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Beaufort County projects just under $77 million in revenue after 2024 revaluation; revenue-neutral rate calculated at 44.51¢
Summary
County staff presented the revenue side of the fiscal 2025–26 budget, reporting a county valuation of about $9.47 billion after a countywide revaluation and showing a revenue-neutral tax rate of 44.51 cents, down from the current 62.5-cent rate used to produce prior-year collections.
Beaufort County staff told the Board of Commissioners at a budget workshop that total general-fund revenues for fiscal 2025–26 are expected to come in just under $77 million, with staff citing a figure presented in the packet of about $76.09 million.
The presentation centered on property revaluation results and their effect on the county’s tax rate. Anita, the staff presenter on revenues, said the county’s post-revaluation total taxable value is $9,467,367,002. She said staff used a 100% collection assumption for motor vehicles (collected through the state tax-and-tag program) and a 98.43% collection rate for other real and personal property to estimate levy collections.
Why it matters: revaluations change the tax base and require counties to present a “revenue-neutral” tax rate — the rate that would raise the same dollar amount of property tax revenue after valuation changes. Anita said staff followed the template provided by the local government commission to calculate the revenue-neutral rate and showed how multi-year growth rates affect that calculation.
Anita told commissioners the prior tax rate (62.5 cents) produced $41,177,671 in collections; a simple ratio would yield a 43.49¢ equivalent, but when staff factored seven years of assessed-value growth the revenue-neutral tax rate rose to 44.51¢. Staff also reported that growth over the last seven years added roughly $960,780 in taxable base, an average annual growth rate of about 2.33%.
Discussion and next steps included questions from commissioners about the calculation template and whether staff had any follow-up analysis; Anita invited commissioners to ask questions and indicated the calculation details appear on page 33 of the budget book. No formal action or vote was taken at the workshop on the tax rate itself; the session was informational as staff prepared the recommended budget for later board decisions.
The presentation closed with staff directing commissioners to the packet for line-by-line backup and the revenue-neutral worksheet required by the state-local guidance.
Ending: Commissioners will consider the revenue estimates and the recommended budget at future sessions; staff scheduled follow-up department presentations and a final decision meeting in the coming budget schedule.
