General
Payment of Taxes, Utilities and Fees
Property Taxes
Utilities
Utility Service Charges and Deposits
Business License
Other Permits and Fees
Beer Board
Contact

GENERAL
The Finance Department is under the direction of the City Recorder and is responsible for managing the financial resources of the City of Springfield, accumulating all financial data and information, and reporting on the local government's financial condition. The department is responsible for the collection of property tax, sales tax, permit fees, beer and alcohol taxes, utility billing, fee payments and other monies owed to the City. The department is also responsible for the expenditure of all City funds for properly authorized purposes. Other functions of the department include the investment of idle funds, enforcement of bid and purchasing procedures, financial reports, records retention and other financial and statistical information as required.

PAYMENT OF TAXES, UTILITIES AND FEES
The Finance Department accepts payments not only by cash and check, but also electronically and by credit card. Electronic payments are presently accepted through the customer's initiation of a transaction with their bank. Credit card payments are only accepted in person at City Hall, 405 N. Main Street.

PROPERTY TAXES
The current property tax rate for the City of Springfield is $0.83 per $100 of assessed value. Property taxes must be paid by December 31st of each year or penalty and interest of 1.5% will be added on the first day of each month until paid. The current Robertson County property tax rate is $2.39 per $100 of assessed value. County property tax payments are due by February 28th of each year. Penalty and interest charges are added after the due date.

UTILITIES
This department is also responsible for servicing customer billing or meter problems and reading all water, gas and electric utility meters for billing purposes. Utility meters are read and statements sent to customers by mail on a monthly basis.

Citizens can also initiate utility service with the City by coming to City Hall during normal business hours and speaking to one of our new service representatives to connect or disconnect services with the City. An application, accompanied with two (2) forms of identification, must be completed. Fees and deposits are charged when applicable. All utility service charges and deposits are listed below. All utility rates can be viewed by clicking on the quick link for Rates and Fees and scrolling down.

Please call 615-382-2200 during normal business hours in order to have your questions answered. Customer service emergencies can be reported by calling the Springfield Police Department at 615-384-8422 after hours, and on weekends and holidays.

UTILITY SERVICE CHARGES AND DEPOSITS
View rates and fees.

BUSINESS LICENSE
Persons interested in opening a business in Springfield must first complete an application for a business license at the City Clerk's office and pay a twenty-dollar ($20.00) fee. The City Clerk will mail a business tax report annually to each business. The business must complete the report and mail it back to the City with the amount of the business tax liability as calculated by state regulations on the form. The business tax liability is based on the gross receipts of the business.

OTHER PERMITS AND FEES
Applications for the following permits can be received at the City Clerk's office during normal business hours:

Solicitor Permits
Solicitor permits are required before any peddler, canvasser, solicitor or transient vendor can ply his/her trade within the corporate limits of Springfield. Application for a "use" permit or "solicitor" permit must be submitted to the City Clerk along with written permission from the property owner when sales are conducted at locations other than the prospective buyer's residence or place of business, for temporary use. Solicitors' application must be submitted three (3) working days prior to the event. A record check is accomplished on the solicitor and a permit is issued if appropriate for a designated location and time. All permit holders are required to exhibit their permits at the request of any police officer or city official.

View more information on solicitor permits and regulations, click on the quick link for Springfield Municipal Code, click on Title 9 entitled "Business, Peddlers, Solicitors, Etc.", and then scroll to Chapter 1 entitled "Miscellaneous" or Chapter 2 entitled "Peddlers, Etc.").

Yard Sale Permits
Yard sales are allowed for the sale of personal property only. No yard sale can be conducted without a permit from the City of Springfield. Persons wishing to obtain a yard sale permit must first file a written application with the City Clerk at least three (3) days in advance of the proposed sale and pay a five-dollar ($5.00) administrative processing fee. Members of more than one residence may join in obtaining a permit for a yard sale to be conducted at the residence of one of them. Permits may be obtained for any nonresidential location as well.

The permit will set forth and restrict the time and location of the yard sale. No more than two (2) permits may be issued to one residential location, residence and/or family household during any calendar year. The yard sale permit must be posted on the premises in a conspicuous place so as to be seen by the public or any city official. Yard sale times are limited to between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on three (3) consecutive days or on two (2) consecutive weekends (Saturday and Sunday).

Two (2) signs of not more than four (4) square feet may be permitted to be displayed on the property of the residence or nonresidential site where the yard sale is being conducted. Two (2) directional signs of not more than two (2) square feet are permitted, provided that the premises on which the yard sale is being conducted is not a major thoroughfare, and written permission to erect such signs is received from the property owners on whose property such signs are to be placed. The signs are not allowed on public property (utility poles, street signs, etc.). Signs must be removed each day at the close of the yard sale activities.

(To view more information about yard sale permits and regulations, click on the quick link for Springfield Municipal Code, click on Title 9 entitled "Business, Peddlers, Solicitors, Etc.", and scroll to Chapter 5 entitled "Yard Sales").

Parade Permits
Parade permits are necessary to regulate the time, place and manner of parades and similar functions or events that are held on city roads and rights-of-way. Permits are only issued after Police Department investigation and approval of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Only one permit shall be issued per day.

(To view more information about parade permits and regulations, click on the quick link for Springfield Municipal Code, click on Title 16 entitled "Streets and Sidewalks, Etc.", and scroll to Chapter 6 entitled "Parades").

Roadblock Permits
Roadblocks are for the solicitation of monies by charitable organizations within the right-of-way of any street, road, highway, or other public way. Roadblock permits are only issued to eligible organizations that have received an exemption certificate from the internal revenue service under 26 U.S.C., Subchapter 501(c) (3) or (4). Charitable organizations are limited to only one (1) roadblock per year. No professional solicitor may solicit in the name of a charitable organization.

Roadblocks are limited to one (1) per day and may only be conducted on Saturdays between 8:00 a.m. and noon. All roadblocks are restricted to the intersection of Locust Street and 5th Avenue West and the intersection of Main Street and Central Avenue. A permit is issued by the City Recorder and a copy must be available at all solicitation locations.

(To view more information about roadblock permits and regulations, click on the quick link for Springfield Municipal Code, click on Title 16 entitled "Streets and Sidewalks, Etc", and scroll to Chapter 7 entitled "Solicitation Roadblocks").

Beer Permits
Businesses that desire to sell beer for off-premise and on-premise consumption must complete the appropriate application through the City Clerk's office, and pay a two hundred and fifty dollar ($250.00) nonrefundable application fee. Applications must be approved by the Springfield Beer Board before beer can be sold legally within the city limits of Springfield. The Beer Board meets the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m., at City Hall.

No on-premise or off-premise beer permit shall be issued authorizing the storage, sale or manufacture of beer within three hundred (300) feet of any school (public or private), daycare, park, playground, or church as measured on a straight line from the nearest point of the school, daycare, park, playground, or church to the nearest point of the building or structure where beer is stored, sold or manufactured, with the exception that this provision shall not be applicable to the renewal of any existing permit outstanding as of September 19, 2006; and with the additional exception that there shall be no distance requirement between a permit location and any church that has been granted a conditional use permit within a CG, Commercial General zoning district.

On-premise beer permits shall not be issued except to eating establishments that possess seating capacities for not less than twenty-five (25) persons and where hot meals or lunches are regularly served and where food revenues make up at least forty percent (40%) of the gross sales of the business.

(To view more information about beer permits and regulations, click on the quick link for Springfield Municipal Code, click on Title 8 entitled "Alcoholic Beverages", and scroll to Chapter 2 entitled "Beer").

Alcoholic Beverages - Intoxicating Liquors
The City of Springfield allows the sale and consumption of liquor with an alcohol content of more than five percent (5%) if properly approved by both the City and the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC). Persons interested in pursuing this type of business should always contact ABC by dialing 615-741-1602.

An application for a liquor store license may be received in the City Recorder's office at City Hall. Liquor stores shall not be located within a distance of 600 feet of a church, school or other public institution. (To view more information about liquor store regulations, click on the quick link for Springfield Municipal Code, click on Title 8 entitled "Alcoholic Beverages", and scroll to Chapter 1 entitled "Intoxicating Liquors").

Liquor by the drink is regulated primarily by the State of Tennessee. Anyone interested in obtaining a license for liquor by the drink must apply with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. A liquor by the drink license requires a completed application, minimum seating for seventy-five (75) persons and an inspection by the ABC before consideration for approval.

Taxicab Franchise
It is unlawful for any person to engage in a taxicab business without first having obtained a taxicab franchise from the City and having a current effective minimum business license. All persons desiring to operate taxicabs within the city of Springfield are required to make application to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for a franchise. Applications may be received at the City Clerk's office during normal business hours.

(To view more information on taxicab regulations, click on the quick link for Springfield Municipal Code, click on Title 9 entitled "Business, Peddlers, Solicitors, Etc.", and scroll to Chapter 4 entitled "Taxicabs").

 

BEER BOARD
The City of Springfield Beer Board is composed of seven (7) members. The Chairman, serving at-large, is appointed by the Mayor and the six remaining members are each appointed by an Alderman to represent a particular ward. Members serve four-year terms that are staggered every two years. The Beer Board has the power to regulate the selling, storing for sale, distributing for sale, and manufacturing of beer within the city of Springfield. All meetings of the Beer Board are open to the public and are held on the second Thursday of every month at 5:30 p.m., at the Board Room on the first floor of City Hall, 405 North Main Street.

The current members of the Beer Board are as follows:

CONTACT
City Recorder/Finance Department
City Hall
405 North Main Street
Springfield, Tennessee 37172
Telephone: 615-382-2200
Fax: 615-382-1612
Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Bobby C. Lehman, City Recorder
Connie Watson, City Clerk