Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 19, 2007 issue
Fire Tax To Be Levied on Untaxed County Property Owners
Story by Kathleen McFadden
Along with addressing several other items on the agenda at Tuesday night’s regular meeting, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners took steps to levy fire district taxes on untaxed properties in the county, awarded playground equipment money to Green Valley Park, heard a preliminary report on the recommended capital improvement plan for 2007-07 and moved forward with plans to relocate the cemetery discovered on the new high school property.
Fire District Taxes
Currently, residents of three areas of Watauga County that include parts of Valle Crucis, Foscoe, Cove Creek and Shawneehaw pay no fire district tax, even though they are currently receiving fire protection services from volunteer fire departments. As of July 1, that situation will change.
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners discussed the untaxed districts at their pre-budget retreat in March, directed the county staff to meet with the fire district chiefs and to make a recommendation for apportioning the untaxed districts to specific volunteer fire departments.
At the board’s meeting Tuesday night, Planning and Inspections Director Joe Furman presented those recommendations. The untaxed districts would be split among the Beech Mountain, Cove Creek, Shawneehaw and Foscoe VFDs. The proposed tax rate for all of the districts is $0.05 per $100 of valuation.
The statutory process for levying the tax requires a public report that will be available at the county manager’s office by April 24, notices mailed to all affected property owners, a public hearing and the adoption of a resolution. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 22, and the board will set the tax rate at budget adoption in mid-June.
Green Valley Park
The commissioners unanimously authorized an allocation of $30,000 to Green Valley Park to pay for new playground equipment. Current fiscal year funding will come from sales tax revenues that are higher than budgeted in the current fiscal year and from the county’s capital reserve account designated for future park development.
Assistant County Manager Deron Geouque told the board that he will present proposals for new Tot Lot equipment for Boone and Cove Creek at the board’s next meeting.
Capital Improvement Plan
In advance of the commissioners’ budget workshops scheduled for May 9 and 10, Geouque presented the recommended capital improvement plan for fiscal year 2007-08. According to Geouque, capital funding requests totaled $10,487,597, and the staff recommendation is to fund 56 percent of the requests, with a proposed capital budget of $5,846,119. The board will discuss the recommendations at the budget workshops.
Hartley Cemetery
The commissioners moved forward with plans to relocate the cemetery located on the new high school property in Perkinsville, identifying three potential sites on the tract for relocation, as well as offering to purchase plots in the Mount Lawn Cemetery for the remains. The board will invite members of the family to the commissioners’ May 8 meeting to discuss the options and recommend a site on the western end of the property that will provide easier access and more privacy than the two other site alternatives.
The board unanimously passed a resolution declaring the intent to disinter, move and reinter the graves.
The county must give 30 days’ notice via advertisement of its intent to disinter, and the county is required to pay all the associated expenses. A licensed funeral director must perform the disinterment and the county has requested bids from Austin and Barnes Funeral Home and Hampton Funeral Service.
Chair Jim Deal said that in his discussions with family members, none was in favor of reinterment at Mount Lawn, but expressed their preference that the graves remain on the land originally owned by Reuben Hartley.