Cary proposes property tax increase for public safety. What homeowners could pay
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- Cary officials propose a 3.75-cent per $100 property tax increase to expand public safety.
- The proposed budget of $573.5 million is about a 12% increase over last year’s budget.
- The budget adds 21 new police officer positions and boosts public safety spending by 44%.
Cary’s interim town manager is proposing a tax rate increase of 3.75 cents per $100 of assessed property value to expand public safety measures and meet other town needs.
The budget is the town’s first since former Town Manager Sean Stegall resigned in December amid questions surrounding the town’s spending. Stegall had been town manager since 2016.
He was replaced by now-interim Town Manager Russ Overton, who was previously deputy town manager.
The proposed tax increase would bring the town’s tax rate to 37.75 cents per $100. The owner of a home valued at $649,000, the median assessed value in Cary according to the town website, would see their town tax bill rise from about $2,206 to about $2,450, an increase of $244.
The budget totals $573.5 million, up around 12% from last year’s budget of $510.9 million.
The budget would add 21 police officer positions, the first time Cary has budgeted for new police officers in 10 years, said Cary Police Chief Terry Sult. The town is budgeting an additional $112.4 million in total toward public safety, a 44% increase over the current budget.
Most of Cary lies in Wake County, with a small portion of the town in Chatham and Durham counties, all of which charge separate county taxes.
Wake County Manager David Ellis is proposing to add another 2 cents to the county’s current tax rate bringing it up to 53.71 per $100. For $649,000-valued Cary home, that would add about another $125 to the current Wake County tax bill of about $3,360.
If both tax rate increases are approved, they would result in a total tax bill of nearly $6,000. That’s an increase of nearly $375 over the current combined Wake County and Cary property tax bills.
Cary’s town council is set to vote on the budget proposal in June.
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 5:20 PM.
