THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 4, 1997 TAG: 9702040224
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 111 lines
If voters approve a $60 million bond package for school construction in May, property taxes would rise by up to one-third, at least in the fourth year of paying off the debt, Dare County's finance officer said Monday.
In the first year, however, the increase would be 6.49 cents per $100 of assessed value. And after the fourth year - the peak - the increase would steadily decline. In the last year of the 20-year bond, the tax increase would be only 1.34 cents per $100.
In the fourth year, the tax rate would increase to 53.4 cents per $100 of assessed value - which is 13.4 cents more than the 40 cents paid by county residents now. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay an additional $134 per year in taxes.
Residents of Dare County towns, who must pay municipal and county taxes, will face higher taxes. In the year when the tax increase reaches its peak, combined municipal and county taxes would break down as follows:
Kill Devil Hills: 97.4 cents per $100 in assessed property value.
Kitty Hawk: 82.4 cents.
Manteo: 90.4 cents.
Nags Head: 98.2 cents.
Southern Shores: 75.4 cents.
However, Dave Clawson said that over the life of the bond repayment, the amount of increase would diminish as the amount to be repaid decreases.
Clawson also said that a variety of factors will determine the exact amount of the tax hike.
At a Friday workshop, the Dare County Board of Education movedthe target date for the referendum from May 6 to May 20 and settled on slightly more than $60 million for the bond issue. A public meeting will be held Wednesday night at the Nags Head Fire Station.
``What can affect the total amount of the increase are things like the percentage of property tax collected, the annual growth of the tax base, and when the bonds are actually issued,'' Clawson said.
Bonds are generally issued over a period of years, not in one lump sum, Clawson said.
``You never issue them all at one time,'' Clawson said. ``The North Carolina Local Government Commission requires that you release all of the bonds over a seven-year period, but does allow governmental entities to seek a three-year extension. For example, in the first year you may only release enough money for architecture design fees. The amount of the tax increase will go down as the indebtedness is paid off over time.''
State regulators also provide specific guidelines for repayment of the debt.
``There is a state statute, known as the Four Times Rule, that determines how you structure repayment,'' Clawson said. ``You can't have a level payment as you do when you finance a house or a car loan. At worst, the tax is 13.4 cents, but as the amount to be repaid declines, so will the tax rate.''
In figures from the North Carolina Local Government Commission provided by the Dare County Finance Department, taxes would go up by 6.49 cents per $100 in the first year of the bond issue, and increase to 13.43 cents by the fourth year. The increase would steadily decline until in the last year of the 20-year bond, the increase would be only 1.34 cents per $100.
The estimates are based on a conservative (high) interest rate estimate of 7 percent.
Board of Education Vice Chairman Fletcher Willey said he believes the bond package can be sold to Dare County voters.
``The numbers . . . are dependable and accurate,'' Willey said Monday afternoon. ``The question is not bond or no bond. The question is whether or not the voters will vote to meet the future facilities needs of our schoolchildren. I believe the people of Dare County will vote as they always have, to meet the educational facilities . . . ''
Willey said the use of a bond issue is more cost-efficient than a piecemeal approach.
``It's less expensive to use a bond plan to meet all of the facilities needs than to build two new classrooms a year,'' Willey said.
The bond proposal allows for a second high school to be built north of Oregon Inlet.
But some are concerned that the plan would give the newfacility strong academic programs, leaving the system's two other high schools lacking. School officials contend that will not happen.
Manteo businessman Malcolm Fearing III said those concerns are not exclusive to Roanoke Island and the Dare County mainland. Fearing and other Dare County residents are organizing to raise questions about the bond package. They met for the first time Monday night.
``This is not a Roanoke Island concern. This is a concern shared throughout the county,'' Fearing said. ``Our concern is that curriculum be the same for all the schools. Now, the curriculum at Hatteras and the curriculum at Manteo are not the same. What's to make us think it's going to be the same when they build a school on the beach? What we want is an equal distribution of educational assets. Programs and educators educate children. Fancy buildings don't.''
He added, ``Our focus is to get input from all the people of the county. We want to develop an alternative plan based on input from everybody.''
Fearing also urged the school board to be penny-wise in its deliberations.
``My father always told me if you pinch pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves,'' Fearing said. ``We all want quality education for our children, but we also want fiscal responsibility.''