by Rich Fowler
Staff Writer
Chapel Hill residents can expect an 11.3 percent increase in town property taxes should the town council approve the proposed 2008-2009 budget at its meeting Monday. It would be the first increase in property taxes in two years.
Town Manager Roger Stancil’s recommended budget contains a 5.9-cent property tax increase mainly to cover increasing debt cost from new facilities including the town operations center, the Homestead Road aquatics center and Southern Community Park.
The taxes a homeowner will pay on a $200,000 house would go up from $1,044 to $1,162 — an increase of $118. Homeowners who live in the part of Chapel Hill in Durham County will not see a tax increase this year because Durham County revalued their homes last year. By state law, the town may not raise the tax rate in those areas right after a revaluation.
When property owners get their tax bills in the fall, they will also notice a change in how property taxes are structured. That’s because the town is changing how it pays for its debt by restructuring property taxes. Instead of drawing money out of the town’s general fund to pay for its debts, it will set aside a certain amount of property taxes to go straight into its debt service fund.
With the new way of accounting, the tax rate for the general fund will drop to 42.3 cents, the new debt service fund tax rate will be 11 cents, and the transit fund tax rate will remain 4.8 cents, for a total of 58.1 cents per $100. In 2007, the tax rate for the general fund was 47.4 cents, with another 4.8 cents for the transit fund, for a total of 52.2 cents. The change in accounting will make sure that the money to pay back debts comes from a stable revenue source.
The town expects to raise around $24.6 million from property taxes for the general fund, $6.4 million for the debt service fund and $2.8 million for the transit fund this year.
Appropriations for the town would be just under $86.7 million with $34.1 million to cover salaries and benefits compared to last year’s $32.3 million, an increase of 5.3 percent.
The budget plan includes a 3 percent raise for employees, a $363,000 jump in health insurance costs, $478,000 for staff and other costs at the new aquatics center and $125,000 for improving the town’s
website.
Transit expenses are also expected to go up 9.6 percent from last year, to just under $16.1 million. The increased costs come from rising oil and fuel prices, rising maintenance costs and costs associated with the move to the new town operations center.
You can find a copy of the town manager’s proposed budget at the town’s website, www.townofchapelhill.org.
So there is a raise and a tax increase :-), quite a balance i msut say