A revenue neutral tax rate in a revaluation year is a goal every county commissioner should have and one I subscribe to for Mecklenburg County next fiscal year. What I do not know at this time is how severe the impact of the deepening national recession and the acquisition of Wachovia by Wells Fargo will be on the year over year growth in the tax base in Mecklenburg County. If Mecklenburg County has little or no “growth revenue” from growth in the tax base, we could find ourselves facing some serious fiscal challenges. I think it generally is prudent not to be a doctrinaire about this issue, particularly when we are more than eight months away from the date we will be adopting a tax rate for the County’s fiscal year 2009/2010. A lot can happen between now and then … good and bad … to change the picture.
Dumont Clarke
County Commissioner
District 4
