How Wake budget could affect your tax bill and schools. County votes Monday night.
Update: The Wake County Board of Commissioners will vote on the fiscal 2023 budget during its regular meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, June 6, in Room 2700 of the Wake County Justice Center, at 301 S. McDowell St. in downtown Raleigh. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the county website.
Wake County Manager David Ellis presented a proposed $1.7 billion budget Monday (May 2) that includes a property tax increase and more money for Wake County Public School System.
“It’s financially sound, and it’s a realistic response to the growth we continue to see, despite the pandemic, and the challenges we face as we provide more services to more people,” Ellis said.
The Wake County Board of Commissioners and the public will review the budget before the commissioners vote on the budget, likely on June 6.
Here’s a look at what’s in the proposed budget:
Will Wake County taxes increase?
Ellis is recommending a tax rate increase of 1.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value. That would create $29.2 million for the county and cost a homeowner $64.50 more a year if their home was valued at $430,000. The median sale price of a parcel in Wake County in March 2022 was $430,000.
There’s no proposed tax increase for the fire tax district, which covers the town of Wendell and the unincorporated areas of Wake County.
How much would go to WCPSS?
The proposed budget adds $38 million to the local school system for a total of $582.5 million. That’s less than the $56 million increase in local funding proposed by Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore, mostly to pay for employee raises, The News & Observer reported.
But Ellis said the county’s proposed increase is “well above” what the county is statutorily required to fund.
“Overall, compensation for school employees, textbooks and programs like literacy coaching and child nutrition are supposed to be funded by the state,” Ellis said in his budget message. “In the future, we’ll continue to look to the state to increase their funding contributions and fulfill their constitutional obligation to the school system, its staff and its students.”
The total amount, including operating and capital funding, for the school system, is $885 million. That’s 52% of the county budget.
Are there raises for county employees?
The proposed budget adds more than 210 new positions and calls for 3.1% cost-of-living pay raise for the county’s 4,500 employees and merit raises ranging from 2% to 6%.
What happens next?
Wake County will hold three public hearings to get public feedback on the budget. A final vote is expected June 6.
The public hearings are:
- 6 p.m. May 11, at Wake Tech Southern Campus, 9101 Fayetteville Road, Raleigh.
- 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. May 16, Wake County Justice Center, 300 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh.
- 6 p.m. May 18, Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St., Wake Forest.
Read the entire budget at wakegov.com/budget.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 6:27 PM.
