Cary Mayor Wants To Offer Tax Cuts To Residents

Town Hall

, where a $57 million reserve fund has accumulated. Lang said it is either time to spend some of that money or reduce taxes.

Lang said he wants to slash the tax rate by 24 percent because the town's surplus has ballooned in recent years.

"There's only two things you can do. You either have to provide better services if you keep taking the money (or) you have got to give it back to the folks ... because we're not going to use the money," he said. "You can't just keep putting it in the bank."

"It's just too much of a risk to drain us down that much. It takes away all our flexibility," said Mayor Pro Tem Jack Smith.

Smith does not want to do anything with the excess cash. He said payments for an expansion of Town Hall and various road and park projects will make it harder for the reserves to grow in coming years.

"Look at all the other communities right now. They're laying off city employees. They're cutting back on services, and we don't have that problem because of our reserve," he said.

As much as a 24 percent tax cut might tempt homeowners, but Cary resident Helga Lewis said the mayor should keep the money where it is.

"It just seems like it's too much. We have to have that buffer," she said.

The City Council will vote on any tax changes and next year's budget at the end of the month.