NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC – During Monday’s meeting, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to adopt a $508 million balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 (FY 22-23). The budget takes effect on July 1 and includes a two-cent decrease in the property tax rate from 47.5 cents to 45.5 cents per $100 value.
“When talking with county staff about the Commissioners’ objectives for this year’s budget, we knew how important it was to keep funding the services our community has come to rely on while enhancing and expanding what we provide, but we also stressed a desire to put money back in our citizens’ hands. This budget does that,” said New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chair Julia Olson-Boseman. “We’ve been able to lower taxes, so New Hanover County now has the eighth lowest property tax rate out of all 100 counties in the state, while continuing to invest in education, public health and safety, economic development, community building initiatives, and so much more. I’m extremely proud of the collaboration and hard work that went into making all of this possible.”
Education continues to be a top priority for the Commissioners as $120 million, or 28.5 percent, of the county’s $421 million General Fund, is allotted to support New Hanover County Schools. This includes an Average Daily Membership expenditure of $3,434 per student, among the highest in the state, while also keeping the teacher supplement at an average of $9,000, which remains among the best in North Carolina.
Additionally, the Commissioners increased the school system’s Capital projects funding by 27 percent to $4.7 million to help with renovations and other physical structure improvements to improve safety.
Other FY 22-23 budget highlights include:
The county also continues to administer a variety of community assistance, infrastructure investments, and physical and mental health initiatives utilizing American Rescue Plan funding, which is not included as part of the FY 22-23 budget but continues to increase services across the community without a direct financial impact to residents and businesses.
The FY 22-23 recommended budget was presented to the Board of Commissioners on May 16 and a public hearing on the budget was held Monday, June 6. Following the public hearing, the Board of Commissioners approved the budget with several changes, outlined here.
The adopted budget in brief will be available at Finance.NHCgov.com in the coming weeks.