Adding to 3.75: A message from your manager
Guilford County has posted manager Willie Best's budget message online. Best read the statement Thursday night as he presented the $507.8 million budget proposal.
Property-tax-conscious Scoop readers might be particularly interested in a segment near the end of the message labeled "public accountability." There, Best adds up all the new funding that leads to the 3.75-cent tax increase he's proposing. The owner of a $150,000 home pays $56.25 more under the plan.
Best's recommended funding for the schools, for example, increases the tax rate by 2 cents. More money for law enforcement (i.e. the sheriff's department) adds 1 cent. An early retirement plan adds about one-third of a cent, and additional support for social programs equals about one-fifth of a cent.
Get rid of all that, and the tax increase is virtually wiped out. Will that happen? Certainly not, but commissioners are eyeing cuts as the July 1 budget deadline draws closer.
