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HENDERSONVILLE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED A NEW BUDGET AND RAISED CITY PROPERTY TAXES THURSDAY NIGHT

COUNCIL MEMBERS BLAST COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR NOT FUNDING SRO'S FOR COUNTY SCHOOLS INSIDE THE CITY   

Hendersonville City Council Thursday night adopted a budget for the new fiscal year which starts July 1 and raised the city property tax rate two cents...the new tax rate goes in effect July 1. The city’s new property tax rate will be 49 cents per $100 of property valuation. Tax rates within the Main Street and Seventh Avenue municipal service districts will remain the same at 28 and 12 cents, respectively, per $100 valuation.

The council opted for the tax increase after the Henderson County’s Board of Commissioners earlier this week turned down the city’s request for funding for school resource officers at the four county schools within Hendersonville’s city limits

The 2-cent increase provides an additional $320,000 in annual revenue for the city. First-year costs will be $120,000 per SRO, which includes salary, benefits, training and equipment.  

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The Hendersonville Times-News reports that City Council members Thursday night expressed their frustration with county commissioners’ refusal to fund city SRO’s.

Councilman Jeff Miller pointed out earlier that city residents pay county taxes too...and should be entitled to county services like SRO’s.

Councilman Steve Caraker said since Sheriff Charles McDonald pulled animal control services out of the city, the only service he gets from paying county taxes is a library card.
“There’s been an inequity going on in taxation in this county for a long time,” said Caraker.

And Councilman Jerry Smith called it an unfair bias against the city.

While approving the budget for the new fiscal year Thursday night, City Council added a $15 motor vehicle tag fee to tax bills for city motor vehicle owners to be used toward transportation and street improvements.

Water and sewer rates for customers inside and outside the city are set to change in accordance to a professional rate study in order keep pace with scheduled capital improvements projects through 2030.

Water rates for an inside residential customer using 3,000 gallons per month will drop from $14.49 to $14.23. However, the sewer rate will jump from $20.25 for 3,000 gallons up to $22.36.

The city is moving away from the flat $5.91 base rate for all residential users; those rates will instead be based on the size of the water line

The new 2018-19 general fund budget for the city is balanced at $16 million, with $612,000 coming from the city's fund balance. The separate water and sewer fund is balanced at $16.6 million with $471,937 coming from the fund balance, according to the Times-News report on Friday.