Pitt County staff recommended an almost 12 cent reduction in property tax rates Monday to the county’s Board of Commissioners during a presentation of a proposed $396.9 million budget, which officials discussed throughout the week.
Even with that reduction, staff said owners of an average home likely will have to pay a bit more.
Janis Gallagher, Pitt County manager, said dropping the rate from 68.41 cents per $100 valuation to 56.63 cents per $100 would be the largest reduction in the county government’s history, but it accompanies a 46 percent increase in real property values, buildings and land from 2020-24.
The increase is the the result of a revaluation completed earlier this year to bring county assessments in line with the market value of real estate.
“I believe that we can absorb the largest tax rate decrease in Pitt County’s history and still meet the needs of a growing community while operating a lean county government,” Gallagher said.
Henry Andrews Jr., a Pitt County resident, told the board during its public address period that he was unhappy with the property valuation he received. He estimated he would have to spend $50,000-$60,000 to get his property in a state where it could be sold at the price it was valued by the county. Andrews said he has not enlisted a professional appraiser to assess the property.
Andrews entreated the board to explore all options to help reduce the immediate impact that higher property taxes could have on property owners.
Gallagher said the county received about 2,500 appeals to the valuation, roughly half of which have been resolved, and that property owners she has spoken to acknowledged their neighbors’ homes have sold for amounts higher than what is on their tax bill. She said those people indicated they would expect a willing buyer to pay at least the amount listed in their appraisal.
“I think it’s why we only received the appeals we did, that number, and I think it means we hit those values about right,” Gallagher told the board.
Gallagher said the average home price in Pitt County prior to the reappraisal was $250,000. At the current rate of 68.41 cents per $100, the average homeowner would pay $1,710 in ad valorem taxes. With two $30,000 vehicles, she approximated an additional $410 in taxes for an annual bill of $2,120.
After the revaluation, the same home is valued about $332,500. At the proposed 56.63 cent per $100 rate, the tax bill would go up $173 to $1,883. She said with the same two vehicles — since personal property is assessed annually rather than every four years — a homeowner’s vehicle tax bill would decrease by $50, to $360, leaving a net increase of $102 annually or about $8.50 monthly.
Gallagher acknowledged some people will pay more or less than that average cost, based on their property’s value.
Based on the tax rate, county staff has proposed a fiscal year 2024-25 budget totaling $369,924,619. The spending plan, which includes a variety of revenues in addition to ad-valorem taxes, is an increase of 8.13 percent from last year’s $367,071,753 budget. Gallagher said that 61 percent of revenue would be generated by ad valorem taxes.
Proposed expense increases include a 5 percent cost-of-living increase for county employees as well as merit pay and an increased retirement contribution. Employees will not see any increase in health insurance premiums and existing 10-year longevity pay at a rate of 1.5 percent of annual income would instead be meted into separate 5-year longevity pay at a rate of .75 percent.
Staff also recommended 33 new county positions across departments, fewer than the 108 requested. Gallagher said that the Pitt County Department of Social Services requested 85 new positions this year, of which staff recommended 16.
Gallagher said staff reviewed current vacant positions, and if jobs were available in a position being requested, that staff would not provide new positions. If all slots of a specific position were filled or a new type of position was being created, staff recommended the new positions in the budget.
In October the county board approved 13 new jobs for DSS to help with Medicaid expansion.
On Tuesday, staff across all departments began presenting their budget requests to the commissioners in a series of workshops.
Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. on June 4.
After the hearing, the commissioners have the option to approve the budget as presented that night or at a later time, or to make adjustments to the budget and adopt it at a later meeting.
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