Knox County · year in review
Board of Commissioners — 2021
What the body did on the record in 2021 — every figure a mechanical count over the published minutes, each linking to the exact rows it summarizes. This is a breakdown of the record, not a score or a grade. As of the meeting of August 31, 2026 — the newest published record.
Excludes 13 motions not yet published.
18
meetings held
716
recorded decisions →
633/677
unanimous, of 677 adopted (94% unanimity rate) →
32
split votes →
19/716
deferred, of 716 decisions (3% deferral rate) →
18
failed →
Topics most voted on
- Zoning & land use 135 decisions
- Contracts & purchasing 116 decisions
- Schools 95 decisions
- Roads & infrastructure 58 decisions
- Personnel & appointments 55 decisions
- Intergovernmental & resolutions 49 decisions
- Public safety 42 decisions
- Budget & taxes 33 decisions
Biggest split votes
The year’s most divided decisions — the closest winning margins (|aye − no|). Each links to its full roll call.
-
RZ-21-7-101 Approve rezoning for Jenkins Builders, Inc. (A Ag to PR, 3 units/acre).
5–5 (failed by 0) · Jul 26, 2021
-
RZ-21-3-102 Rezone 8520 West Emory Road from A Agricultural/F Floodway to PR Planned Residential/F Floodway.
6–5 (adopted by 1) · Mar 29, 2021
-
8-K-21-RZ Approve rezoning from A to PR at 3 dwelling units/acre for Mesana Investments, LLC.
5–6 (failed by 1) · Sep 27, 2021
-
O-20-12-101 Ordinance amending County Board of Health role
6–5 (adopted by 1) · Jan 25, 2021
-
O-21-7-104 Amend Merit System Council section (first reading).
5–6 (failed by 1) · Jul 26, 2021
How these are counted
Every figure is a deterministic count over the Knox County, TN Board of Commissioners’s published motions on meetings held in 2021 — the same records behind the vote browser each card links to. Nothing here is a composite score, a grade, or a ranking.
- Unanimity rate = adopted motions with at least one aye and no dissent or abstention, divided by all adopted motions. Shown as a percentage only when there are at least 10 adopted motions.
- Deferral rate = motions disposed as deferred, divided by all recorded decisions in the year. Shown as a percentage only at or above 10 decisions.
- Topics most voted on counts each decision under every neutral topic its agenda items carry (primary and secondary tags alike); procedural items are excluded, as in the default vote browser.
- Biggest split votes are decided (adopted or failed) contested motions ordered by the smallest winning margin |aye−no| first — the most divided decisions.
The general pipeline (sources, extraction, gates, review) is on the methodology page. Compare this body with others on the cross-body comparison.