Nolensville Leaders Talk Growth and Taxes at 2025 Annual Address

Nolensville leaders spoke about a variety of opportunities and challenges for the town during the 2025 annual town address.

Mayor Halie Gallik touted a slew of milestones and ongoing projects during the presentation on Tuesday, April 29. She lauded the opening of the town's first municipal fire station in 2024, which will soon see the addition of a new ladder truck; the completion of upgraded ball fields in March; groundbreakings which include the Nolensville Town Square development and the town's first freestanding emergency room; and the scheduled November opening of the Publix shopping center.

Growth and Taxes

Gallik also talked about the town's proposed budget, an addition of three police officers and firefighters and a five year strategic plan which will take into account the community’s growing service and road needs.

On Thursday, May 1, the Nolensville Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the first reading of the proposed budget, which includes a proposed property tax increase from $0.29 to $0.55.

“The promise has always been that commercial revenue will catch up, even with the Publix development opening, that is just not the case,” Gallik said during that meeting.

At the annual address just days before, Nolensville Town Manager Victor Lay said the town generates only $2.7 million in sales taxes because there are not as many large box retailers in the community. When evaluating how to fund services for growth, the town leaders have to consider what opportunities they have to increase revenue streams other than sales tax.

“Nolensville is in a unique spot in that we have a great affluence in our community, we spend a lot of money, have lots of spending capital, but that capital is already going out to other places [like Franklin, Brentwood and Nashville],” Lay said. “So one of the things that we've looked at has been what we do with our property tax, and one of the proposals has been that even after the county goes through reappraisal, that we may need to add as much as a quarter to our existing property tax in order to afford this [growth] over the next five years.”

Williamson County Schools Superintendent Jason Golden spoke about the achievements of Nolensville students and the growth of the student population, noting planned classroom additions to Nolensville High School in 2028, as well as the planned opening of a new elementary school the same year.

“We have a tradition, and it's the right thing to do, which is, we'll add on. We'll put in portables, we will rezone, and then when we know in the whole region we need that extra construction, which is expensive, we make the request of the county commission when we know there's a need,” Golden said.

Roads and Development

One of the major pain points for residents in Nolensville is traffic that backs up on main roadways.

“The amount of time it takes from start to finish is not a quick fix, and it's important for the community at large to understand that and to know that, in reality, we will not have meaningful expansions of Nolensville Road anytime soon,” Galick said. “Even with this reality, we continue to push for ways to expedite that process.”

Nolensville will soon apply for the Tennessee Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Program (STP) in hopes of securing some state funding “to advocate for the expansion of Nolensville Road from Burkitt [Road] south to York Road, with the goal of being included on TDOT’s 10-year plan,” Galik said.

She continued: “This is more than just a convenience for our citizens. It's instrumental in economic development, roadway safety and the ability for our community to continue to thrive,”

Galik also said that TDOT is expected to begin work on installing a traffic light at the intersection of York, Nolensville and Williams Roads this summer. She added that Rocky Fork Road improvements will focus first on the intersection of Newsome Lane. And, a pedestrian signal on Sunset Road at the entrance of Sunset Middle and Elementary School should be under construction at the end of June.

Lay noted that in the fall the town learned there is a pause on development approvals with Nashville Metro Water Services, which operates sewer lines in the town, leading to a potential slow in developments that need sewer approvals to move forward. The department has said it hopes to expand its capacity in an estimated three-year timeframe. Despite that, more than 2,200 homes have already been approved to be built over the next 10 years.

“The development is not going to stop; it's going to slow,” Lay said. “We'll have to take those things into account in our future budgets, but at least for the short term, we're still going to be moving along.”