Evans Block · Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0How is Smithville run?
Smithville’s city government spent $5.4 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2023, about $1,060 per resident. That is its newest year reported to the Census Bureau. Water and other utilities ($1 million) and the airport ($225,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Smithville is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,060 per resident a year, or $2.90 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 29%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$757 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Smithville’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($757 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 43 Tennessee cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $698, and the middle half spent $418–$1,168. Smithville spent more than 51% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($901,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Tennessee cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Smithville itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 44% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Smithville reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $757 · 2023: $1,060.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $736 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.38% of the home’s value, vs 0.50% across Tennessee.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Smithville’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Smithville’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Smithville →
Who’s in charge in Smithville
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Smithville’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on smithvilletn.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 161 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (5,136).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
DeKalb County School District
Smithville’s K–12 school district, shared with Alexandria, Dowelltown, Liberty. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $11,339 per pupil, $7,236 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Tennessee districts overall: 40% local, 44% state, 16% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Smithville’s votes are counted by county
Tennessee reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Smithville alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are DeKalb County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican80.9%7,599 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat18.2%1,706 votesOthers: 1.0% (91 votes).
Most votes in DeKalb County: Donald J Trump
Tennessee: Trump 64.2%, Harris 34.5%
100% of Smithville lies in DeKalb County. Every 2024 race in DeKalb County is on the county’s page.
DeKalb County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Smithville.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: smithvilletn.com ↗
- 2Tennessee HouseState representatives
- 3Tennessee SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Tennessee
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Smithville’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Smithville’s government
How much does Smithville spend per resident?
About $1,060 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $757 was more than 51% of 43 Tennessee cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Smithville?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $736 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.38% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.50% across Tennessee. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see smithvilletn.com.
Who runs Smithville’s government?
See smithvilletn.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Smithville yet.
How did Smithville vote in 2024?
Tennessee counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Smithville alone. DeKalb County, where 100% of Smithville lies, voted Trump 80.9%, Harris 18.2% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Smithville?
32 full-time and 14 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $140,586 (about $1.7M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Smithville in the state legislature?
State Senate District 16 (Janice Bowling) and State House District 40 (Michael Hale). The House district also covers nine other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Smithville’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →