You would think that a Progressive town manager would use a phrase like “hold the line” to talk about steady tax burdens on residents during the Great Recession and not use the smoke and mirrors of tax rates to hide spending increases. You would think that an increase of 29.1% in town staff salaries and wages since 2004 would not be considered by Progressives to be ”holding the line”. You would think that a Progressive town governance board and staff wouldn't hide behind the state's “revenue neutral” reassessment laws that allow a town to increase your property taxes and declare them “revenue neutral”. You would be wrong.
The headlines read, the upcoming Carrboro budget will “stay the course”. What course are we talking about here? Are Carrburbans being considered the main course by town staff? Town manager Steve Stewart positively was beaming, Carrboro “has held the line on property taxes” for five out of the last eight years. Really? Are we talking about Carrboro? Are we talking about the tax burden on a Carrboro resident or about the property tax rates? Did your tax bill remain the same for five out of the last eight years? No???
Woah! Pulpsters know better than to trust local Progessive town staffers opining on fiscal reality. If facts aren't optional for you, then let's trip over to the State Treasurer’s office and see what's what.
Carrboro property tax revenues increased from 2004 to 2009 by 38.9%. (Tax revenues are NOT tax rates, they are the booty the town extracts from you.) Not for one year did the Carrboro tax revenues hold the line. On a per capita basis, property taxes increased 25.5%. Did your income increase that much in the last five years? Do you think the town has “held the line”?
| | | Carrboro | Property | Tax | Revenues | |
| | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| Property Taxes | $10,824,131 | $10,041,553 | $9,672,841 | $8,578,222 | $8,227,622 | $7,791,921 |
| Annual % increase | 7.8% | 3.8% | 12.8% | 4.3% | 5.6% | - |
| Cumulative % increase | 38.9% | 28.9% | 24.1% | 10.1% | 5.6% | - |
| Per Capita Property Taxes | $556 | $524 | $520 | $466 | $466 | $443 |
| Annual % increase | 6.1% | 0.8% | 11.6% | 0.0% | 5.2% | - |
| Cumulative % increase | 25.5% | 18.3% | 17.4% | 5.2% | 5.2% | - |
What about Carrboro’s spending on town employee salaries and wages? They increased 29.1% from 2004 to 2009. On a per capita basis they increased 16.4%. Did your income increase that much in the last five years? Do you think the town has “held the line”?
| | | Carrboro Town | Staff | Salaries & Wages | | |
| | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| Salaries & Wages | $9,662,430 | $9,236,460 | $8,605,389 | $7,691,653 | $7,744,330 | $7,483,670 |
| Annual % increase | 4.6% | 7.3% | 11.9% | -0.7% | 3.5% | - |
| Cumulative % increase | 29.1% | 23.4% | 15.0% | 2.8% | 3.5% | - |
| Per Capita Salaries & Wages | $496 | $482 | $462 | $418 | $439 | $426 |
| Annual % increase | 2.9% | 4.3% | 10.5% | -4.8% | 3.1% | - |
| Cumulative % increase | 16.4% | 13.1% | 8.5% | -1.9% | 3.1% | - |
Unlike local Progressives, fiscal conservatives remember that debt is an important component of financing profligate spending. Carrboro debt service increased 27.7% from 2004 to 2009. On a per capita basis it increased 14.1%. Your debt service probably exceeded that. After all, you have to pay for the town debt service. It’s called increasing town taxes.
| | | | Carrboro Debt | | | |
| | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| Debt Service | $1,427,902 | $1,360,896 | $1,252,941 | $1,116,743 | $1,182,179 | $1,117,976 |
| Annual % increase | 4.9% | 8.6% | 12.2% | -5.5% | 5.7% | - |
| Cumulative % increase | 27.7% | 21.7% | 12.1% | -0.1% | 5.7% | - |
Let’s compare what happened with Carrboro to similar towns grouped together by the State Treasurer.
In 2009, Carrboro residents paid 36.3% more in property taxes on a per capita basis than the group average. From 2004 to 2009 Carrboro property taxes on a per capita basis increased 47.9% more compared to the group average increase. Do you think the town has “held the line”?
In 2009, Carrboro residents paid 10.7% more in for town staff salaries and wages on a per capita basis than the group average. From 2004 to 2009 Carrboro salaries and wages on a per capita basis increased 54.8 % more compared to the group average increase. Do you think the town has “held the line”?
What about Carrboro sales tax revenues? Those revenues increased from 2004 to 2009 by only 6.8%. They didn’t even keep pace with inflation. Of course,if you turn your back on Costco and a super Harris Teeter you will won't see any sales tax increases. On a per capita basis they actually fell by 3.3%. Do you think the town elected officials and their staff should be treated with more respect for this negative performance?
| | | Carrboro | Sales Taxes | | | |
| | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| Sales Tax | $2,888,682 | $3,382,770 | $3,353,665 | $3,089,492 | $2,874,742 | $2,705,076 |
| Annual % increase | -14.6% | 0.9% | 8.6% | 7.5% | 6.3% | - |
| Cumulative % increase | 6.8% | 25.1% | 24.0% | 14.2% | 6.3% | - |
| Sales Tax | 148 | $176 | $180 | $168 | $164 | $153 |
| Annual % increase | -15.9% | -2.2% | 7.1% | 2.4% | 7.2% | - |
| Cumulative % increase | -3.3% | 15.0% | 17.6% | 9.8% | 7.2% | - |
Now let’s trip down Carrboro memory lane. Neither the Carrboro governance board nor the town staff ever do, so it'll be a pretty lonely ride. In 2004, Carrboro forecast harvesting over $600,000 a year in new taxes from the Northeast Annexation. To date, it spent but a fraction of those taxes on services for the annexees, clearing over $400,000 annually. Did the town elected officials and town staff use those annexation profits to pay for the Carrboro fire substation? No. Could the fire substation have been paid for by now? Not quite, but almost. Instead, Carrboro’s elected officials spent the money on hiding what the true Carrboro tax rates would be today. How else could they get you to pay for their cumulative 29.1% increase in town staff salaries & wages?
Over five years later, those annexees still don’t have regular Carrboro fire service. They have the same service they had before being annexed. Over five years later, those annexees travel on roads not annexed by Carrboro. They crumble despite Alderman Jacquie Gist’s public admonition of years ago to stop complaining, “We’ll annex your roads!”.
According to Alderman Dan Coleman, town staff is doing ”a good job”. According to Alderman Gist, Pulpsters should look at Carrboro ”with more respect and not for comic relief”.
More respect for ”holding the line” with a 38.9% property tax revenues increase, a 27.7% debt service increase, and a 6.8% sales tax revenue increase that was actually lower on a per capita basis? More respect for hiding property tax rate increases behind the property reassessment “revenue neutral” laws? Just as soon as you stop laughing!
According to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average compensation of state and local government workers is far ahead of that for private workers.
The gap widens every year, rising by an average $1.02 an hour last year, $2.45 an hour over the past three years.
State and local government workers now earn an average of $39.50 per hour in total compensation, over 50% more than private workers ($26.09 an hour). Private businesses are trimming pension benefits and asked employees to pay a greater share of medical costs.
When adjusted for inflation over the past seven years, 20,000,000 (excluding 2,700,000 federal) public employees received a 16% increase in compensation.
State and local governments have more than $1 trillion in unfunded liabilities for pensions and retirement medical benefits for public employees.
No word from any managers of any of the Orange local governments as to why such comparisons aren't in their budget reports to elected officials.
FMI Bureau of Labor Statistics
