May 24, 2007 - In the wake of a revaluation that saw property values essentially double in four years, Brunswick County is cutting its tax rate nearly in half, save for one cent to help pay off some debt.
County manager Marty Lawing presented commissioners Monday night with his recommended budget for fiscal year 2007-08. His proposal totals $197.9 million — a 9.7 percent increase over this year’s budget — based on a reduced tax rate of 30.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Due to this year’s revaluation, which increased the county’s taxable worth to more than $30 billion, Lawing is required by law to first determine a new tax rate that is “revenue-neutral,” meaning a rate that would generate the same amount of revenue as the current rate of 54 cents on previous values.
From that, increases are made to account for annual growth, and the result was a revenue-neutral rate of 29.5 cents.
However, Lawing recommends adding one cent on top of that to help pay off a general obligation bond for Brunswick Community College approved by voters in 2004.
The nearly 10-percent increase in revenues and expenditures represents the continued rate of growth in the county, which is currently the 14th fastest-growing county according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By Jonathan Spiers