The Wake County Board of
Commissioners voted 6-1 on June 3 to adopt a $1.47 billion budget for Fiscal
Year 2020, which includes major investments in education, public health and
safety, and quality of life.
The budget provides $515.9
million in operating funds to the Wake County Public School System. That is a $45
million increase from FY19 and $8.5 million increase from what County Manager
David Ellis recommended in his proposed
budget on May 6.
This marks the first time
that the county’s annual contribution to the WCPSS operating budget will exceed
half a billion dollars.
The adopted budget also
includes the following changes from the recommended budget:
- An additional increase
of 0.27 cents to the county manager’s recommended property tax rate for a total
property tax rate of 72.07;
- Providing two
additional staff at the Crosby Garfield Center to support services provided to
residents in Southeast Raleigh and Eastern Wake County. This $60,000 increase
will be offset by delaying the implementation of Human Services budget
expansions; and
- Adding three
schools to the county-supported Universal Breakfast program: Southeast Raleigh
Elementary, Rogers Lane Elementary and East Wake Middle. The additional cost of
$37,000 will be offset by a $37,000 decrease in estimated county health
insurance claims.
FY20 Adopted Budget Highlights
- Adding five
ambulance shifts and hiring 20 EMTs and paramedics to operate them. This
investment will help Wake County EMS respond more rapidly to increasing calls
for service;
- Adding 14 new
positions to the county’s Child Welfare division to lower the average caseloads
for our social workers, enhance their ability to protect our youngest residents
and strengthen efforts to help the children in our care find permanent, loving
homes;
- Providing funding
to the Wake County Board of Elections, so it can hold the March presidential
primary election and operate 11 early voting sites across the county;
- Investing in IT
security upgrades and network improvements to expand protections against
ransomware and phishing scams, which can put our data at risk; and
- Increasing
accessibility to our public libraries by opening new and improved libraries in
Cary, Fuquay-Varina and Morrisville. This budget will also expand Sunday hours
to six more libraries and eliminate late fees for all library patrons.
Explaining the Property Tax Increase
To fund these investments in education, public health and safety, and quality
of life, the county’s property tax will increase by 6.63 cents, bringing the
rate to 72.07 cents for every $100 of property value.
With the tax increase, a
property owner will pay an extra $66.30 in property taxes for every $100,000 of
assessed value. For example, the owner of a $300,000 home will pay an
additional $16.58 per month or $198.90 annually in property taxes.
It is important to note that
of the 6.63-cent increase, 3.8 cents will fund projects identified by the three
bonds voters approved in November 2018.
They include the:
·
$548 million
WCPSS construction bond;
·
$349 million Wake
Tech infrastructure improvements bond; and
·
$120 million
parks, recreation, greenways and open space bond.
Of the remaining 2.83 cents, 1.98
cents would fund increases for WCPSS operating needs, and 0.85 cents would fund
county operating expenses.
In all, 82% of the 6.63-cent tax increase would fund education. The remaining 18%
would fund county needs.
Fiscal Year 2020 runs from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020.
To learn more, choose from the options below.