SALES AND PROPERTY TAX revenues from Tanger Outlet in Mebane, which opened last November, have not lived up to the county’s expectations. This has also impacted the county’s budget plans, county officials said.
“We thought Tanger would do much better and it hasn’t,” Honeycutt said about the tax revenue generated by Tanger Outlet.
Weaver said she doubts the county would meet its $20.5-million projection for sales tax revenue countywide for fiscal 2010-2011. The county’s property tax revenue would also fall short of the projected $63 million for fiscal 2010-2011.
The county projected it will collect $61.9 million in property taxes and $19 million in sales taxes during fiscal year 2011-2012.
Weaver said after the budget retreat that the county had hoped that Tanger Outlet in Mebane would provide up to $400,000 in additional sales tax revenue per month for the county since it opened last November. These projections have fallen short since the county collected an additional $99,000 in November over October and an additional $250,000 in December over November in sales taxes, Weaver said.
Weaver said property values have also declined during the last budget year, adding additional strain on the county’s ability to generate projected property tax revenue.
The proposed budget plan for fiscal 2011-2012 provides a means for the commissioners to raise the local sales tax and property tax rates to generate additional revenue. Weaver said the county could select to raise its tax rates to collect an additional $1.5 million in property taxes and an additional $1.5 million in sales taxes during the new fiscal year, providing an additional $3 million in tax revenues for the county.
Honeycutt said last month he preferred to keep the county’s property tax rate at its current rate of 52 cents per $100 of assessed value.
If the county commissioners agreed to follow Honeycutt’s proposed changes in revenues and expenditures, then the $9.8 million deficit would become a $776,376 surplus, according to the figures provided by county management at the budget retreat.
There’s no cost of living adjustment for county employees in the county management’s budget plan.
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