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City manager says Whiteville will keep tax rate steady and take over local tax collection
Summary
City Manager Eric Curry told the council the municipal tax rate will remain 54¢ per $100 and the downtown development tax 12¢, and he outlined a plan for the city to take over local tax collection from the county, citing a county billing change the city calculated could cause a large increase.
Mayor Terry L. Mann opened a public hearing on the FY2025–26 budget and turned the presentation over to City Manager Eric Curry. Curry said the general municipal tax rate will remain 54¢ per $100 of assessed value and the downtown development commission tax will remain 12¢.
Curry said the city plans to begin collecting its own property taxes rather than relying on the county, which has handled collections since 2010. He told council the county proposed a change to how it would bill the city and, using the county's numbers, the change ‘‘is gonna equate to about 643% increase.’’ He said the city has already purchased tax software and held implementation meetings with the vendor.
Why it matters: moving tax collection in-house could change administrative costs and timing for property owners; Curry characterized the budget as balanced but said the change is a major operational shift for the coming fiscal year. The council did not take a final vote on the collection contract in the excerpt provided.
Curry also reviewed personnel benefit rates and cost-of-living adjustments, saying sworn officers currently have roughly 27% of salary going to retirement and general staff have a different rate (25.42%).
