Thomasville approves new percentage-based fee for county tax collection, 6-1

Thomasville City Council voted 6-1 on Feb. 16 to approve an interlocal agreement with Davidson County that changes how the county charges the city for property tax collection.

City Manager Brandt told the council the county proposed replacing a flat per-account fee (previously applied to roughly 11,000 accounts) with a percentage of the city's tax value to align with practices in other North Carolina counties. The new schedule is 1.25% in year one, 1.35% in year two and 1.50% in year three and thereafter.

"They tell us it puts them on equal footing with other counties," Brandt said, adding the city could not operate a tax collection department for less than the county's proposed charge.

Council Member Doug Hunt, who moved approval, said many other counties use the percentage model and the city would face higher costs to recreate a collection operation. Council Member Payton Williams said she felt the shift—where the county raises fees instead of county taxes—was unfair to municipalities but she would vote for the agreement because the city lacked a lower-cost alternative.

Council Member JacQuez Johnson cast the lone no vote but did not offer a substitute proposal that had majority support.

The vote means Davidson County will begin billing Thomasville under the percentage schedule laid out in the new agreement. The council did not set a local tax increase tied to the change; Brandt framed the agreement as the fiscally practical option for continued tax-collection services.

What happens next: the interlocal agreement will be implemented according to its terms and reflected in the city's fiscal planning.