Other budget strategies? Car taxes, even cutting commish/mayor's salaries

It was all budgets all the time this week as city after city, county after county in North Carolina unveiled their budgets. And though policymakers in Mecklenburg County are skittish about fee and tax increases, some others are tapping into citizen pocketbooks to meet needs. Here’s a look at some:

CAR TAX: Motorists in Raleigh could see a $5 jump in their annual vehicle tax bills, if the city council adopts the $620 million budget proposed Tuesday by Raleigh City Manager J. Russell Allen. The proposed budget doesn’t include a property tax increase or lay-offs of city staff, but does including the elimination of 24 vacant position and tightening of city services. Water rates are also expected to rise by approximately 9 percent this summer.

PROPERTY TAX HIKE: Property taxes in Wilkes County would go up and spending would be cut under the proposed 2010-11 budget presented last night by County Manager John Yates, as the county tries to recover from a financial crisis. The proposed property-tax rate is 65 cents for every $100 of valuation, an 8-cent increase from the current rate of 57 cents per $100. The owner of a $100,000 home who pays $570 in property taxes in the current year would pay $650 under the proposed rate. The county has already made spending cuts, including three furlough days for employees and the postponement of items, including work on plans for a proposed new jail. The proposed budget doesn’t contain any pay increases for county employees. Thirty-two employees have retired recently because of incentives to do so. The county will leave 21 of those positions vacant.

SALES TAX HIKE: Wilkes County officials also decided to put the issue of increasing the local sales tax by a quarter-cent before voters as one possible way to offset sluggish county revenues and help build back the county’s fund balance. The current sales tax rate is 7 3/4 cents for every $1.

DIP INTO SAVINGS: The town of Wendell proposed a budget that keeps the tax rate steady at 49 cents per $100 of property value. But commissioners used $281,250 from the town’s savings to balance the budget. That amounts to just over 8 percent of the money in the town’s savings account. The budget provides no money for employee pay raises, although commissioners have said they will revisit the issue in December and could add raises back into the budget then.

CUT COMMISH/MAYOR’S SALARIES: Commissioners have also agreed to roll back their own salaries to 2008 levels, The cut means commissioners’ salaries will fall from $4,284 per year to $4,000 annually. The mayor’s salary will also take a hit, dropping from $6,482 to $6,000. Mayor Harold Broadwell will retain his $600 annual travel allowance.

SCHOOLS HIT HARD: In Johnston County, schools bear the load of cutbacks laid out in the county manager’s budget proposal. County Manager Rick Hester is calling for a $161.1 million budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. That’s a $10 million drop from this year’s budget. Hester recommends county commissioners give Johnston schools $49.6 million, or $6.6 million less than the schools got this year (a cut of more than 8 percent). The school board agreed last week to ask the county for $56.2 million to hold steady on spending. School officials are already expecting to lose 113 teaching positions and more than $6.7 million to state cuts, Superintendent Ed Croom has said.