Property Taxes Up An Average 32 Percent In Newly Adopted Johnston County Budget
SMITHFIELD – Johnston County property owners will pay significantly more under a budget package adopted by Johnston County Commissioners. Although commissioners cut the actual property tax rate, a property revaluation earlier this year still means significantly higher taxes.
Tax Rate Reduced From 67 To 52 Cents
Johnston County’s current property tax rate is 67 cents per $100 of assessed value. After the county’s 2025 property revaluation, average home values increased by 70.6 percent.
County Manager Rick Hester had proposed a new 64 cents tax rate. Monday night, commissioners cut the tax rate to 52 cents but that was still higher than the revenue-neutral tax rate of 49 cents.
Average 32 Percent Property Tax Increase
A homeowner with a $100,000 house paid $670 in Johnston County property taxes this year. Next year they will pay $887, an increase of $217 on average, under the budget, which commissioners claimed cut taxes.
Commissioners Tout “Tax Rate Cuts”
In a press release from Johnston County Commissioners, the board touted “a strong focus on reducing the tax burden for residents while continuing to invest in infrastructure, core services, public education, and strategic community needs.” They also highlighted the 15-cent tax rate reduction being “…one the largest property tax rate cuts in County history.”
“This budget reflects the Board’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, while we continue to meet the needs of a growing County,” said Board Chairman Butch Lawter. “Throughout this process we’ve been mindful of the growing financial pressures many of our residents are facing, which is why this historic tax reduction is critical to ensuring families and businesses can thrive here without being overburdened by rising costs.”
Vice Chairman Patrick Harris said, “It’s imperative we continue maintaining strong support for our schools, emergency services, and long-term planning efforts. Our population is expanding rapidly, and this budget helps position Johnston County for smart growth without overburdening our taxpayers,” Harris said.
Spending Plan Up Nearly 10 Percent
County Manager Rick Hester had proposed a $402 million budget package but commissioners added over $10 million to the spending plan. The total approved budget Monday night was $412.4 million, an increase of 9.6 percent over the current fiscal year.
Fire Tax Rate Jumps
The Countywide fire tax rate was reduced from 14 cents to 11.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. The new fire tax rate represents a 20 percent fire tax increase over the revenue-neutral rate of 9.6 cents.
Highlights of the adopted budget include:
Behavioral Health:
Up to $500,000 will be allocated for the development of a new behavioral health urgent care facility to expand local access to mental health services.
Employee Compensation:
A 3% pay adjustment for county employees will take effect July 1, with the potential for an additional 2% performance-based increase in October.
Education Funding:
Johnston County Public Schools will receive $110 million in supplemental current expense funding and $3.5 million for capital outlay. The Board of Education has requested $114 million and $10.9 million for capital outlay.
Johnston Community College will receive $9,290,303 in current expense funding and $4,507,504 for capital outlay, the exact amount requested by JCC officials.
Nonprofit and Community Investments:
$325,000 will be allocated to Harbor, Inc.
$100,000 will support site improvements at the Public Library of Johnston County in Smithfield.
$100,000 will be allocated to Johnston-Lee-Harnett Community Action.
$100,000 is earmarked for a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) study to explore growth and mobility opportunities near current and future transit infrastructure.
Conservation and Land Preservation:
The Board approved an allocation of $1.39 million to Triangle Land Conservancy for farmland and open space preservation.
Special Taxing Districts:
Based on recommendations from the respective boards, the Research Training Zone will be taxed at 8 cents per $100 of value, and the Moccasin Creek Service District at 2.5 cents per $100 of value.
“We’re grateful for the Board’s leadership in reducing taxes and investing in services that directly benefit our residents,” added County Manager Rick Hester. “This budget demonstrates that it’s possible to deliver meaningful tax relief and still meet the demands of a growing County. We look forward to continuing to build a strong foundation for Johnston County’s future.”
Approximately 11 percent of the 2025-26 fiscal year budget will go towards repayment of debt. The primary debt is public schools and construction bonds including the new Public Safety Center and Johnston County Detention Center.
Higher water and sewer fees are included in the adopted budget, plus a 25 percent increase in the cost to dispose of yard waste at the Johnston County Landfill.
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33 Comments
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32 per cent tax increase….thanks Republicans!!!
Not republicans!
It’s funny how this increase came after everyone’s appraisal doubled. Thanks Democrats.
Every single one of you sheep should look in the mirror! This is what you get when you re-elect the same group year after year. #VoteOutIncumbents
You have no reason to B*tch JoCo, you’re the ones that keep voting for these IDIOTS. Now you get what you asked for.
#YouCan’tFixStupid
If you are not from JoCo then why even post.
what happened to “tax neutral”? knew that was a lie!!! Don’t boast that there is a big tax break when you and everyone else knew the property values went through the roof!
Agree!!!!
Next time, and there will be a next time, vote no on new bonds.
There is your republican They allow these businesses to come in and give them these big tax cuts and make us pay for them. How about all the homes being built and people moving here. Their paying taxes so that’s more money your getting why do we have to keep paying more Vote these fools out !!!!!!! Show up and show out !!!!! I wish I could cut my land out and move it out of joco 😂
Quit whining if you think you can do a better job get yourself elected and have two hundred thousand people yell at you…cannot make everybody happy
You must be a board member,,
Can’t make everybody happy cause your too busy making your own wallet fat ..
You must be a board member
Can’t make everybody happy cause your spending all your time making your wallets fat and happy smh
That’s what happens when you vote Republican. Spend more than you have!
Vote out all those Republican scoundrels!
Maybe one day JoCo will put just one democrat on the board of commissioners. At what point will you stop complaining about the people you keep voting for.
The old “ make it look like we are cutting taxes but then reevaluating and pay more “ trick. Crooks. Let them know how you feel when you see them .
The Commissioners did a great job!! DROPPED the Tax rate from .78 in 2019 to .52 in 2025. The County Manager Accounting Team wanted it at.64 dropping 3 percent from .67 2024 rate. The commissioners did what the people wanted. Educate yourselves. .52 is one of the lowest in the State now.
@Baby: I don’t think you understand how inflation works. The cumulative rate of inflation from 2019 to 2025 is ~26%. When you factor that in (in order to accurately compare), you’ll discover that the .52 rate is actually a 2% *INCREASE* when evaluated in 2019 dollars. #SheepSayBaa #EducateYourself
Hey Babyface, you should get your facts straight. .52 is not one of the lowest in the state, .52 is in the middle. There are some counties in NC that know what revenue neutral is, Catawba County did their reevaluation and adjusted the tax rate from .64 to .39 meaning that your property taxes remained the same as it was before reevaluation. So BF, keep voting for these good old boy IDIOTS in JoCo that keep taking your money for personal gain.
This is not a big deal to those that have just moved here and way over paid for that little houses on a slab. Their appraisal came in about the same they paid for their house. The people who live east of I 95 who have owned their houses for a really long time and got surprised by a 300% increase in their values are the people who are hurting the most. The ones born and raised here and don’t even want all this growth are the ones paying the biggest increase…
The math ain’t math’en up for me. If the average home value increased 70.6% then the revenue neutral rate would be around 39 cents, not what they are telling you.
Example: In 2024, a $100k home paid $670 at the 67 cent rate (excluding fire rate). If the value went up to $170,600 (70.6% increase) then in order to still pay $670 in taxes, the rate would be 39 cents/per $100 on that home…do the math your self for your own property and i assure you that most everyone will not be anywhere close to what they are telling is net neutral at 49 cents.
My total tax liability is going up a whopping 51%…IN ONE YEAR! BTW, I was one of only a handful of citizens in JoCo to email my commissioners regarding the budget. There were so few public email comments on the budget proposal that Butch Lawter was able to read out all the names in the last meeting….so sad. Not one person showed up to voice their opinion about it.
They don’t care what we have to say.
This isn’t about party, you simpletons. This IS a major issue with having real estate and property development moguls, continuously voted in to sit on the Board of Commissioners. This whole new “Property Valuation” was an absolute scam.
Shovel is spot-on here. The county used a local firm to falsely revaluate our properties, then gave us a way to contest if the property wasn’t at that value. Then guess what?! They used the exact same company to the decide if the contest we filed was valid! Of course it was going to stay the same! These folks aren’t going to admit they’re wrong SMH…
Are you suggesting people in real estate and development WANT higher property taxes? They want to pay MORE for their land and unsold properties? They want to price themselves OUT of being competitive in the real estate market? They want to keep new customers away by INCREASING property taxes? That makes zero common sense.
I think they should have spent more on increasing sheriff deputies.
Keep the ‘good ole boys club’ in power people. These guys do not care about the folks that have lived in the county all their lives. They care about helping their good ole boy buddies. If we want something better we have to do something better. Stop voting for these guys that have nothing but contempt for the long time residents of this county. They want to be like the larger counties as evidenced by giving themselves large raises (while patting each other on the back and congratulating themselves for being paid like Wake County commissioners). We all should have known what it would be when that happened, but the residents of this county keep operating on the definition of insanity. The commissioners should be ashamed of themselves for attempting to gaslight people by announcing their great generosity in cutting taxes. When more money comes out of people’s pockets your generosity doesn’t mean jack!
No, most values increased 80 to 160% let’s be honest here..and a measley .15 decrease in the tax rate still leaves people paying a third more in taxes …this is ridiculous!!!! People will be forced to sell or take on more jobs to afford it…way to go JoCo…
Rally downtown Smithfield at courthouse Saturday to protest on market street
@Taxpayer, what’s that going to do? The only rally that’s going to count is the rally at the ballot box. That is if the GA will still let you vote in the future.
@Taxpayer: Too little, too late. The time to make your voice heard was during the dozens of public meetings where the budget and this increase was discussed. If you didn’t show up, don’t complain.
The tax rate per 100 of value was just announced…you just too sorry to show up
I have a great idea…..
For everyone who has fussed and complained about JoCo and you are not atleast 3 generations deep in JoCo…..
please, please move out of JoCo. I’ll be glad to pay more if it gets all of the transplants out!
I also vote for applications to move into any county in NC. As a county we should have say so at who lives within our boundaries.
I am an Original! I do not approve of the heavy traffic, houses being built 5ft apart, thinking that Vegan and Tofu is a thing, and Sundays should be family day and everything shuts down for one day a week.
That is what I would be happy to pay a higher rate for!