Cabarrus County’s 2012 revaluation is expected to lower property tax revenue for the county by $17.6 million, leaving commissioners with two choices — cut services or increase the tax rate.
Cabarrus County has been reviewing property tax values for the last year for the revaluation. The county tax administrator’s office expects to release individual revaluation notices to residents this month. The impact of the revaluation on the county’s $203 million budget led to some intense discussion during the Cabarrus County commissioners’ retreat last weekend about what to do.
County finance officers provided commissioners with a color-coded list of services it provides, divided into mandated and non-mandated services.
If the tax rate remains at 63 cents per $100 valuation, or $1,260 for a $200,000 home, commissioners would have to consider closing county parks and library branches, and cutting funding to veterans services, services for seniors and economic development programs.
Commissioners also may have to consider reducing funding to state and federally mandated services that allow local discretion over funding. Commissioners can decide how much to spend locally on schools, the Cabarrus Health Alliance, the Board of Elections and several Department of Social Services programs.
“If you don’t want to close libraries and parks down, you have to start looking at the blue areas,” Commissioner Bob Carruth said, referring to a chart that showed the mandated health, education and social services that could be funded at lower levels.
“It’s like putting a 500-pound man on a diet,” he said. “If you tell him he has to lose 300 pounds in six months, it will kill him.”
Commissioner Chris Measmer suggested an across-the-board cut of 5 percent to all county services. Deputy County Manager Pam Dubois said the county did that in 2010.
Commissioner Jay White said he’s concerned about the impact of another across-the-board cut to services that have already been operating on diminished budgets.
“To blatantly say cut 5 percent of services, you are jeopardizing the future,” White said. “If you are not educating our students to earn a livable wage, they’re going to come back on the government for support. This idea that we’re extravagant and that the schools are extreme … I just think they’re out of touch with reality.”
Commissioner Vice Chairman Larry Burrage said he recognizes that something has to be done. “It’s going to go against everything I said I was going to do,” he said. “I may have to resign.”
Burrage said he’d like to consider making cuts first and raising the rate less than the nearly 10 cents necessary to maintain the county’s current level of services.
County finance officials have said that the county tax rate must increase to nearly 73 cents per $100 valuation, or about a $1,460 tax bill for a $200,000 house, to continue operating at its current level.
The rate, though, is not the only factor that will determine individual tax bills this year. Most property owners will experience a decrease in value. Single-family homes are expected to decrease in value by about 13.34 percent overall.
Manufactured homes will decrease in value by about 18.48 percent, according to county tax officials. A small percentage of properties — typically those with improvements or additions — will increase in value.
Residents will have the opportunity to appeal changes to their property values if they disagree with changes.
For more information about the 2012 revaluation, visit http://www.cabarruscounty.us/government/departments/tax/revaluation/Pages/default.aspx.
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