While Martha McAdams tends to her garden in Raleigh, local leaders are proposing budgets that would make her tax bill grow. Wake County would increase the property tax rate by seven percent, while Raleigh would raise fees for city services.
"I thought, 'Oh no, not again!' But I've lived long enough to know that taxes always go up," she said.
If you live in a $200,000 house in Wake County, the property tax increase would cost you another $80 a year. Raleigh residents would also pay another $85 a year in increased fees for garbage collection, water and sewer services.
"There is a five percent increase in water rates and a nine percent sewer rate increase," city manager Russell Allen said.
For the second time in two years, Raleigh businesses would also pay higher fees. Some council members wonder if business owners can afford it.
"How is this affecting small business owners? How is this going to affect them when you add it all together? What's the impact of the two-year budget," city councilman Kieran Shanahan said.
Council members will study those questions and many others over the next few weeks. Raleigh will hold a public hearing on the budget June 3. Wake County has two hearings scheduled for June 2.
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