Facing ‘unknown future,’ Chatham County manager proposes a no tax-increase budget

Chatham County property owners would pay the same tax rate under the county manager’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Manager Dan LaMontagne’s recommended spending plan provides $132.3 million for the county’s general fund, a 5% increase over the current year.

It holds the tax rate steady at 67 cents per $100 valuation, meaning the owner of a $332,500 home, the median home value in Chatham County according to the real-estate website Zillow, would pay roughly $2,227 in county property tax.

“The current economic recession is unlike any other,” LaMontagne said in presenting the budget online Monday. “Nobody knows the timing and speed of the recovery, when we’ll start to see a recovery, how quickly we’’ll see a recovery happen.”

But Chatham County has typically been more resilient than most other North Carolina counties, he said.

Until the coronavirus pandemic struck, the county was exceeding aggressive revenue projections, he said. Even now, revenue for the year is expected to come in at, or slightly below, projections, he said.

Chatham County’s unemployment rate was 3.7% in March, tied for the third lowest in the state, which as a whole averaged 4.2%, LaMontagne said.

“I know that’s small consolation for people who are out of work,” he said. “But in the overall trends of the revenue, it is an indicator we have to look at.”

The local real estate market, buoyed by the Chatham Park project, has also shown more resiliency than the overall state’s, LaMontagne said. Preston Development Co. broke ground in March on the development’s first 30-home neighborhood, with prices starting in the low $200s, The News & Observer reported.

“This is another area we expect to rebound more quickly than other counties because of the large projects in progress,” LaMontagne said.

Property taxes make up roughly 60% of the county’s projected general fund revenue for the coming fiscal year.

Schools request fully funded

The proposed budget fully funds the Chatham County Schools’ request for an additional $2.23 million.

It provides $1.26 million to support the opening of Chatham Grove Elementary School, and nearly $1 million to maintain the current teacher supplement to compete with surrounding school systems.

LaMontagne is recommending six additional positions in county government, including two detention officers, three social workers and one licensed substance abuse counselor, according to a news release accompanying his presentation.

The manager cautioned that staff members had to readjust the proposed spending plan as the virus struck and said even now it’s unknown how a possible resurgence in the fall or winter could affect county spending.

As of Tuesday morning, Chatham County had 403 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services website. The county also had one nursing home outbreak.

“Projecting into an unknown future is risky,” LaMontagne said in his presentation. “Until the COVID-19, Chatham County was having an excellent year. We do expect Chatham to recover at a better rate than many other counties.”

What’s next: Budget public hearing

Residents can comment on the proposed budget during a public hearing at 6 p.m. May 18 at the Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center, 1192 U.S. 64 Business West in Pittsboro. The county will post more information about the meeting on its website next week.

The Board of Commissioners expects to finalize a spending plan by June 15. State law requires counties to adopt their budgets by June 30.

This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 12:01 PM.