Now that Orange County residents have received notice of their property revaluation – typically 23 to 25 percent – commissioners are wringing their hands over whether to ensure a revenue-neutral property tax rate, or do what they’ve done for 20 years and hike the rate to cover their never-ending spending sprees. The rate now stands at a staggering 99.9 cents per $100 valuation.
While the initial rhetoric from commissioners sounds good in this Chapel Hill News story, the reality is we’ve heard it before. If the pattern from previous years continues, this story will be followed by reams of print and hours of pleading from special interest groups about all the “unmet needs” in the county. In previous years, it’s worked every time and the commissioners end up hiking the tax rate and saying they had no other choice.
Here’s the reality of Orange County’s spend-and-tax history. Kudos to the Chapel Hill News for pointing it out (emphasis is mine):
Orange County’s spending has been increasing faster than its tax base. Over the last 20 years, the county’s general fund budget, which pays for operating expenses and construction debt, has grown anywhere from 1.8 percent (2002-03) to 9.9 percent (2005-06) per year. On average, spending increased about 7 percent.
At the same time, real property valuation, the value of taxable property in the county, has grown from 1.9 percent (2007-08) to 6 percent (2006-07) per year. On average, the tax base increased about 4.1 percent.
The county has raised taxes to make up the gap, Coffey said.
Here’s hoping 2009 really is a year of change Orange County taxpayers can believe in.
