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week
of 3/27/02
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Macon’s
neediest may be ‘squeezed’ by tax cut pledge SMN Many Macon County citizens are probably jumping for joy, what with county commissioners already promising to cut property taxes next year. In many cases entire political campaigns are based on pledges to lower taxes and cut spending. Perhaps, though, some may also wonder how needs are going to be met. It is a question worth giving serious consideration. At a meeting two weeks ago, the county board promised citizens they would reduce the county’s tax rate from 45 cents per $100 of valuation down to 44 cents. Taxes were raised one cent last year to cover the shortfall caused when the state froze reimbursements. County manager Sam Greenwood said to meet the 1-cent reduction, all county departments would “feel the squeeze.” The question that begs to be answered is just who this “squeeze” will affect — children in schools, low-income mothers in need of health department services, divorced parents trying to collect money from those not paying child support? Macon County is promising to drop taxes while the state is once again freezing local reimbursements and trying to figure out how it will make up a shortfall that is expected to creep toward the $1 billion mark by the time legislators meet in Raleigh for this summer’s short legislative session. According to Greenwood, the county will be able to sacrifice its reimbursements and make up Medicaid increases and face only a $64,000 budget shortfall. He is depending on property valuation increases of about $250,000 and $150,000 savings from the Medicaid local use rate. Macon County citizens have one of the lowest tax burdens in the state of North Carolina. Citizens now pay 45 cents per $100. The only North Carolinians who pay less are those in Brunswick County (42 cents), Clay County (43 cents) and Carteret County (44 cents). When one factors in the actual market value of property, the Macon tax rate drops even further, to an effective rate of 38 cents. Again, three counties have a lower effective tax rate, according to the N.C. Association of County Commissioners. Macon commissioners and Greenwood should be proud of their work in holding property taxes down while still building schools and funding other needs, and their state ranking is solid evidence of how successful they have been. And no one wants commissioners to raise taxes and go on a spending spree for the wrong reasons. But county department heads aren’t even going to submit their spending plans until April 19. The school system has not come around forecasting its needs, and neither have DSS or the health department. Promising a tax cut this early in the budget season seems more political than well-planned, and could lead to some real worthy needs going unfunded. |