On July 22nd, 2021, the BOC voted for a budget which did not compensate for the enormous rise in property values post-revaluation. The revenue neutral rate of 32 cents for every $100 of value was ignored. By maintaining the rate of 38.5 cents, property tax revenues subsequently shot up by about 20%.
To justify this, it was claimed that the town was in bad financial shape. However, the 2021 audit seems to tell another story (page 7):
As of the close of the current fiscal year, the Town’s governmental funds reported combined ending fund balances of $21,238,655, an increase of $5,265,485 or 33% increase from the prior year fund balance. The increase is primarily due to revenues exceeding expenditures for the current year.
Waxhaw 2021 Audit
The hike’s annual addition of approximately $2M to the town revenues has been mostly consumed by the $1.7M yearly payment to service the bond (dept) that the town took on to pay for the new town campus.
