Wake County commissioners OK budget; school funding increase falls short

A last-ditch effort to increase funding for schools failed Monday as Wake County commissioners approved a spending plan that some education advocates say falls short.

Commissioner Betty Lou Ward suggested the board give the school system an additional $5 million more than the $23.9 million increase recommended by County Manager Jim Hartmann. But Jessica Holmes was the only other board member who voted in favor of the idea.

The $1.2 billion budget boosts per-pupil spending by 6.6 percent, but it is about $11.8 million less than what the school system requested.

Ward said she was disappointed the board didn’t approve the extra funding, but she was pleased with the overall budget.

The plan, which goes into effect in July, raises property taxes for the second year in a row. It marks a $57.1 million increase over this year’s budget.

The budget includes the equivalent of a 1.35 cent property tax increase per $100 in valuation, meaning the average Wake homeowner whose house is valued at $268,000 will pay an extra $36 a year.

The increase comes a year after the board raised the property tax rate by 3.65 cents per $100 in valuation, mostly to help the Wake County school system.

Much of the $18.8 million in additional revenue generated by the latest tax hike will go to the schools, despite the less-than-requested allocation.

Wake County school board Chairman Tom Benton said he was disappointed in the commissioners’ decision. He said the board will now have to make tough decisions to close the budget shortfall, including increasing some fees and cutting programs.

“With the commissioners, we’ve made a lot of progress in the last two years towards restoring Wake County to a position of leadership in education, not only in the state but in the nation,” Benton said. “Progress will not stop, but the momentum will not be as rapid as we want it to be.”

Many commissioners Monday touted increased funding to serve residents with mental health and substance abuse issues.

The Wake County Detention Center houses one of the largest concentrations of people with mental health and drug problems in the state, according to Hartmann.

Annual involuntary commitments doubled to 12,100 in 2015 from 2008, and the number of residents treated annually by EMS workers for mental health or substance abuse ailments rose 49 percent, he said.

County leaders attributed the growing need for resources to the state’s closure of Dorothea Dix Hospital in 2012.

Commissioner Matt Calabria said he “totally acknowledges we have a very long way to go” to better serve those with mental health and substance abuse issues.

“Certainly there’s more to be done, but I think that will have an impact on one of our most critical services,” he said.

Commissioner Caroline Sullivan said Wake plans to do more to help the mentally ill, partly through collaborations with community partners.

“We’re finally taking a long-range approach to looking at mental health services in the county,” she said.

Tax rate

At a glance, the property tax rate approved by commissioners on Monday may look like a tax decrease, but it’s not.

The county’s property tax rate is currently 61.45 cents per $100 of assessed value. The rate approved Monday is 60.05 cents per $100. However, many Wake residents will pay more under the new rate because property values were recently reappraised to better reflect their market value.

Wake last reappraised property values in 2008. The recent reappraisal found that many property values in Raleigh and western Wake County Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, Morrisville and Raleigh increased while others in more rural areas Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Knightdale, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon decreased or stayed the same.

To keep property tax rates as neutral as possible, the Wake board would have had to approve a rate of 58.7 cents per $100 of assessed value.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Wake County commissioners OK budget; school funding increase falls short."