County leader pledges no tax rate increase

Paul B. Johnson, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read

Mar. 8—HIGH POINT — The chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners said his goal is to have no property tax rate increase in the upcoming county budget.

"That's my plan," Commissioner Skip Alston told The High Point Enterprise prior to the start of the board retreat Friday morning. The commissioners two-day annual retreat concluded Friday afternoon after being held for the first time at Congdon Yards in downtown High Point.

The Guilford County property tax rate has been at 73.05 cents per $100 of property value for the past six years. However, county property owners saw a noticeable increase in their tax bill starting two years ago after countywide revaluations boosted the assessed value of most property.

The current county fiscal year budget is $840.1 million. That includes $51 million set aside to cover the annual debt obligation on $2 billion in bonds for projects meant to transform facilities for Guilford County Schools. Guilford County voters approved the bonds in a pair of referendums, $300 million in November 2020 and $1.7 billion in May 2022.

The commissioners are deliberating on the new county budget. The 2024-25 budget must be balanced and in place by July 1, the start of the fiscal year.

At the retreat the commissioners heard from county department directors about the status of their work and plans.

County Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said his department performed well during the primary in handling new voting requirements, such as photo ID and changes in mail-in absentee voting.

But Collicutt said he expects a turnout of 75% in the fall general election compared to 23.5% for the primary that concluded this past Tuesday. The expected heavy turnout this fall poses challenges for the county elections board, though he expects the staff to meet all obligations, Collicutt said.

County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen said his department is advancing a long-range campaign to digitize and automate deeds and other county records. The local effort reflects a national push to bring records into the modern era of processing to make access less cumbersome.

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul