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Board hears little feedback on budget

Posted on May 28, 2009May 28, 2009 by Staff

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

CARRBORO — The Carrboro Board of Aldermen heard very little public comment at a public hearing regarding Town Manager Steve Stewart’s proposed $19.1 million fiscal 2010 operating budget on Tuesday.

Only one person — Orange County Housing and Land Trust director Robert Dowling — spoke to the board regarding the budget, and he offered praise for the staff’s support of the land trust.

The budget includes a revenue-neutral property tax rate of 58.94 cents per $100 of valuation. The recommended rate was adjusted down from the fiscal 2009 rate of 68.63 cents to account for the recent property revaluation. This year’s revaluation produced a tax base of nearly $1.9 billion, compared with about $1.6 billion in fiscal 2009.

While the tax rate provides no increase in revenue for the town, taxpayers could see an increase in their tax bills, depending on how the recent revaluation affected their property values.

Board members said they have heard from residents who said they were pleased with the proposed budget.

“I’ve heard a lot of very positive feedback about our not only maintaining but increasing our donations to our support of nonprofits during a time when everybody else is yanking the money out from under them,” board member Jacquie Gist said.

The budget includes $19,075,434 in recommended general-fund expenditures and revenues, with property and sales tax accounting for 73 percent of revenues. The budget year begins July 1.

Town officials expect sales tax revenues to decrease by more than 9 percent in the coming fiscal year in addition to a significant reduction in grant funds from the state, equaling about 2 cents on the property tax rate.

Stewart said while the tax base is larger than last year’s, the adjusted property tax rate would level out town revenues.

Board member Dan Coleman said he was concerned about those property owners whose properties increased in value by more than the 20 percent average and would thus see a tax increase, despite the proposed revenue-neutral tax rate.

“What I’m concerned about is when people start seeing the effects of the revaluations,” board member Coleman said. “The effects of the revaluations are not going to be equal across the county.”

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