Hope Mills board weighs tax increase after $2.07M sales-tax hit; prioritizes public safety and select capital spending

Hope Mills — Officials at a Town Board workshop reviewed a proposed budget that would raise the town’s property tax rate above its calculated revenue-neutral level to cover a recurring sales-tax revenue shortfall and to preserve public-safety spending.

Finance staff explained the revenue-neutral rate calculation — based on recent assessed values and an eight-year average growth rate — yields a 31-cent baseline. Board members were told a county change from a per-capita to an ad valorem sales-tax distribution will reduce the town’s annual receipts by roughly $2.07 million, a gap that translates to about a 10-cent increase in property tax. Staff added roughly four more cents to that baseline to fund ongoing public-safety costs, producing the proposed 45-cent rate in the packet presented to the board.

Why it matters: Board members repeatedly framed the issue as a trade-off between using one-time revenues and reserves or raising a recurring tax burden. Staff identified three one-time sources in the current plan — cell-tower proceeds (about $481,813), fund balance (about $418,187) and…