Pickett Commissioners Oppose 43% Property Tax Hike

Pickett County commissioners shot down a 43-percent property tax increase Monday.

County officials reported during Monday’s meeting the increase would’ve generated approximately $2 million in revenue.

County resident Richard DeVries said commissioners have a tall task ahead in choosing what’s right for the people of Pickett County.

“I think the county commissioners have got a tough job. I don’t know what they right answer is myself,” DeVries said. “They’ve got lots of options. They’ve got taxes they could raise on property, they talked about a wheel tax, they talked briefly about a hotel-motel tax that I think would devastate the economy in the county. They’ve just got a real tough job and I wouldn’t want to be a commissioner.”

The increase would have raised taxes for county residents from $1.67 to approximately $2.39.

The adjustment was originally part of the county’s proposed 2019-2020 budget plan. Commissioners voted not to accept the budget due to the tax proposal and elected to continue with the 2018-2019 plan until a new budget is created.

Commissioners also approved a resolution pursuing a loan for $650,000 from Peoples Bank for operational expenses, including county employee payroll. The county will pay back the loan at three-percent interest once tax revenue is generated.

The resolution was originally voted down 6-5 prior to the rejection of the 2019-2020 budget proposal. However, the item was brought back and voted on again prior to the conclusion of the meeting, passing by a 10-1 count.

Nearly 100 county residents attended the meeting at the Pickett County Library. County Executive Carey Garner declined to comment after the meeting.

Commissioners will have until Aug. 31 to submit a finalized 2019-2020 budget proposal.