Wake County Board of Commissioners tonight adopted a $1.57 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2022 during its regular meeting. The spending plan, which goes into effect July 1, does not include a General Fund property tax increase. The tax rate will remain at 60 cents per $100 of property value.

The FY2022 budget will fully fund the Wake County Board of Education’s request, while making significant investments in public health and safety, housing and our quality of life.

“We’re pleased to approve this budget, because it makes fiscally sound investments in the areas where we have the greatest needs and where we want to achieve bold outcomes,” said Matt Calabria, Chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. “This budget is another step in our efforts to realize our theme for this year, which is ‘Prosperity for all.’”

The FY2022 Adopted Budget includes:

• Dedicating an additional $1.6 million to address longer-term public health-related needs to ensure the county is prepared to respond to any future disease outbreaks, potential case surges, or additional guidance from the state or federal government;
   
• Restoring the nearly $1.5 million for affordable housing that was cut in the FY2021 budget. By reinstating this critical funding, the county will help more lower-income families find safe and comfortable places to live;
   
• Investing more than $890 million – or 57% of the county budget – into education. This includes $350,000 to launch Wake ThreeSchool, a new Pre-K program for 3-year-olds, and more than $544 million to support Wake County Public Schools’ operating expenses;
   
• Restoring two peak-load ambulances and the eight EMT and paramedic positions needed to run them. Adding them will help Wake EMS respond to increasing calls for life-saving care;
   
• Investing more than $700,000 in early voting for the March primary election and increasing the stipend for early voting and election day workers to $15 an hour to serve the growing number of voters who want to cast their ballots early;
   
• Creating a new position for a Diversity and Inclusion Director in the County Manager’s Office and committing funds to help this position identify strategies to encourage equity and develop a plan to implement them; and 
   
• Opening Sandy Pines Preserve – a 563-acre former farm in Eastern Wake County where staff envision offering hiking, horseback riding, fishing and more to the public.
   

Increase to the Fire Tax
The FY2022 Adopted Budget will raise the fire tax from 9.10 cents to 10.27 cents per $100 of property value for households in the unincorporated areas of the county and the Town of Wendell. These communities don’t receive municipal fire services and, therefore, pay a tax for fire response.

Increasing the fire tax will not only ensure a continued prompt response in rural communities during emergencies, but it will also help retain great firefighters and provide them with equipment that works well and keeps them safe.

FY2022 runs from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. To learn more about the adopted budget, visit our website.