Yet another property tax increase appears to be a done deal for Orange County residents. Reporting by both The Herald-Sun and the Raleigh News & Observer on last night’s board of commissioners meeting presents an increase as unavoidable and casts the commissioners in a sympathetic light. One has to read down to the last several paragraphs of the Herald-Sun story to find the information that reveals how oppressive the tax burden is in Orange. Even Commissioner Barry Jacobs, a proud progressive, acknowledges the county has reached a wall. Here is the exchange from the story:
Mike Kelley of the city schools board asked how the county had gotten in the situation it faced, and whether future planning could avoid years where the commissioners feel they can raise taxes only enough to cover debt payments.
Barry Jacobs, vice chairman of the commissioners, said he thought the situation was a “confluence of circumstances.”
Building Carrboro High School, Gravelly Hill Middle School and Elementary No. 10 has cost at least $10 million more than was budgeted. Last year, the governor’s salary increase for teachers also impacted the county’s budget.
“And we still raised taxes 12.5 cents in the last two years. I think that it’s [in] our board’s interest to reign that in,” Jacobs said.
The facts about Orange County are clear in the Center for Local Innovation’s By The Numbers report, which charts the cost of government in North Carolina counties and cities. The report makes no judgments on whether the rates are good or bad, but supplies an apples-to-apples comparison among governments. Page 10 of the report reveals that through FY 2005, Orange County had the 4th highest combined property tax rate per capita in the state, behind only Dare, Mecklenburg and Durham counties. Ninety-six counties have provided services at a lower per-capita rate. For combined property tax burden as a percentage of income through FY 2005, Orange County ranked 11th highest in the state.
Meantime, a story from last week illustrates why Orange County carries this onerous burden: an inability to distinguish between wants and needs. Days ago, the Orange commissioners voted to spend $2.27 on a soccer complex. According to a resident interviewed for the story, Orange has at least 19 soccer fields. The $2.27 million is part of a $50 million capital project loan package. OK, soccer is nice, but are more fields really a need, or just a want? I suspect the commissioners would justify their vote by talking about differing “pots” of money and quality of life. My question is this: When will the majority of Orange commissioners take seriously that the onerous tax burden is a quality of life issue as well?
