Beautiful N&R front page this morning.
The lead headline reads Build trust in Guilford, leaders say.
Right below reads this headline: Rising expenses spell tax increase. I love it.
So what’s at the heart of Guilford County’s 9-cent tax hike?
Indeed, much of the government’s added expenses are debt payments from school-construction bonds that voters approved in 2000 and 2003. The county will pay $11 million more in debt than it paid last year, according to documents from the budget office.
That’s about a 3-cent tax increase right there.
Government agencies want more money, too. The public schools are asking for $172.4 million from the county this year, $15.7 million more than they received a year ago.
Funny that Al Barnett Jr, a panelist at yesterday’s N&R-sponsored group therapy session, said he spoke with a friend who “watched about 15 minutes of the county commissioners and it makes her head hurt.” If that’s the case, Barnett’s friend will definitely be better off watching “Ugly Betty” tonight.