County approves $39.5 million

By Scott Nicholson

nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

The Watauga County Board of Commissioners adopted the 2006-07 budget Tuesday night, lowering the tax rate to a revenue-neutral rate.

The rate will drop to 31.3 cents per $100 of property value from 39.5 cents per $100 of property value. The revenue-neutral rate takes into account the increased value from the last property revaluation and growth from new construction.

The $39.4 million budget passed by a 3-1 vote, with commissioner David Blust voting against it. Commissioner Keith Honeycutt was absent.

“It’s (the tax rate) revenue neutral for the entire county, not for each individual taxpayer,” Deal said, saying the recent revaluation showed many properties increased in value, which could result in higher tax bills for some people despite the revenue-neutral rate.

The fire tax rates will remain the same, which was a concern of area fire departments, which feared a revenue-neutral rate would not allow them to meet rising equipment costs.

On Wednesday, Blust said he opposed the budget for two reasons. He said he was unhappy with the operation of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Office, which has a salary increase in the budget, and said a lot of farmers were upset with the resignation of farm agent Frank Bolick, whom Blust said “was railroaded out.”

Blust also said the revenue-neutral rate still contained the four-and-a-half-cent increase in the previous budget that had been enacted to put aside money for high school construction. “In my opinion, it keeps that tax increase intact for a second straight year,” he said. “We’ve had tremendous growth in this county. We should be able to get by on the growth and maybe even reduce taxes.”

The county is scheduled to receive a $200,000 grant from the Rural Center for the Appalachian Enterprise Center Business Incubator. County planning director Joe Furman said the last step was submitting a final application, though the county had already passed the competitive stage of the grant.

The money will be used to renovate the center, which was previously a business incubator before being used as an economic development space.

The center will also house a number of economic development agencies, including the Appalachian Regional Development Institute, AdvantageWest, and SCORE business counseling services. The county will also continue its entrepreneurial workshops at the center.

Furman presented a revised draft of an ordinance to regulate wind energy systems.

The planning board recommended approval of the ordinance, which allows for simple permitting for private, smaller windmills but adds a more rigorous review and permitting process for large-scale commercial wind farms that will generate power for off-site use.

One change would require a project layout prepared by a “design professional” for permit applications of commercial farms. Another change from the original draft establishes the types of maps that would be used to determine which properties fall in the Blue Ridge Parkway’s viewshed. Furman said the language is similar to that used in the county’s cell tower ordinance. A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for July 18.

The board voted to approve changes to the solid waste ordinance and the abandoned and junked motor vehicle ordinance.

The change would move enforcement from the planning department to the Sheriff’s Office, creating another deputy position, though the deputy’s primary role will be to enforce the two ordinances. The enforcement officer has the authority to investigate suspected violations, as well as act to investigate citizen complaints.

The Juvenile Crime Commission Council’s 25 positions were approved by the board.

The appointments are for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The county and town agreed to move its bank accounts from BB&T to Bank of Granite. Finance director Doris Isaacs said the Bank of Granite offered several benefits, and since the county collects municipal taxes for the town, both should use the same bank. Isaacs estimated the change would yield the county an extra $5,000 in interest per year. The change is for three years with a two-year renewal option.

The county received notice of fee increases for some Charter Communications services.

The $2 increase for some digital services and cable packages will be taking affect this month or next month. Though the commissioners have no influence over cable rates, county manager Rocky Nelson said the commissioners could schedule a public hearing. However, Nelson said the General Assembly could approve controlling franchise agreements, which would remove all local control over cable service.

“The word I’m getting out of Raleigh is it’s a done deal, and that’s what’s going to happen,” Deal said. He said if consumer rates went down, he was supportive of the change, but if it didn’t, the state should repeal the change. Supporters of the bill say statewide franchise agreements would create more competition, particularly from BellSouth, which in turn could lower cable rates.

Nelson presented notice of a grant award of $57,500 to complete two operations plans. Excelliant Services was selected to complete the plans, including an update of the Emergency Operations Plan.

The commissioners heard a semi-annual report on groundwater near the former landfill on U.S. 421 east of Boone. Nelson said the report showed that natural attenuation was resulting in diminishing contamination. The landfill was closed in the early 1990s after some wells near the site showed contaminants.

The board reappointed Rob Holton and Harry Davis to the Watauga County Economic Development Commission for three-year terms. The board also reappointed Mary Bolick and Neil Turner as extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) representatives on the Boone Area Planning Commission.

Earl Keller was reappointed to the Boone Board of Adjustment as a regular member and James Marsh was reappointed as an alternate member, both representing the ETJ.

The commissioners will appoint one more member due to a resignation.

The commissioners’ regularly scheduled meeting for July 3 is cancelled, with the next meeting on July 18.