It’s Official: Reval + Revenue Neutral = Tax Hike
Nearly half of Mecklenburg homeowners, about 158,000 households, would be in line for a tax hike under the county’s proposed revenue-neutral budget plan, according to the latest numbers from the county’s budget department.
Rolling with a revenue-neutral plan would dip the county property tax rate from 83.87-cents to 78.83-cents per $100 assessed value, and still enable the county to rake in the same amount of loot as this year. But for the majority of folks who saw their home values increase from revaluation, it would still mean a tax hike – even with the lower tax rate.
The situation gets even worse if the board of county commissioners tries to capture more of the value by approving what Jenny & The Debts fondly refer to as a “rate-neutral” scheme, where the existing tax rate stays the same and the county harvests upwards of an additional $70 million through the magic of revaluation. Under that scenario more than 194,000 homeowners (60.1 percent) would be walloped with a tax hike.
On the flip side, countywide nearly 51 percent of households (164,447) would have a tax decrease under a revenue-neutral plan, falling to 36.8 percent (119,021 households) under a rate-neutral plan.
The majority of tax increase, under both the rate- and revenue-neutral scenarios, would be shouldered by homeowners from the county’s largely suburban districts in north and south Mecklenburg. The majority of households that would see their tax burden shrink under either scenario come from largely urban districts.
In Democrat George Dunlap’s District 3, for example, nearly 73 percent of households (42,784) would see a decrease from a revenue-neutral plan; 62 percent (36,516 households) from rate-neutral. In District 2, represented by Democrat Vilma Leake, 63 percent of households (30,109) would see a decrease from a revenue-neutral plan; nearly 49 percent (23,296 households) from rate-neutral. In Democrat Dumont Clarke’s District 4, about 58 percent of households (21,076) would have a tax decrease under a revenue-neutral plan; 41 percent (14,812 households) with rate-neutral.
Notice a Democrat trend?
Conversely, in Republican Neil Cooksey’s south Charlotte District 5, about 82 percent of households (36,599) would have a tax increase under a revenue-neutral plan; 89 percent (39,780 households) under rate-neutral. In Republican Bill James’ southern Mecklenburg District 6, nearly 66 percent of households (38,074) would see a tax hike with a revenue-neutral plan; 78 percent (45,334 households) under rate-neutral. Up in northern Mecklenburg’s District 1, represented by Republican Karen Bentley, nearly 45 percent of households (34,813) would have a tax increase under a revenue-neutral plan, jumping to 57 percent (44,535 households) with a rate-neutral plan.
The county budget office hasn’t released a specific dollar impact on homeowners – in effect what percent tax increase they would absorb (5 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, or more) – under a revenue- or rate-neutral scenario.
In either case, it would be too high, James said. He’s pushing for a revenue negative plan that would dip the tax rate below the revenue-neutral 78.83-cents and have the county collect less loot, as the name implies, even with revaluation in play. It would also all but quash Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ recent ask of an additional $55 million in county funding.
“It is absurd that CMS is even considering such a proposal,” James wrote in an email. “We don’t have the money and frankly they should be putting the squeeze on the group that is cutting their funds (the President, Congress, and the Gov and Legislature).
“They are hitting us up,” James wrote, “because Dr. Gorman and CMS think the County Commission D’s [Democrats] are an easy target and will cave under the pressure.”
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