KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – City leaders, staff, Chamber of Commerce members, and others gathered Friday to hear updates at the City of Kingsport’s State of the City address.

City Manager Chris McCartt has unveiled an exciting initiative titled “I Love This Place,” a campaign designed to foster community pride and highlight the positive aspects of Kingsport. This initiative draws inspiration from an earlier idea championed by former Kingsport alderman Peggy Turner, allowing residents to express their affection for the city and spread positivity.

“Our aim was to revitalize this concept by spotlighting the daily positives within our community,” McCartt explained. “We want to hear directly from Kingsport’s citizens about what makes them love this place.”

He further noted, “While there’s a lot to celebrate here, it’s easy to get caught up in the negatives. This campaign is a reminder of the great things happening and why people choose to live and work in Kingsport.”

McCartt also shared updates on several ongoing city projects, including the construction of a new elementary school and the development of a state industrial road. This road will open up over 150 acres for business and industrial expansion, promising significant growth opportunities.

He emphasized the importance of maintaining a balanced approach by addressing various projects simultaneously rather than focusing on a single one.

Additionally, McCartt outlined key focus areas for the 2026 city budget and provided insights into the city’s latest strategic plan, showcasing a dedicated effort to enhance Kingsport’s future.

“We recognize that we have some fundamental things that everyone expects of us each and every day,” McCartt said. “But we’re also making these other critical investments that we think will lead to just a strong city for many, many years to come. “

McCartt also said why the decision was made to increase property taxes back in July.

“When you go back and look at the cuts that we made in the early years of the pandemic, and really just the paralysis that we put in place with our budget to try to close that gap to the reality is making up $3.8 million for a city our size in an economy that we have is really challenging, if not impossible,” McCartt said.

McCartt said adjustments to the budget needed to be made in order to avoid more cuts.

“Those adjustments were very calculated,” he said. “Those adjustments were outlined today in the fact that we needed to focus back in on infrastructure, which we talked about with the capital that we were doing, reinstating the paving dollars, which is so critical because we are so far behind on paving, and then to invest in the individuals who provide that service, which is the people, the employees in the City of Kingsport.”

McCartt said over 2,000 residents responded to the survey about the city’s strategic plan, and almost 90% of respondents agreed with the contents of the plan.

“What I desire to have is a step back in about three years and look at a scorecard and determine what we’ve been able to accomplish and what we haven’t, and then really focus on things that we haven’t,” McCartt said. “Ask why do they still need to be part of the plan? Revisit the plan, redo it, and then set the document up to be a guiding document again for us for the next three to five years.”

Mayor Paul Montgomery said the State of the City allows city officials to better communicate with residents of Kingsport about what their tax dollars are funding.

“I think it’s very important for the community to understand what their investment is and their investment is their taxes that they pay,” Montgomery said. “So, it’s very important for them to know how we’re using the funds that we’re bringing in. Because if you don’t understand, how can you support. So, we need their support to go forward.”

Montgomery also said city leaders are continuing to work to improve infrastructure, education, and are also focusing on people-first policies.

“If you don’t work to improve, what happens? You fall backwards, you know, you get stagnant,” Montgomery said. “We’re living in an economy where we cannot get stagnant. We cannot afford to not improve, cannot afford not to put more investment into our systems.”

Montgomery said he is proud of what Kingsport has accomplished over the past year and is excited about what the next chapter looks like for the Model City.

“We got so much to be proud of that’s happened in just a year’s time, but we also have a lot more things going on that we have to complete,” Montgomery said. “So, it’s exciting what we’ve done and is even equally exciting that where we’re moving toward.”