Cary reports upbeat sales-tax trend but notes property-tax timing quirks

Assistant Town Manager Dana Woodmar gave council a revenue snapshot on Dec. 11, reporting that Cary's two largest general-fund revenue sources — sales tax and property tax — show different near-term patterns.

Woodmar said sales tax receipts are running above last year in recent months: August receipts were up about 2% year-over-year, September up 6% and October up roughly 10%. She noted sales-tax data are reported with a lag by the state and redistributed by county, so Cary receives county-level allocations rather than parcel-level detail.

On property taxes, Woodmar explained collections are highly seasonal and typically spike in November when many taxpayers pay. November property-tax revenue was down about 4% compared with last November, an outcome staff did not expect; year-to-date collections through the end of November were roughly $90.5 million in FY26 versus about $89.5 million in FY25, or about $1 million higher year to date. Staff said they monitor receipts into January when the bulk of collections settle and that Cary's long-run tax collection rate is approximately 99.5%.

Council members asked whether the November shortfall presented a cash-flow problem; staff said the town has ample cash and has made investments with surplus balances and does not currently face a cash-flow issue. Woodmar also confirmed the four-week statutory comment period for the MSD report referenced earlier and noted the town would track collections and report updates in routine budget-monitoring materials.

Council asked about revaluation impacts; staff noted Chatham County performed a revaluation that brought additional properties onto the tax rolls and said they would follow up with county offices where needed to clarify valuations and timing.