So Mecklenburg County taxpayers get a small tax cut after last year’s 11 percent hike. Yippee! Better than nothing. But still not good enough.
The big picture is still that county spending is growing too fast, up by 8 percent over last year. And far too much of that money is being spent on non-essentials, such as lavish pay-raises for county employees. The big picture is that instead of taking the $24 million in surplus cash left over after the tax hike and giving it back to taxpayers, the board majority raided a pay-as-go fund set up last year to give a little money back to taxpayers while spending the surplus on various pet programs.
The big picture is that the county’s debt load is too high, which is why County Manager Harry Jones has been trying to find a way to get in down, first with the pay-go-fund, then this year by using $8 million in lotto funds to reduce debt. Taken together, county debt, its Medicaid payment (an issue Raleigh refuses to address), the CMS operating budget, and various local entitlements represent an unsustainable spending trajectory.
It is also worth noting that instead of the $10 million hike for CMS that Jones suggested, the board majority opted for a $25 million hike.
So get used to formula: Big tax hike in non-election years, tiny tax cut in election years. It is a cruel, cynical cycle which will absolutely bankrupt Mecklenburg County just a few turns into the game.
