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NC State economist: Alexander County’s new homes generally ‘pay their way,’ commercial base lags
Summary
Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman presented a cost‑of‑community‑service study showing Alexander County residents receive about $0.88 in services for every $1 they pay in taxes while commercial property returns roughly $1.03; he recommended planning tools and noted a mapping error excluded the county’s industrial park from a federal tax‑credit zone.
Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman, an economics professor at North Carolina State University, told the Alexander County Board of Commissioners that a county cost‑of‑service study shows residential development in Alexander returns about $0.88 for every $1 spent on services while commercial development returns roughly $1.03 and farm/forest land produces a fiscal surplus. He said the study’s breakeven home value for covering local service costs is about $170,000 and that current new housing in the county tends to exceed that level.
The study, conducted with input from county department heads, redistributes county revenue and expenditures across three payer…
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