At Saturday's retreat, the Orange County commissioners looked at a lot of graphs. One compared the growth in the county's general fund, which pays for operating expenses, and the growth in the value of real property. Property taxes paid for 71 percent of the county's $183 million budget this fiscal year.
The problem, according to Commissioner Mike Nelson, is that the first number has been increasing at a higher rate than the second. In other words, the county is increasing its spending faster than property taxes have been growing to pay for that spending. In fact, projections show county spending rising 5.8 percent a year over the next five years while property values rise just 3.9 percent.
The county can offset the difference by continuing to draw down its reserves or, of course, by raising the tax rate on that real property base.
Neither is palatable to Nelson, a relatively new commissioner and former mayor of Carrboro.
"I have a fundamental, philosophical, ideological problem with the way this organization had done budgeting," he told county budget director Donna Coffey, County Manager Laura Blackmon and his fellow board members. "It's brought about tax increases."
Read more from the retreat in this week's News & Observer and Chapel Hill News.
Comments
Thanks!
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 17:52 — elvisboy77For the personal attack.
Perhaps you should read the article in the DTH before you say last rites on the airport and give yourself high fives over your airport "victory".
“It is unfortunate that it appears that the protests of a group of citizens who live in a part of the county where, in my judgement, the airport was not very to likely to be built — for that group to follow its fears and organize in such a way that it caused all discussions of issues relating to an airport to be crowded,” said Heavner, who talked to Thorp before the announcement.
Other supporters of local aviation said the prospect of a new airport has not been completely scratched.
LOL
What a bizarre quote
Tue, 01/13/2009 - 08:08 — marcoplosHeavner is on a different planet.
That is correct
Tue, 01/13/2009 - 17:59 — elvisboy77He lives on one where he wields extreme wealth and political power, unlike us worker bees.
Too funny
Sun, 01/11/2009 - 10:12 — elvisboy77This, from the same person who is anti-large retail. Can't have it both ways, honey pie.
More expert analysis
Sun, 01/11/2009 - 19:48 — marcoplosfrom elvisboy, the anonymous (gutless) guy who said the airport was inevitable.