For the last three years, Guilford County government has been spending money on just about any idea that a county administrator or county commissioner has come up with.
The county has been handing out raises, adding employee benefits, expanding and adding departments, taking on new multi-million-dollar capital projects like the coming Sheriff’s Department’s headquarters, handing out money to local governments for water systems, community centers and other things – all while starting to pay back a massive $2 billion in school bond debt.
For the first two decades of this century – and presumably since the creation of the county in 1771 – county commissioners had to make hard choices about how money could be spent. However, for the last three years, the Board of Commissioners has been voting yes on virtually everything.
So, the question is: Where’s all that money coming from?
The short answer is that they are getting it from a lot of places but one place most importantly.
For one, the county received $104 million in the federal government’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds as well as countless other dollars and support from the federal government meant to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Another new stream of money is coming from the nationwide lawsuit that state and local governments brought against opioid makers and distributors. The county first anticipated that would mean about $20 million coming to Guilford County but it turns out the county will in fact receive over $39 million from that settlement.
The county is also collecting a lot of money in sales tax revenue. The long predicted recession hasn’t shown up yet and, according to a budget report earlier this year, sales tax revenues for Guilford County were up roughly 10 percent from the previous fiscal year.
Another source of money is the massive debt the county is taking on for the next two decades. In the last two years the county has begun issuing the first of that $2 billion in school bond debt that county voters approved.
The central source of new money, however – the one that gives the county commissioners the confidence to do everything they want to do – is what they get from county property owners.
The county implemented a revaluation of every piece of property in Guilford County in 2022 at a time when housing prices were skyrocketing. Instead of adjusting the tax rate to compensate for the increased property values – holding the county “revenue neutral” – the board kept the tax rate where it was, which was the equivalent of a historic 14-cent property tax increase.
Before the revaluation, county officials were predicting that it would bring in about $60 million in new money each year. Then they started using estimates of $70 million and then later predicted $80 million in new money from taxpayers due to the revaluation and the failure of the board to adjust the tax rate.
The actual number is now known and it turns out that Guilford County is collecting an extra $92 million a year in money in property taxes. That is a recurring amount of new money that the county collects each year over and above the property tax money the county had been collecting in previous years.
And do you think Skip and his socialist will help out the tax payer? I don’t. Betting on more giveaways for a certain segment of the county population.
I’m expecting a nice thank you note from the surrounding counties and communities as their populations swell with new homeowners seeking to avoid ridiculously high taxes in Guilford County.
And it turns out, the 2022 revaluation was a failure. It didn’t meet state standards and has to done over again! The tax director was so proud that the number of appeals was so low. They were low because the revaluation he was responsible was low, so low the state ordered a do-over.
And yet… he is still employed. Go figure
There are four (4) commissioners up for reelection in 2024. Please remember their names and do not vote for them.
James Upchurch (R) District 6
Mary Beth Murphy (D) District 4
Carly Cooke (D( District 5
Skip Alston (D) District 8
I included Alston as a joke because there is a snowball chance in Hades his constituents will vote him out. They are single-minded and he works hard to keep District 8’s trough filled.
It would be delightful to include the grandmotherly-looking Kay Cashion (D) but her term does not expire until 2026.
Remember, the commissioners listed above are responsible for your high property taxes. Vote them out.
Specifically, for a city resident is there an increase in collected revenue as above … or is city extra collections in figures in your excellent article? (And those Democrats want to add another 1% to retail food sales.)
They are getting it from hard working Christian taxpayers, not from deadbeat crackheads who receive it tax free. Alston is a bum and a crook.
if skippy wants to buy my vote, then lower my taxes.
Skippy does not care about your vote unless you are black. Blacks are his base, and the Blacks at A&T are especially important to Skippy. They got his bonds passed.
Thank you, Scott, for your article and the questions it raises. There are MANY questions which need to be asked of this ‘BORED of Committers’, many of the questions asking – for instance: why have the schools in Guilford County been allowed to disintegrate to a stage requiring ‘closure’?; have AUDITS been done on a regular basis, assuring the taxpayers’ monies are being wisely used?; what qualifications are thoroughly examined before a new employee, being offered larger-than-usual pay, is simply installed? (etc, etc)
Voters (i.e. taxpayers!), please examine qualifications and past records before you vote, for people &/OR projects.
God bless America!
Let’s all get on.
if Guilford Co. commissioners are looking for A good thing to spend some money on is trash collection point in eastern Guilford Co. Other counties have them and it looks like they work very well !