Perquimans County tax rate could plummet to offset higher assessments

Perquimans could have one of the lowest county property tax rates in the state in the coming fiscal year.

Real estate values increased throughout Perquimans County by 85 percent, according to a re-evaluation completed last year. Tax rates are sometimes adjusted after property values change to maintain the same level of revenue and avoid a major change in tax bills.

The "revenue-neutral rate" would bring the county tax rate from 67 cents per $100 valuation to 43 cents per $100 valuation.

But Perquimans County Manager Bobby Darden said the county could afford to go 2 cents lower than that.

If it's approved, there would be only 10 counties in the state with a lower property tax rate, and most of those counties are in tourist areas with a large second-home market, such as in the mountains or on the coast, Darden said in his budget message.

The proposed budget includes a 12 percent increase for the Board of Education, a nearly 4 percent increase for the Sheriff's Department, and a $300,000 reduction for Social Services because the state is assuming more Medicaid costs. Employees would also get a

4 percent cost-of-living adjustment salary increase.

The town of Winfall approved its budget Monday and is matching the county's suggested tax rate of 41 cents per $100 valuation, down from 48 cents, said Mayor Fred Yates. The budget adds a new full-time police officer to the town's department.

Hertford's revenue-neutral rate would be 27 cents per $100 valuation, but the town manager is suggesting a 35-cent rate to help cover increasing costs for fuel, employee salaries and contract expenses. The rate now is 49 cents.

John Christensen, town manager, is recommending a 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment for employees, repairs to the municipal building, which needs repairs to its roof and exterior, and increases to the Sanitation and Cemetery departments, which saw 4 percent and 10 percent increases in their respective contract expenses.

Service fees in the county and towns will also see a few changes.

Darden suggested keeping the county water system's budget at the same levels as the current year, which means there would be no fee increases for customers.

However, he did recommend increasing the annual solid-waste fee from $108 to $120.

The increase would cover the rising cost in tipping fees at East Carolina Environmental's landfill in Bertie County.

"Our options for solid-waste disposal are very limited in northeast North Carolina," Darden wrote. "With few disposal options, the most immediate solution is reduction in the volume of trash."

Working with the towns, Darden said, there is hope that a curbside recycling program will help reduce the solid-waste volume that is increasingly more expensive to haul away.

Yates said the town of Winfall received a grant to begin a curbside recycling program in the fall.

Winfall's water and sewer rates are also scheduled to go up for its higher volume users. The town will soon be charging $8 per 2,000 gallons of water or sewer service. Yates said the increase was designed to insulate most from an increase.

"About 55 percent of citizens are elderly and on a fixed income," he said. "We tried to give them a cushion."

And just like its neighbors in Edenton and Elizabeth City, Hertford is anticipating an increase in the wholesale cost of electricity. The North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency is scheduled to meet in July and vote on the increase, which could be 7 to 10 percent.

In his budget message, Christensen said he does not recommend an increase in retail rates until the projections are finalized. However, he said, the town may have to consider adjusting a fuel surcharge to cover any increases in the fall.

He also said the town's water and sewer fund will have some higher costs in the coming year, with the wastewater treatment plant expected to be operational in September and the water plant's completion in April 2009.

Any capital improvements beyond the existing water and sewer budget, Christensen wrote, will have to come from the town's capital project fund.

Lauren King, (252) 338-2413, lauren.king@pilotonline.com