Budget passes with four-cent tax increase

After one 2-3 vote and a good amount of debate, the Alleghany County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a four-cent tax rate hike along with the county budget.

Earlier, only Commissioner Eldon Edwards had been in support of a four-cent hike, with the other commissioners seeming to lean toward a five-cent increase. However, by the public hearing on June 27, commissioners J. Warren Taylor and Charity Gambill were also in support of the lesser rate.

The move will effectively make the county's tax rate 55 cents per $100 value in real estate.

Commissioner Patrick Woodie made a motion to support the budget with a five-cent tax increase, however, only he and Chair Ken Richardson voted for that measure — even though Gambill initially provided a second for Woodie's motion. She later withdrew her second and voted against the measure, which would have made the tax rate 56 cents per $100 of value.

Edwards motion then carried unanimously, with the two dissenting commissioners voting for the budget as a show of support when they saw their motion would not carry.

The hearing was attended only by one reporter and schools Superintendent Duane Davis, who came in near the end of the meeting. Richardson opened the hearing at 6:30 p.m. and then waited for about 10 minutes prior to closing the hearing.

The budget included a three-step (5.731 percent) pay raise for employees, a 10 percent increase in school funding, funding for the county's new public transportation project, funding the chamber of commerce at the current rate and maintaining the county's other expenses.

When Woodie made his motion to support the five-cent hike, which was seconded by Gambill, he said, "I think we have worked very hard to get where we are."
 
 

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