The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has adopted a new fiscal 2023-2024 county budget and, though the property tax rate remains the same, many of the fees you pay Guilford County will be going up when the new budget goes into effect at the beginning of July.
In addition to an increase in already existing fees, the 2023-2024 budget also adds in some brand new fees.
For instance, just to cite one new one. Guilford County Emergency Services will charge indoor establishments a fee for overcrowding. Clubs, restaurants and other venues will pay $50 per person over the occupancy limit.
The county is also adding on some new fees for establishing an ABC inspection permit in order to help recover costs from those inspections. There’s also a new “stocking permit” for businesses that want to begin putting items on the shelves before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued by the Guilford County Planning Department.
If you get a passport from Jeff Thigpen’s Register of Deeds office after July 1, you’ll pay more for shipping in the coming fiscal year: Overnight delivery, which now cost $26.35 will increase to $31 per passport. Standard passport shipping will go up $4.25 to help cover the increased cost the department pays.
There will also be increases in the fees that Guilford County Animal Services charges for microchips and rabies vaccines in order to help cover the increasing cost of the implanting the chips and the cost of medical supplies.
Also, because the county is seeing higher disposal costs for auto parts, there will be an increase in fees for disposing of car tires and heavy truck tires as well as for oversized tires.
One new the county commissioners had some questions about was “Establishing a rescue fee ($200 per incident) to support the apparatus used in rescue operations and to ensure cost recovery.” Commissioner Mary Beth Murphy asked the same questions everyone probably had when they saw that new fee: Will that mean it will cost $200 when the Fire Department gets your cat out of a tree?
Emergency Services Director Jim Albright assured the commissioners that it would not. It actually will be a fee to help recover the cost of equipment use when addressing hazardous waste spills and similar incidents.
Bend over #2. Another lost vote.
that motor vehicle accident with clean up will cost $200 ?
No comment. Just get out of the County!
Miller, I did and glad of it, as a matter of fact I got plum out of the state.
Right now, NC is a good place to be; just not here, or a few other places. NC is a destination state. I have no doubt that emigrates from other states will jump in and ruin it for everyone here. Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville, along with Greensboro; are heading to the LEFT.
Whenever Texas is flipped, it will be all over. Austin now has a progressive Mayor.
A fee is a tax!!!
More greed from people who “live off of other people’s taxes”, as the song says.