No Tax Increase!!!

Thursday night the County Commissioners gave us the good news. Even with the State of North Carolina legislature failing to use the $1 Billion surplus to fix the Medicaid crisis, Bertie County will not raise taxes. While the State is raising taxes, repealing the end of temporarty taxes they promised would sunset, and seeking ways to spend the budge surplus for anything but giving Medicaid relief, Bertie County continues to exercise fiscal restraint. (For those who are not aware, North Carolina is the only state in the nation to make counties pay for a portion of Medicaid!)

This is, I believe, six years in a row that Bertie County Commissioners have dilligently managed our finances and fought against tax increases. Even when the state mandated re-valuation was done a couple of years ago, only a few county property owners saw their taxes go up. At that time the rate was reduced so that it actually resulted in a small net decrease in overall taxes for a short while. Even so, some individual property values increased enough that a few owners tax bill went up despite the rate decrease.

In reading the pattern of our county's recent budget statements, you have to acknowledge that Bertie County (including both the Commissioners and the county staff, starting with County Manager Zee Lamb) are doing a very good job in being frugal with our tax dollars.

Thank you to Norman Cherry, Rick Harrell, L.C. Hoggard, Wallace Perry and Charles Smith.