressed support for both the aquatic center concept, which was detailed in a study city staff received last fall, along with additional expenditures that include new equipment and personnel, paving, demolishing the Main Street post office building and hiring a three-person downtown maintenance crew. The new aquatic center would be built in three phases and would be paid for through a 20-year bond, with total cost including interest of $55 million.