TAX NEWS - JUNE 2010

North Carolina Tax: Bigger tax bills likely for some Mecklenburg homeowners

Bigger property tax bills are planned this fall for more than 50,000 residents in unincorporated areas of Mecklenburg County, following an informal vote Thursday by county leaders.

In a 6-3 vote along party lines, Mecklenburg Commissioners agreed to raise the tax rate for police service in neighborhoods which do not fall within Charlotte's city limit or the boundaries of the county's six towns.

Republican commissioners Karen Bentley, Bill James and Neil Cooksey opposed the change.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are assigned to respond to emergency calls in unincorporated areas of the county, under an inter-local agreement signed by Mecklenburg Commissioners in 1996.

The police department is scheduled to receive $12.5 million next year from Mecklenburg taxpayers to pay for patrols and emergency response in areas outside of the towns and city.

However, unincorporated homeowners pay about $11 million in taxes for the service, with money from the county's general operating fund making up the difference.

"I would like to eliminate that subsidy and have the people who are receiving that pay the full cost of that," Commissioner Dumont Clarke told other county leaders in a budget workshop Thursday evening.

Several commissioners said the move would allow the county to allocate an additional $1.5 million to Mecklenburg libraries, parks, and schools.

Opponents of the change in the tax rate, including several residents in unincorporated Mecklenburg, have complained about a lack of police presence in their communities.

Jeff Lever, a homeowner on Mayes Road, between Cornelius and Huntersville, said unincorporated residents are paying too much for a service they rarely see.

"In the five years that I've lived out here, CMPD has been out here once," Lever told NewsChannel 36.

More often, he said officers from neighboring towns respond to emergency calls on Mayes Road, which is about 10 miles from the nearest CMPD office.

Commissioner Bill James has suggested the county terminate its agreement with CMPD and allocate funding to the towns' police departments which are closer to the unincorporated residents.

The change would likely require a change in state law, Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones told commissioners, and could involve creating special tax districts to pay for the police services.

County leaders in April referred the issue to a committee on criminal justice which will be asked to look into the inter-local agreement and make recommendations on potential changes.

The additional 2.58 cents for every $100 of assessed value would cost the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 about $51 in additional taxes each year.

Commissioners are expected to formally adopt the tax rate on June 15.