If you like bloated out-of-control government spending, you’ll love Greensboro’s new budget.
Tuesday, June 21 the Greensboro City Council on a 7-2 vote passed the $688 million 2022-2023 fiscal year budget, which includes the highest property tax increase in the history of Greensboro, as well as raising water rates, garbage and hazardous waste collection fees and development fees.
The budget sets the property tax rate at 63.25 cents, which is an 8.69 cent increase over the revenue neutral tax rate of 54.56 cents.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Councilmember and mayoral candidate Justin Outling cast the two votes against passing the budget. Both saying that the tax rate was too high.
Outling said that the increase in taxes doesn’t “accomplish enough.”
He said, “Compensation for public safety officials is not competitive with the market, even as it exists now, and our peers are also increasing their compensation for their public safety officials.”
Vaughan said that the budget included many items that she supported such as the raises for city employees, but she said that because of the increase in taxes, “I cannot support the overall budget.”
Councilmember Hugh Holston, who said at the June 14 work session that he couldn’t support the budget with the 63.25 cent tax rate, said that while he wanted to see a tax rate of 2 to 4 cents over the revenue neutral rate, “In my case I will be supporting the budget as it is.”
Holston said that further reduction in the budget would mean a possible reduction in services. Holston didn’t explain how the city was providing all of those services currently with a budget of $619 million or why the budget needed to be increased by nearly $70 million to provide those same services after July 1.
The majority of the city councilmembers said that they were in favor of a lower tax rate, but they voted for the massive tax increase anyway.
Both At-large City Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter and District 4 City Councilmember Nancy Hoffmann said that Greensboro did not have the highest property tax rate of comparable cities in the state.
Hoffmann said, “We are not the highest tax rate in the state of North Carolina.”
The highest property tax rate is not a matter of opinion and city councilmembers can and do say whatever they want. However, the fact is that Greensboro currently has the highest property tax rate of the 15 largest cities in North Carolina, despite what Abuzuaiter and Hoffmann say.
Can voters make sure there are new faces on this Council? Use your vote wisely.
It’s past time for term limits. Does anyone not understand why several need to be re-elected. They have never had a real job and know they would have a hard time getting one now that pays so much for so little work. Just google each one and you’ll see what I mean. Start at the top and go down district by district. They are all blood sucking leeches. Top down b
Hope they have a plan to put in effect as inflation rises and recession begins.
I’m glad their only goal is to not have the highest tax rate in the state. If they are referring to Charlotte and Raleigh they have major financial districts, professional sports teams, and get big concerts. We get old ass peaks Broadway playa at the GPAC.
Abuzuaiter and Hoffmann. why are you comparing Greensboro property taxes to other cities? The residents of Greensboro live in Greensboro. Greensboro taxes impacts the residents here. How many well-paid Greensboro employees actually live in Greensboro and are affected by Greensboro’s property taxes? Let us start with Charles Watts, Jr., city attorney. Doesn’t he live in Durham? Wasn’t he supposed to move to Greensboro by December 2019?
My brother is from Charlotte and when the new city manager was announced, he called me and said good luck. The city basically drove this guy out of Charlotte because of his incompetence. So what happens he comes to Greensboro as City Manager and then proposes the largest tax increase ever. And our city council members who wanted the same tax rate voted for the increase. The hypocrisyis unbelievable.
Tennessee Here I Come!
The majority of citizens voted these clowns into office. You got what you voted for. Now you can suffer from your foolish vote.
Thanks to those of you who keep voting these anti-police, non caring about our tax dollar city council people. When you need and are unable to receive service(s), police – fire, remember you voted these non representatives of YOUR community.
City Employees were notified of a four percent raise that will not go into effect until May 2023. Select Departments are receiving more. Do better by your employees, Greensboro.
Greensboro continues to hire nonproductive employees, i.e., assistant manager.
Wait, this is a nine cent INCREASE on top of the greatly increased property valuations?
Yes and Yes
I say let’s RECALL ALL OF THOSE IDIOTS! My pocketbook can’t take this. I am on a fixed income, with MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS!!! Time to vote out EVERY DEMOCRAT, or better yet, make THEM PAY ME!
These people are just like the Biden administration. They have no idea of what is going on. Inflation, recession, no workers, gas prices, food. prices, interest rates, home sales. And they have the gall to increase tax the most in the history of Greensboro. Did they also vote themselves a increase? Citizens of Greensboro open your eyes. Our city is being overtaken and run by a bunch of feel good liberals and they will kill any growth. I am sure that Toyota, Zoom and Publix are having second thoughts about Greensboro.
Toyota and Boom won’t pay any city taxes, but they are receiving economic incentives from the city.
minorities rule because ‘most men lead lives of quiet desperation’ – because of the ‘ruling minority’. ‘non profits’ have an unfair advantage in our capitalism because they pay < taxes & don't have to succeed at anything & r compensated by 'friendly' donors – who 'earmarked' a tax break or 'subsidy' from 'minority leader'.
Our city is a joke. How can Durham, Cary and Winston be so beautiful and so many amenities at a lower rate? Because we have a HUGE homelessness problem and even worse education yet we are here and that budget is set. Thank God I moved out of city a year ago and now live in Pleasant Garden