County Budget Proposal Far Exceeds Revenue Neutral Property Tax Rate

54 Comments

1. Remember a few months back when they were saying bonds they keep getting every couple years wouldn’t raise property tax rates? Those things have to be paid. I tried to tell you.

2. This whole article/budget reads as a “screw the homeowner out of every last cent possible”. With all the new houses being built there should be plenty of money around!

   • Exactly!

   • I would like to see an itemized statement from all income revenue that this county brings in plus the sales tax too!
     I wonder if the county commissioners will provide this to the tax payers of Johnston County before they decide to stick it to us!!

3. Joco has gone and is going downhill so fast sad to watch! We let the wrong folks get into local government and they have absolutely ruined it! Schools also.
   Be hard to reverse this trend but better start trying fast….

4. Welcome to Wake County.

5. Seems simple to me. If there is $218,566,848 surplus in the bank, there is more than enough to keep the new tax rate revenue neutral. The extreme development and growth in this county should continue to bring in even more money. Management of county funds is not intended as a toybox for wishful thinking, but to pay current liabilities and plan conservatively for future needs.

   • More growth brings more larger infrastructure and comes with more crime.
     Developers are the ones causing our infrastructure problems .
     The county commissioners have given them the keys to the county.

6. Thank a commissioner for the tax increase. These idiots sign off on developments like they are getting a kickback or something. This “growth” is unsustainable and we will see a crash in house values once all this development is done. Idiots. We need 1 acre million dollar homes not a million 1/4 lots. Just dumb.

   • We don’t need 1 acre million dollar homes either.

     • Well, no but my point is a home on one acre that is large will bring in tax revenue without as much tax need. 4 homes on one acre require more expenditures for schools, water sewer, electric, road needs, etc. commissioners always believe the more houses you have the higher the revenue you get. They fail to see, primarily because they are arrogant idiots, that all of those houses need schools,roads,fire,water,electric,sewer,police,fire etc. all of those eat up the very tax revenue they thought they would take in…and then some.

       • All correct. The worst of it is the traffic. Instead of doing anything to increase capacity, the response to the problems is to increase obstruction of it. Schools built directly on major arteries, more and more lights and stop signs everywhere, etc. It takes twice as long to get anywhere as just a few years ago and severe accidents are increasing.

         • Amen! I thought I was the only one who noticed. Plus that means more road upkeep, more gas consumption ( which is also taxed) more wrecks, more need for police etc etc etc….

7. He is proposing 3 cents lower BUT the Evaluations are so much higher. Don’t have to be a math expert to know our property taxes are going be so much higher than before. This is called greed. People, just remember this at election time.

8. Bring back tar and feathering.

9. Email the commissioners and let them know what you think. https://www.johnstonnc.gov/emailcommissioners.cfm

   • This is what happens when you keep electing (and re-electing) the same, over and over. #GetWhatYouDeserve #VoteOutIncumbents

10. Bureaucrats and the commissioners are NEVER going to do the right thing for property owners until we all organize and MAKE them do it. I am sick and tired of being legally extorted of my hard earned money just to see it be wasted in countless ways. You can’t justify it and explain it away. You ARE NOT SMARTER AND PRIVY TO INFORMATION AND UNDERSTANDING THAN US!!!! YOU WORK FOR US. We are being treated like serfs. I am ready and willing to be part of a grassroots movement to end or significantly alter the property tax extortion. We should set a date to meet in a public place like a civitan ball field in your local community and organize a county wide movement to address this. If we don’t we will all lose our assets eventually…….and at this rate it will only be a few years!!

    • Set it up! I’ll join you!

11. I knew the promise of holding the tax line was bull right from the get-go. You County Commissioners are a bunch of crooks and trash. Do you know the hardship you are putting on the public? Oh, you have money in the bank, so you don’t care you bums!

12. Why are the tax rates based on appraisal numbers rather than the sum initially paid for the property/item. This would put less financial burden on the existing residents and transfer the services increase fees to new more expensive properties. Growth is a not always appreciated.

13. We need a couple new commissioners on the board, the average guy that drives an old pickup and has common sense and hates growth.

14. They need to hire more deputies. They need to lower the tax rate. They need to cut the board’s salary.

15. Vote out any commissioner who approves this. Remove Hester. Get rid of Trump.

    • Ah yes, Democrats are really known for lowering costs! Remember the last 4 years? Watched housing prices from 2021 to 2024? Yes. Who was that under?

      If 180k houses are still 400k by 2028, I’ll happily eat my words. But if they’re lower, will you admit that you were brainwashed by the media to hate Trump?

      • Another uninformed voter. Help yourself out and do the research — Fox News is spoon-feeding you lies, and you’re swallowing them whole.

        Ah yes, let’s pretend presidents personally set housing prices. The reality? Home prices were already exploding under Trump in 2020, driven by his chaotic pandemic response, rock-bottom interest rates, and investor buying sprees. Biden inherited that overheated mess — he didn’t cause it.

        And inflation? It was finally coming down under Biden by late 2023, thanks to serious policy decisions like interest rate hikes and supply chain stabilization. It wasn’t easy, but it worked — unlike Trump’s reckless tax cuts for the rich and deregulation spree that helped drive inequality and corporate greed.

        And what happened to Trump’s promises about FEMA aid in western North Carolina after the flooding? He showed up, made a big speech, then ghosted the region. Nothing came. No follow-through. Just more broken promises from a man who’s always performing and never delivering.

        Oh, and he’s now promising to release convicted criminals — violent January 6th rioters — because they were loyal to him. That’s not leadership. That’s corruption.

        So if housing prices fall by 2028, don’t fool yourself into thinking Trump gets credit. He inflated the bubble. Biden started fixing it. Trump is a master liar — and the joke’s on anyone still buying what he’s selling.

16. Even worse if you live in Smithfield. They approve any and all subdivisions regardless of how many houses they are cramming in. Just look at the mess on buffalo road around the credit union and that franklin townes by wilson mills rd. these will be cesspools once the big out of state companies buys them all up to rent out. Nobody locally is dumb enough to buy them with their inflated prices. look at what they are doing by eden woods and Booker Dairy Plantation. Sad you would think taxes would go down with that many additional houses, but Nope Town Manager proposing a 20% insrease for us to pay for their mess.

    • Four Oaks is adding Section 8 housing. What the heck!! Just like we need more thugs and drug addicts. We have had more shootings this year than many years combined. Makes you wonder what the vision is from town hall for our town.

      • Let’s call your statement for what it is: bigotry, misinformation, and fear-mongering.

        “Section 8” doesn’t mean “thugs and drug addicts.” It means families, seniors, veterans, and working people who are priced out of basic housing in a system that’s increasingly unforgiving. These are your neighbors—human beings—not criminals.

        Blaming affordable housing for crime is not only false, it’s lazy. Most of the housing hasn’t even been built yet. Study after study shows that stable housing reduces crime. What fuels violence? Poverty, desperation, and neglect—things that only get worse when communities turn their backs and leaders cut support systems.

        And that’s exactly what Trump and the far-right are doing: slashing funding for mental health care, education, housing programs, and basic aid. That doesn’t make us safer. It creates more instability, more suffering, and yes—more crime.

        So if you’re really worried about safety and community values, here’s a question you need to ask yourself: Am I being a good Christian? What would Jesus do? Because the Jesus I’ve read about didn’t demonize the poor. He welcomed them. He lifted them up.

        Fear isn’t a strategy. Prejudice isn’t a plan. And cruelty is not a Christian value. If Four Oaks wants to move forward, it starts by remembering who you are—and who you claim to be.

        • We all know the truth. It’s as plain as day. You can spare us the ad homimen attacks and leftist platitudes….they’re not fooling people anymore

          • Great empty response Brett.

17. I can’t pay any higher taxes on SS and retirement.I will have to sale my home.This isn’t fair but to me they have never considered the ppl that worked their whole life to have a home and a little piece of land so they can take it when they get older and have limited income due to age and can’t work any longer.Thats the American Dream…Just a home that u own but u never own it they do!!!!!Fed Up!!!

18. It’s nice the county commissioners voted them self a raise to the tax increase. I wished I had the same luxury to do like our commissioners!
    They are lowering our standard of living!

19. Bunch of crooks !

20. HOW IN THE WORLD CAN PROPERTY OWNERS KEEP PAYING FOR THESE OUTRAGEOUS TAX INCREASES? DONT YOU THINK ITS TIME TO SLOW DOWN FOR A FEW YEARS???? VOTING COMES AROUND EVENTUALLY AND MY VOTE WONT BE SUPPORTING WHO WE HAVE NOW IN TOWN GOV. YES, I AM YELLING!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!! STAND DOWN !!!!

21. Interesting the “powers that be” increase home valuations when the basic law of supply and demand indicate they should be going down. The more houses the less the value. Property tax is a scam. Florida is ending it. Imagine having to pay a town to live in it. I also pay gas tax, sales tax, income tax ( both federal and state) . The commissioners are not acting in the best interest of the citizens and should resign.

22. Johnston County Commissioners are very poor stewards of our tax dollars. They are offering big businesses that have never been in our community huge property tax incentives while citizens, small businesses and farms that have been here for generations are being made to pay the extra taxes.
    Commissioners are giving huge tax breaks to big companies like Novo and Amazon while businesses long established in the county are losing employees or unable to find employees. We must vote any commissioner out that votes to increase taxes one penny from the revenue neutral that they assured citizens with their unreasonable new reevaluations.

23. Anyone who proposes a budget that “ at excess” revenue….. SHOULD BE FIRED. What an idiot.

24. People in Johnston County are outraged over rising local taxes—but before you blame “politicians,” look at who’s actually been in charge. These tax hikes aren’t random. They’re the result of long-standing Republican control—locally, statewide, and nationally. GOP leaders have gutted public funding at the top and pushed the burden down to counties and towns. Now your property taxes are going up to cover the gaps they created. That’s not mismanagement—it’s the plan.

    And don’t think Republicans aren’t calculating. They set the trap so the consequences land under Democratic administrations, then point fingers and pretend to offer solutions. Trump inherited a stable economy and functioning federal institutions—and he’s been dismantling them. You complained about inflation under Biden, but let’s be real: we were still recovering from Trump’s first-term disasters. Biden led a steady, if imperfect, recovery. Now Trump’s back, and Republicans are more brazen than ever. He isn’t a victim. He’s the architect.

    Meanwhile, vital federal agencies like the Department of Education, FEMA, and NOAA are being defunded or crippled. That cost doesn’t vanish—it lands on states and local governments. You feel it in crowded classrooms, delayed disaster response, and rising local taxes. So where’s that money going? Straight to the wealthy—the very people who bankroll political campaigns and demand tax cuts in return. They don’t want to pay their share, so they fund candidates who make sure they never have to. That’s not leadership—it’s exploitation.

    Trump isn’t raising your income taxes, but don’t be fooled—his tariffs are silent taxes. You feel them at the grocery store, the gas pump, and the appliance aisle. And his $500 billion in domestic cuts? They target Medicaid, food assistance, housing, and education. Billionaires keep their windfalls. You pay more and get less.

    So yes, your local taxes are going up—but the cause isn’t your school board or county commission. It’s a deliberate Republican strategy to defund government, erode public trust, and shift the cost to you. You voted for this. You cheered it on. You made this bed—now lie in it.

    • The DOE is NOT a vital federal agency. FEMA is woefully mismanaged and NOAA couldn’t find their own ### with a wall full.of mirrors and and audience to help.

      • These are just your opinions and not facts. When the next tornado or hurricane comes through our state we will see who is bellyaching for help.

    • I totally agree. And, I am always glad to see anyone commenting that has informed opinions based on facts rather than feelings. I gotta say though that a lot of people are being willfully, provocatively ignorant and aren’t interested in doing that type of work before forming theirs. If they can’t (or won’t) manage to bridge the gap between Republican’s dedicated protection of the extremely wealthy and the resulting displacement of that cost onto everyone who isn’t wealthy (cuz money isn’t free), they aren’t suddenly going to listen to any information that challenges them to think it through in any way.

      They vote party over country. They believe the propaganda about Dems being all the bad things they don’t understand or fear. They won’t bother looking at the factual data, financial records, legislative voting records, or admit that the things that leave the mouths of their representatives are indicative of poor character (at a minimum). Up is down, down is up, and apparently it’s really cool to be a bully now. Laws don’t count unless they get caught breaking them. The social contract is only for suckers and losers. It’s a cult.

      Even if they would be willing to acknowledge that a Republican they voted into office had wronged them deeply, voting for that Republican is still better than voting for the ‘evil Dem’. That’s why Republicans get away with straight up lying to their constituents. They know none of them will check to see if it’s true. None of our local taxes and costs exist in a bubble. It’s always been the case that Republicans vote in lockstep with their national agenda, and indeed, that involves screwing people over to reach a goal.

      The party that protects big money and wealthy donors is not interested in anyone else. If you aren’t wealthy, and I assume most of us aren’t, especially in JoCo, they don’t care about you. They only care about your vote. If you want government to work for you, for your tax dollars to fund your needs, and to have even a basic quality of life, you’re gonna have to vote differently. And looking at this rundown of proposed tax hikes, it does very much appear that we ALL will get screwed over, even if we didn’t vote for it.

      • Totally agree with you. It’s frustrating watching people keep voting for a party that works against them, just because they’ve been fed fear about the alternative. You laid it out perfectly—facts matter, and calling out the lies matters too. I also recognize that the JoCo Report is a right-leaning publication, and the opinion pieces are pretty soft. Most of the readers here are Republican, and that definitely presents some challenges. But that’s exactly why it’s important for all voices to be heard. Centrists and Democrats need representation too. Even in a red county like JoCo, one voice can encourage others to speak up. And once that starts, we can build a real presence—and maybe get back to more honest, respectful debate. Thanks for speaking up.

    • #delusional #stillmadTrumpwon #getoverit

      • Dear Whine, #Delusional? You’re the ones still chanting “Trump won” after he lost—clearly, decisively, and legally. In court. In Congress. At the ballot box. That’s not patriotism, that’s denial.

        #StillMad? You bet. Mad that a twice-impeached, indicted authoritarian is actively turning our country into a fascist state—emulating the world’s worst dictators while his base either can’t see it or won’t see it. And worse, many of you now act like the Constitution is optional—as if democracy’s rules only apply when your guy wins.

        #GetOverIt? We will—as soon as you stop justifying attacks on our institutions, spreading lies, suppressing votes, banning books, and worshiping a man who’s openly threatening to jail opponents and dismantle checks and balances.

        Let’s be real: if you don’t believe in free elections, a free press, or constitutional limits on power, you’re the one who doesn’t belong in this country. Maybe try somewhere that actually fits your ideals—because what you’re pushing isn’t American. It’s authoritarianism wrapped in a flag. And we’re not going to sit quietly and “get over it” while that happens.

      • Let’s call your statement for what it is: bigotry, misinformation, and fear-mongering.

        “Section 8” doesn’t mean “thugs and drug addicts.” It means families, seniors, veterans, and working people who are priced out of basic housing in a system that’s increasingly unforgiving. These are your neighbors—human beings—not criminals.

        Blaming affordable housing for crime is not only false, it’s lazy. Most of the housing hasn’t even been built yet. Study after study shows that stable housing reduces crime. What fuels violence? Poverty, desperation, and neglect—things that only get worse when communities turn their backs and leaders cut support systems.

        And that’s exactly what Trump and the far-right are doing: slashing funding for mental health care, education, housing programs, and basic aid. That doesn’t make us safer. It creates more instability, more suffering, and yes—more crime.

        So if you’re really worried about safety and community values, here’s a question you need to ask yourself: Am I being a good Christian? What would Jesus do? Because the Jesus I’ve read about didn’t demonize the poor. He welcomed them. He lifted them up.

        Fear isn’t a strategy. Prejudice isn’t a plan. And cruelty is not a Christian value. If Four Oaks wants to move forward, it starts by remembering who you are—and who you claim to be.

25. Chris, you’re full of Dem reasons to explain the rises in property taxes but NO ONE but the JoCo commissioners voted on these issues … AND certainly NOT any of our normal taxpayers! We need DOGE in JoCo to fix this injustice!!

26. Amen Chris!

27. DaddyO,
    Johnston County Board of Commissioners is composed entirely of Republicans. The current members are:
    • R.S. “Butch” Lawter, Jr. (Chairman)
    • Patrick E. Harris (Vice-Chairman)
    • Michael Rose
    • Ted G. Godwin
    • Fred J. Smith, Jr.
    • April Stephens
    • Bill Stovall
    And normal JoCo taxpayers voted these people in.

28. Hey as I said before, this is JoCo. The good old boys need to have their pockets lined with taxpayer dollars. Keep electing these MAGA NUTS and they’ll turn the USA into a forth world country. They say they have a budget that saves $4 trillion and they want to raise the national debt $4 trillion that’s $8 trillion for them to line their pockets with while YOU pay them to steal your money 💰 They just pass national expenses onto local governments that’s why local taxes have to go up. Slight of hand ✋

29. Almost everyone of these comments are without actual knowledge of the new tax rate. It is all irrelevant unless you like to say “I told you so” when you do learn the facts. Childish!

30. Truth hurts

31. Well when are you gonna pay extra CW?

32. When property revaluations rose “on average” 70.6% (ours personally rose 123%), and 64¢ per $100 rate is not a decrease in anything except the official rate.

    64/67 = 95.5%, meaning the new rate is 95.5% of the old rate.

    But an average valuation increase of 70.6% means property tax revenues times 95.5% of the old rate = property tax revenues increase by nearly 63%.

    Wth??

    Why do our Commissioners need property tax revenues to increase by 2/3??

    They could have set the rate at 50¢ per $100 and still increased revenues.

    This is nothing less than theft.

    Everyone of them who vote for this should be voted out.

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