hawkins County, Tennessee

County Trustee, Jim Shanks

Jim Shanks was elected in 2014 as the Trustee for Hawkins County.  Jim grew up in Hawkins County where he graduated from Cherokee High School.  He attended East Tennessee State University where he attained an Associate of Applied Science in Criminology and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.  Following college Jim began a career which spanned over twenty years serving his community in law enforcement. 

Jim is a member of the Tennessee Trustee's Association,  East Tennessee Trustee's Association, and the County Officials Association of Tennessee. Jim has served as President and Vice-president of the East Tennessee Trustee's Association, and he also served on the County Officials Association of Tennessee Board of Directors as a representative for the Trustees across the state. In 2020 Jim was awarded " Trustee of the Year" for the Eastern District of Tennessee.  Jim is committed to serving the citizens of Hawkins County to the best of his ability with a professional and honest staff which maintains a high level of integrity and work ethic. The Trustee's office has an open-door policy and is willing to offer assistance and answer questions about the services provided for the citizens of Hawkins County. Jim has enjoyed the opportunity to serve the citizens of the county for the past several years, and looks forward to continuing his service.



 


The Trustee serves three primary functions:



(1) Collection of all county property taxes
(All property, real and personal, tangible and intangible, must be assessed for taxation by the state, or its political subdivisions, unless property is declared to be exempt by some provision of Tennessee law)
(2) Keep a fair and regular account of all money received
(3) Invest temporarily idle county funds

The Trustee is the county’s banker and tax collector, and maintains the  county’s funds.  The Trustee also oversees the total annual cash flow for all county finances.

The Trustee disburses sales tax revenues and other state and local taxes, and generally acts as treasurer for the county, receiving and paying out funds.  The Trustee must keep a detailed account of these transactions.

Based on property tax assessments provided by the office of the Assessor of Property and the property tax rate as set by the County Commission, the Trustee determines the amount of your property tax bill.  Tax bills are mailed after County Commission sets the tax rate and passes the budget (usually no later than October 15). Tax bills become delinquent if not paid by the last day in February of the following year.  As tax collector, the Trustee processes all tax bills and collects all money owed.

In addition, the Trustee administers a State funded Tax Relief Program to help the elderly and disabled citizens pay their property taxes. For qualifying applicants, the State of Tennessee will pay a portion of the property taxes for their home.  Application must be completed no later than April 4 after the February 28 tax payment deadline.