On 3 June 2008 the Boa voted unanimously to raise its property taxes by 5% for FY2008-09. Unreported by the local media, the budget also significantly increases town debt, and thus, future taxes. (See Pulp Carrboro Debt Story.) The approved budget will increase the tax rate to 68.63 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The total expenses are $18,480,375.
Local affordable housing tax-exempt “non-profit” affordable housing organization (aka “Orange Community Housing and Land Trust” or OCHLT) is receiving an over 33% increase in funding from the Boa.
Even Carrboro town manager Steve Stewart wanted to cut that increase to only about 16%, complaining that municipal employees are getting a smaller raise than those in Chapelboro tax-exempt land. OCHLT Executive Director Robert Dowling advocated successfully for a 25% pay increase from $60,000 to $75,000, as opposed to the 2% increase for town employees. The Boa had no discussion on how the more affordable housing must is created that must be administered by local government through OCHLT grants, the more taxes will have to rise.
Anxious to show their financial acumen in an off economic year, the Boa also will spend $4800 on six waterless urinals in the town’s white elephant and former church, the Century Center. With projected water savings of about 5000 gallons per year, the BOA will save about $75 in water per year. On the other hand, they will spend about twice the normal capital cost and spend more than $75 a year on the maintenance necessary to keep waterless urinals from smelling like the Weaver Street lawn on a late Friday summer’s night. It's the thought that counts. Saving water for more dense development is gospel in the defrocked Century Center.
No word on what the justification was for a 50% increase in the Carrboro town vehicle tax.
The town of Carrboro claimed victory in bringing the lowest tax rate increase for a proposed municipal budget for FY 2008-2009. How did they do it with town revenues growing less than 2%?
The red white and blue way, Carrboro plans to go into debt in a big way. While the Boa pats itself on the back for the town manager proposed budget being only 5% higher in FY 2008-2009, the non-profit, tax-exempt financial whizzes forgot to look at the “credit cards”.
The FY2008-2009 budget appropriates $546,904 in fund balance reserves, on top of the $582,553 appropriation last year. Town debt payments will increase according to the following schedule: from $1,473,925 this year to $1,777,173 next year to $2,400,404 the year after. That means that this year’s debt payments (which increased 14% from last year) will increase 20% next year and 35% on top of that for FY2009-2010. In sum, Carrboro town debt payments will almost double (86%) in just three years.
Of particular interest to Pulpsters is the continuing saga of the Hanna Street sidewalk. Originally, the town was supposed to pay only $50,000 for this sidewalk gift to the Pacifica developer, friends of the Boa and planning board chair. As of the new proposed budget, this town giveaway to special friends sidewalk will now cost you over $284,000. The town staff and Boa only missed the mark by over 500%.
Please note that local media watchdogs continue to snore on top of the Hanna Street giveaways stored outside the Carrboro public works department.
