Wake County Proposes Another Tax Increase | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Brian Balfour.

    The Wake County Manager has released his proposed budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, and Wake County residents should brace for yet another tax hike.

    "The proposed budget recommends a 3.25-cent tax-rate increase, or just over 5%, bringing the property tax rate to 65.2 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

    A penny of the proposed tax-rate increase reflects voters approving nearly $900 million in bonds for Wake Tech and the Wake County Public School System in 2022.

    If approved, the tax increase would cost the owner of a $300,000 home $98 more in county property taxes a year, for a total of $1,956."

    For sake of comparison, some estimates show that the average home price in Wake County has jumped by 45-50% in the last five years, so even a modest increase in the tax rate is generating much more revenue.

    Wake County Schools would receive a $40 million increase in local funding, bringing the total to $634 million. This amount falls short of the amount requested by Wake County Superintendent Catty Moore, who requested a 9%, or $55 million, increase. All this despite enrollment being flat year over year.

    Indeed, the $634 million spending would mark an increase of 38% in five years - and up 49% over six years - during a time when student enrollment is projected to fall by about 1.3%.