An exchange at the Tuesday, Feb. 7 City Council meeting between Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Assistant City Manager Larry Davis didn’t make much sense, unless you consider what was left unsaid.
Vaughan is the lone member of the current City Council who voted against the 2022-2023 budget, which included a 30 percent property tax increase. Councilmember Zack Matheny was not on the City Council at the time and the other seven councilmembers all voted for the largest tax increase in the history of Greensboro.
The exchange was about a mundane agenda item, “Resolution to Re-Affirm City Council Action for Fund Balance Improvement Plan.”
In 2022, the Greensboro City Council got in trouble with the Local Government Commission because the city’s unallocated fund balance, or emergency fund, was $9 million short of the 25 percent minimum recommended by the Local Government Commission.
The Local Government Commission insisted on Greensboro having a definite plan to bring the fund balance up to the recommended minimum and the City Council complied with a plan to bring the city into compliance in five to seven years.
The problem is that the fund balance in 2022 went from 22 percent to 18 percent, which is the wrong direction.
When the fund balance resolution came up for discussion Vaughan said, “By passing the tax increase we made that fund balance bigger. We actually have to put in more money now.”
Davis was noncommittal and said, “We’re working on a mid-year projection that will get into more of those details.”
Vaughan again asked if the “large increase in property tax” wasn’t going to increase the amount the city was required to keep in its fund balance.
Davis agreed that a new calculation was required, but that the staff still thought the city could reach the required minimum in five to seven years.
Vaughan was not willing to give up and said, “My question is, what impact did that vote to increase property taxes have. How did that impact the amount that we owe?”
She added that her assumption was it would be “a whole lot more” because the property tax increase put an additional $45 million in the budget.
Vaughan finally said, “I’m looking at raising taxes and all the unintended consequences.”
One would think that the highest level finance officer in the City would be able to answer a simple question immediately; you would think that the highest level elected official would have already known the answer.
Onene is left wondering, who the Hell is in charge of this place?????
Recall that when discussing the planned spending of the “transformational” funds received through ARPA, Councilmember Zack Matheny asked a very relevant question, why was the City using “once in a lifetime” Federal funding to replace carpets and fix roof leaks? What happened to the annual funds earmarked for such mundane maintenance expenses in the last 1-20 years??? I thought that to be a very astute and relevant question and I sure hope he presses the city staff to answer the question so we can finally figure out who runs this one horse town.
Now they’re looking at unintended consequences?
That ship has sailed!
The only reason to look at numbers now would be to fix the blame, not the problem.
WOW! Vaugh btw did not offer an alternative to the budget that she so called did not vote for. Another politician that thinks that the voter is stupid and not smart enough to see through her reason for not voting for the budget. This Socialist Woke council will continue to raise taxes as much as they are allowed to waste our tax money on useless pet projects. Btw our property values are in the toilet compared to the reevaluation values used to raise our taxes. Now they want a prepared tax placed on food for Greensboro, hope our state legislature doe not go along with this.
The only reason Vaughn did not support the tax increase is because she was running for mayor. Now that Vaughn is elected it’s obvious why she said this statement. “Vaughan finally said, “I’m looking at raising taxes and all the unintended consequences.”” Vaughn is just a typical lying politician.
One thing I would pay you to do, is an update article on the $700,000 plus for pallet houses which for all intensive purposes are empty just like the motel on Hwy 29. Last I heard there were only 5 pallet houses occupied. Living nearby I have driven by the pallet houses numerous times and have NEVER seen anybody at the pallet houses except for the guard sitting in their car.
Harry Kutchei
The current city council only knows how to spend and waste money vs doing something to actually help the citizens of Greensboro.
SNAFU
This is the first I have heard of a 30 percent! Are they crazy? How do they think retied people are going to pay that? Like the federal government they don’t care either!
This is shocking to me! I wish I could get out of Greensboro!
Do you pay property taxes
Didn’t the NC Local Government Commission recommend just a 8% (savings) balance, until recently?
Vaughn and city staff are still in Kansas or Charlotte
Hopefully some Greensboro residents are finally learning the unintended consequences of voting for the the same collection of incompetent candidates time and again.
This is for the tax paying people of Greensboro. I have been writing a note per week telling you to get ready for all the Democrats you voted into the city council, and keep sending them back each voting year. Get ready you are about to get the BIGGEST TAX HIKE in the immediate past.
I’ll say that you deserve it because you keep voting these Democrats into office. They have not helped you in 3-4 decades, why aren’t you voting in some conservatives or libertarian? I can’t see you doing any worse . It would be so easy to vote all of them out but ‘I forgot’you are all Democrat voters do you only see a ‘D’ when you vote.!!!!!
my taxes went up 48.9% i wish it was 30% making houses more unaffordable again
Maybe research how property taxes were reevaluated and drastically increased during a strangely inflated housing market. It is CRIMINAL and should be investigated further. Taxation without representation.
This one is too easy.