(MURFREESBORO)  Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland had a heart-to-heart conversation on WGNS about why our cost of living is increasing dramatically here, especially in the area of buying a home or renting a place in which to live. The mayor explained... 

McFarland said that fiscal year 2021 showed there were 984 single-family building permits issued, 688 permits to construct town homes and 552 apartment construction permits. The next year, 2022, shows 756 single-family permits--that's a drop of almost 25 per cent. Town homes fell almost half to 350 permits, and because of the City Council's crack-down on building fewer apartments--those were almost non-existent...down to 52 permits from the previous year's 552 construction permits to build apartments. 

The mayor noted that "now more than earlier years--we're not building enough to meet the demand." 

He reported that so far this year (Jan., Feb., and March 2023), there have been only 180 construction permits issued for new single-family homes in Murfreesboro.

Mayor McFarland explained, "Not as many people are willing to pay what houses are selling for in Murfreesboro. As a result, they are looking at more affordable homes in Cannon, Coffee, Bedford and surrounding counties, and then driving to Murfreesboro to work. That is creating our other unpopular problem--TRAFFIC!" 

Mayor McFarland said that expensive construction costs are also wreaking havoc on city budgets as well. 

The mayor noted, "It cost about $12-million to build Overall Creek Elementary School in 2014. Five-years later, we wanted to save money, so we used the same blueprint and constructed an idential school when we built Salem Elementary, but its cost doubled--$24-million when it opened in 2018. The next school is estimated to cost approximately $50-million." 

The mayor suggested, "We need to start thinking out of the box with our schools. Perhaps split schedules or just adding new buildings to existing campuses resolve the issue."

He said that City Manager Craig Tindall said it the clearest when he explained to the Council, "Our allocations from tax dollars are up, but not because people are buying more--it's because of inflated pricing. The sales tax is higher because everything costs more!" 

Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland and Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr are both on WGNS monthly. This gives the public an opportunity to talk one-on-one with them and share your ideas. McFarland is on the first Wednesday of each month and Carr is on the final Wednesday, both from 8:10-9:00AM.  You can talk with each elected official or you have the opportunity to text your question or thought, both at 615-893-1450.