85% of homeowners face higher property taxes
Plus: Wells Fargo CEO keeps his pay the same; CMS plans express buses for magnet students; Neighborhood alters fence to protect deer; Does radio broadcaster resemble new Panthers coach?
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As values boom, county expects ‘vast majority’ of residential owners to have higher tax bills this year
◼️ Biggest increases expected in Charlotte’s ‘crescent’
◼️ 1/2 of businesses could have taxes cut
◼️ ‘This just sucks,’ one commissioner says; ‘a real shock and convulsion’ says another
by Tony Mecia
At least 85% of Mecklenburg County homeowners are likely to receive higher tax bills this year, with the biggest increases hitting those who own the least expensive houses.
For the first time, county officials on Friday provided detailed projections to county commissioners on the effects of the upcoming property revaluation, including breaking out expected tax increases by location and home value. The analysis showed that some of the biggest increases are projected in the “crescent” north and west of uptown, and to homeowners whose properties are currently in the lowest 1/3 of values.
That’s because in the last four years, houses with lower values in poorer areas of town have increased more in value on a percentage basis than more expensive properties in wealthier parts of town.
And in a switch from the last property revaluation in 2019, commercial property values grew at a slower rate in the last four years than residential parcels. As a result, just 48% of commercial properties would pay higher taxes, compared with 85% for residential properties.
Property values rose more in Charlotte’s “crescent” — in neighborhoods north and west of uptown — than they did in wealthier parts of the city such as south Charlotte and the Lake Norman area, according to a county analysis of revaluation data (map on left). The county said 85% of residential property owners would have taxes raised under a revenue-neutral tax rate, while owners of commercial properties would face higher taxes 48% of the time (chart on right). (Source: Mecklenburg County)
In addition, those numbers assume commissioners adopt a tax rate that is “revenue neutral” — and some said that the county’s needs have increased so much that they will seek a tax rate that increases revenue. That would drive the percentage of homeowners facing higher tax bills above 85%. The city and Mecklenburg’s towns will set tax rates separately.
‘Significant impacts’ possible: County Manager Dena Diorio told commissioners: “The vast majority of taxpayers are going to see an increase at revenue neutral. That impact is exacerbated if we go above revenue neutral. I’m going to need some feedback from you about what your appetite is going to be for going above revenue neutral … We could see some pretty significant impacts to taxpayers.”
The new information comes as economists widely believe the country is headed into a recession. Consumers are already struggling with higher-than-usual utility bills and high inflation, which drives up the cost of groceries and other goods and services.
The data could lead to some hard decisions for city and county leaders. Increasing taxes above revenue neutral rates would mean more money for priorities such as schools and affordable housing. But those tax increases would tend to fall harder on property owners in some of the neediest areas of town.
Some commissioners said they didn’t understand why that would be the case.
“The thing I’m having trouble wrapping my head around is the lower third, middle third and highest third, how the change can be so different,” said commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell. “It seems like they should be closer in their change.”
Tax Assessor Ken Joyner replied that the “lower-valued neighborhoods have seen a greater impact” from higher-priced home sales than areas where prices were already high.
“Mmm-hmm,” Rodriguez-McDowell said. “This just sucks.”
County officials said gentrification probably plays a big role in the differences. Diorio speculated that corporate ownership of housing in low-income areas also drove up prices but acknowledged she had no data to back up that claim.
Commissioner Leigh Altman said that the analysis “portends a real shock and convulsion to properties in the lowest third of the community. And all of us are, I think, very concerned that the leap in values are going to harm the most economically fragile in our community.”
The county administers a couple programs that help low-income residents who face economic hardships to remain in their homes.
Every parcel is different, and it’s hard to generalize about the effects throughout the county. But officials said the average properties in the lowest, middle and upper third of property values would pay between $177 to $278 more per year in taxes — numbers that would rise if leaders choose to raise taxes above rates that are revenue neutral.
Specifically, the county’s analysis showed:
Lowest 1/3: Residential properties in the lowest 1/3 of value, worth a median of $139,700, rose in value by an average of 89%. At a revenue-neutral tax rate, 86% would face a higher tax bill ($278 more a year on average).
Middle 1/3: Residential properties in the middle 1/3 of value, worth a median of $232,600, rose in value by an average of 63%. At a revenue-neutral tax rate, 91% would face a higher tax bill ($223 more a year on average).
Highest 1/3: Residential properties in the top 1/3 of value, worth a median of $420,000, rose in value by an average of 49%. At a revenue-neutral tax rate, 79% would face a higher tax bill ($177 more a year on average).
Tax cut for high-value commercial parcels? On commercial property, about half of owners in the lowest and middle thirds would pay more in taxes, while just 38% of those in the upper third (with median values of $3.3M) would. On average, those owners in the upper one-third would receive a 0.2% property tax cut.
That raises the prospect that the owners of some of Mecklenburg’s priciest buildings, such as Bank of America Stadium or office towers, could pay lower tax bills than they do currently, while property taxes surge on what are now some of the lowest-valued homes.
The county expects to mail new values to property owners in March, and the county and city set their budgets and tax rates in May and June. —TM
More information:
Read the county’s presentation on the effect of the 2023 revaluation
Watch the commissioners meeting from Friday (revaluation discussion starts around 1:27)
Related Ledger article:
“A property revaluation at the housing market’s peak?” (🔒, Jan. 13)
Today’s supporting sponsors is Landon A. Dunn, attorney-at-law in Matthews:
CMS plans new express bus service for some magnet school students; district solicits input from parents
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has a challenge on its hands as it relates to providing bus transportation for students at the district’s magnet schools: The routes in many cases are too long for students and drivers — stretching well past an hour each way for some students — and the bus driver supply is too thin.
So to solve for those two problems, the district is working on an express stops plan that would have about 5,000 students from 11 high school magnet programs get on and off buses at more centralized bus stops, making for express routes that enable students to leave home later and get home earlier.
The affected schools include:
CPCC - Central Campus
East Mecklenburg High School
EE Waddell
Harding IB & Berry Technical Academy
Hawthorne & Military Global Leadership
North Mecklenburg High School
Northwest School of the Arts
PACE - district wide program
Secondary Montessori @ JT Williams
Under the new plan, some students may have to travel up to 3 miles to get to an express stop. Under current guidelines, the district places bus stops so that high school students don’t need to travel more than about 0.4 miles to reach a bus stop, said Adam Johnson, the district’s transportation director.
The express stop system will enable buses to go directly from the centralized stop to the school. Currently, some magnet school buses make anywhere from 10 to 25 stops along a run, Johnson said. District officials chose schools where students currently travel the most miles per day to get to school for the express route system, Johnson said.
Savings associated with the express stops plan is expected to close a $3.2M funding gap, Johnson said. He said the number of buses assigned to magnet school routes will be drastically reduced. For example, 45 buses currently serve students of Northwest School of the Arts in the morning and afternoon; the plan would drop that to about 20 buses, Johnson said.
Magnet students make up about 21% of the approximately 140,000 CMS students, and magnet bus runs account for 33% of daily bus miles, according to CMS data.
Johnson said the district is soliciting input from families to see where they can place stops that will make the most sense, and they will encourage families to use carpool apps to help pool resources to get students to the express stops if they aren’t within walking distance.
Johnson said district officials are meeting with families from each affected magnet school as well as the schools that feed into the affected schools to get feedback about the changes. They are also circulating an online survey. —CB
Wells CEO tells bank’s board he doesn’t want a raise; will get by with $24.5M for 2022
Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf told the bank’s board of directors that he didn’t want a raise for last year and that his pay should stay the same as in 2021.
And the board obliged, keeping his total pay at $24.5 million for 2022, according to a regulatory filing last week. It consists of a $2.5M base salary plus $22M in bonuses, incentive pay and stock rights.
The filing says Scharf approached the head of the board’s compensation committee and “acknowledged the strong performance of the Company and significant progress in its transformation journey but noted the remaining work left to be completed and therefore, did not believe an increase in compensation level was appropriate this year.” He would have been in line to receive more than $27M.
Under Scharf’s leadership, Wells has been working to put its fake-accounts scandal behind it. Regulators last month ordered Wells to pay $3.7B in fines and restitution.
The company is headquartered in San Francisco but has its largest employee base in Charlotte. —TM
Spikes no more: south Charlotte neighborhood modifies fence, making it more deer-friendly
In November, we wrote about a spiky fence surrounding a portion of the Enclave at Providence community in south Charlotte where dozens of deer had been fatally impaled as they failed to jump high enough to clear it.
Local residents had asked the neighborhood to modify the fence to eliminate the sharp spikes. Deer had reportedly been getting impaled since the fence was erected in 2010, but an especially gruesome incident happened this fall where two deer were found impaled at the same time. The neighborhood sits off Pineville-Matthews Road near Davie Park.
On Saturday, workers cut the spikes off the fence and put black plugs over the tops of the shortened rails, lowering the fence about 5 inches and making it easier and safer for deer to clear.
Officials from Community Association Management didn’t answer an email from The Ledger over the weekend, but local resident Carol Turnbaugh said she was relieved the fence is now safer for wildlife.
The management company had previously said the fence met all building codes and ordinances, and that modifying it or removing it would be costly to residents and wouldn’t necessarily be safer for deer.
Turnbaugh said she’s relieved she won’t have to brace herself for a gruesome sight during her morning walks near the Enclave.
“My stomach would be in my throat waiting to hear that sound of a deer trying to get loose, or the sight of one hanging there,” she said. —CB
Related Ledger article:
“Outcry in south Charlotte over deer being impaled by spiky fence” (Nov. 30, 2022)
Doppelgänger alert: Is that the Panthers’ new head coach … or a Charlotte morning radio host?
It’s easy to see why some listeners of the “Woody & Wilcox” morning radio show on 106.5 The End did a double-take when the Carolina Panthers announced that Frank Reich would be the team’s new head coach. Chris Wilcox, the Wilcox half of the radio duo, looks strikingly similar to Reich when they’ve both got on their hats, glasses and headsets.
It reminds us of 2020, when Twitter pointed out that another notable Charlottean, then-city councilman Larken Egleston, bore an uncanny resemblance to then-new head coach Matt Rhule.
Funny thing is, Wilcox does actually answer to the title “Coach Wilcox” — he’s an assistant coach for the Ardrey Kell varsity boys basketball team. —CB
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
THURSDAY, FEB. 2: Connect After 5, 5-7 p.m. at Burrow Welchel & Culp at 1515 S. Mint St. Join the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce for some after-work networking and fun. This is a great opportunity to build business relationships and make new connections. 2 drink tickets will be provided with registration. $15 for members, $25 for nonmembers.
SUNDAY, FEB. 26: Digi-Bridge Presents Bots & Brews, 2-4 p.m. at Lenny Boy Brewing in Griffith Hall, Charlotte. Come watch and enjoy this first-of-its-kind community competition for adults and kids at Bots & Brews. All proceeds will benefit Digi-Bridge’s competition robotics program for the 2023-2024 school year. Ticket prices include food, drinks, and swag! $10 for kids. $20 for adults.
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief:
Appeal of sex assault lawsuit? The lawyer for the former Myers Park High student who unsuccessfully sued Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the police department said on her personal Facebook page that she “will likely appeal” the case. Laura Dunn also wrote that federal Judge Robert Conrad was “tying our hands” with rulings that prevented the student’s legal team from introducing the evidence it wanted. A spokeswoman for Dunn’s law firm told The Ledger: “I cannot neither confirm or deny whether we plan to appeal.”
Back to 2019: Real estate experts say the housing market in the Charlotte area is returning to normal pre-pandemic levels. (Axios Charlotte)
CLT airport tweaks online bookings: Charlotte’s airport is eliminating its three-hour minimum lead time for booking parking spots in its “Daily” deck. Travelers can now book online “within seconds of parking.” The airport, which has been encouraging people to book ahead of time, says it is making the change “to make the process quicker and easier.” Other lots still have the three-hours-ahead online booking requirement. (Charlotte airport on Twitter)
In memoriam: Longtime Charlotte Christian baseball coach Greg Simmons passed away after a battle with lung cancer, the school said. Under Simmons’ leadership, the Knights won 733 games and 16 private school state titles since 1992.
Financial troubles for Hornets’ broadcaster: The company behind Bally Sports, which broadcasts many Charlotte Hornets games, appears headed toward bankruptcy protection because it is unable to make an interest payment due in mid-February. The company owes about $2B in fees to basketball, baseball and hockey teams this year. (Bloomberg News)
Haley gears up for presidential race: Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as United Nations ambassador under former President Donald Trump, is said to be exploring a presidential run that could start as soon as next month. (The Dispatch)
CMPD chief joins protestors: More than 80 people marched in uptown Charlotte on Saturday to protest the beating death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. They were joined by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings. (Observer)
Taking stock
Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project