Orange tax rate set at 90.3 cents

CHAPEL HILL -- Orange County taxpayers will see a 7 percent increase in their county property tax bills in the new fiscal year.

The county's Board of Commissioners approved a 6-cent increase in the tax rate Tuesday, bringing it to 90.3 cents per $100 of valued property.

An owner of a $300,000 house will pay $180 more in county property taxes, or $2,709.

The rate approved by the board cut 1 cent off the county manager's proposal. Each penny added to the tax rate generates about $1.2 million.

Several items trimmed from the proposed budget include parking funds for the courthouse relocation, reduced from $400,000 to $200,000, and a proposed $92,000 for an environmental health food supervisor position.

The board also raised the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Special District Tax from 18.34 cents per $100 valuation to 18.85 cents to provide an additional $400,000 for opening Carrboro High School.

Earlier Tuesday, the Orange County Schools Board of Education met and agreed to redirect $802,000 of its capital money from school renovations and improvements to opening Gravelly Hill Middle School.

The commissioners had raised concerns at previous meetings that the county was being asked to fully pay for the start-up of the school when they had the understanding that the school board had set aside some money to do that.

The approved budget also includes:

* $3.7 million for debt payments on county and school construction projects, such as Carrboro High School and Gravelly Hill Middle School, the Seymour Senior Center in Chapel Hill and the county's share of the Durham Tech satellite campus;

* $3.8 million to raise teachers' salaries by 8 percent, as proposed by the governor;

* $800,000 to cover school resource officers in both school systems, freeing up $400,000 for each school system to spend as it chooses;

* A 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment for county employees; and

* An increase in the basic recycling fee from $27 to $34, but not increasing the additional fees paid in relation to whether a resident's home is urban, rural or multifamily.