No increase for Pike taxpayers

Taxes should stay the same next year for most taxpayers after the county and schools approved budgets that do not require a millage rate increase. Both the county and schools maintained the rollback rate which is only an increase of .001 for the millage rate. COUNTY TAXES:Pike commissioners voted Sept. 11 to approve an amended budget resolution to avoid a more than 10% increase in millage rate after tax digest numbers came in from the state. ’We went through six different versions of the budget to make cuts that put us within the rollback rate, which means no millage rate increase,’ said interim county manager Rob Morton. ‘We were able to make a reduction of a little more than $100,000 from public works.’Commissioners approved a 5 p.m. meeting for Monday, Sept. 30 to set the millage rate. According to the five year history of taxes levied by the county, there hasn’t been a significant tax increase since a 9% tax hike in 2014. The net tax percent increase actually went down 1.75% in 2015, down .11% in 2016, increased only .94% in 2017 and went up by 4.5% in 2018.SCHOOL TAXESThe school will receive $8.25 million from local taxpayers and $21.9 million from the state, federal and state grants and other local revenue such as Ad Valorem taxes. ’The goal each budget cycle is to provide the best possible educational experience for our children and honor the community’s commitment to its public schools,’ said superintendent Dr. Michael Duncan. ‘The current tax digest is providing steady funding for the maintenance of school district operations; however, there continue to be unmet needs district-wide, including but not limited to instructional support materials, technology infrastructure, roof replacement, and roadway and parking lot refurbishment.’The school’s millage rate will be set at 18.665 during a public hearing set for noon Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the Pike County Schools board room at 7454 Highway 19 south in Zebulon. According to the five year history of taxes levied by the school, this year’s increase will be just over 1%. Last year’s tax increase was 2.16% (for the Fiscal Year 2019 budget). The tax increase for the FY2018 budget was 16.92%; for FY2017, it increased 4.41%; for FY2016, it decreased by 1.06 percent; and for FY2015, it stayed the same with a 0 percent change.