Commissioner proposes tax increase to help Orange County meet its climate-change goals
Climate change is at a crisis point, Commissioner Mark Marcoplos says, and Orange County could mount a faster response with the extra money from a quarter-cent increase in the property tax rate.
“I’ve just been thinking about it and thinking about it, and suddenly, I thought, you know, this is serious business,” Marcoplos said. “We need to do something that requires a little bit of a sacrifice to put some serious money into battling climate change.”
The county has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% by 2025, and also to make the switch to a 100% renewable energy-based economy by 2050. Marcoplos included a list of projects that potentially could help meet those goals in his proposal.
He’d also like to see the county explore solar battery technology, which saves excess solar energy for days when there is less sun, he said, and possibly erect a “symbolic, inspirational project,” like a windmill.
“On county property in Hillsborough somewhere, where people driving into town will see a windmill, and they’ll realize that we’re serious,” Marcoplos said. “It would be a great symbol and also generate a lot of electricity, and it will also communicate that wind energy works around here, despite the conventional wisdom that it doesn’t.”
Property tax rate hike
Marcoplos’ proposed increase of 0.25-cent per $100 of assessed property value would be on top of a planned tax rate increase the county manager has proposed to help pay for operations and debt. The commissioners could approve a final tax rate increase June 11.
County Manager Bonnie Hammersley already has recommended a 1.5-cent tax rate increase this year, and possibly more increases through 2022, totaling 9.13 cents. The commissioners could also raise the tax rate by 5.8 cents now and bank the additional money for future debt payments.
A 1.5-cent increase would make the county’s tax rate 86.54 cents per $100 in property value. The owner of a $300,000 home would pay a $2,596.20 property tax bill, roughly $45 more than the current bill.
Marcoplos’s proposed 0.25-cent tax rate increase would add $7.50 to the tax bill for that $300,000 property.
A penny on the county’s tax rate generates nearly $1.9 million.
He takes the property tax rate “very seriously,” Marcoplos said, but his proposed increase is a small price to pay for practical solutions to “a planetary crisis” that experts say may cause irreversible damage in 10 to 12 years.
“We’re not just throwing money away to get some mysterious climate change benefit,” he added. “There are economic benefits, creating jobs, putting money in people’s pockets with weatherization (savings), the energy savings. Right now, alternative energy is roughly equal to grid energy in cost, and it is getting more and more cost effective.”
Commissioner Earl McKee said Marcoplos’ proposal is too late and the county can work toward its climate-change goals in other ways.
“Any discussion of a potential property tax increase should have occurred at the very beginning of the (budget) discussion, instead of at the very end of the discussion,” McKee said. “I don’t think there will be enough time to give the public a proper opportunity to vet it, to comment on it, or anything else.”
Climate action plan
Efforts already are underway to prepare county buildings for stronger storms and heavier rains that climate change could bring.
The county spent $3.5 million last year to repair several storm-damaged buildings, including the Battle Courtroom at the Orange County Courthouse, the Government Services Annex and the Phillip Nick Waters Emergency Services Building. Another $3.25 million is budgeted to fortify the annex building, which also houses the Board of Elections office; heating and cooling equipment; building exteriors and roofs; and the Whitted Building, which has drainage and stormwater issues.
The county also is working with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough to form a new Climate Council. Anyone interested should email Brennan Bouma, the county’s sustainability program coordinator, at bbouma@orangecountync.gov.
Each government also has its own Climate Action Plan, with recommendations, goals and deadlines.
Among the ideas in Marcoplos’ proposal are a low-income home weatherization program, energy-efficient upgrades to new and existing county buildings, and solar panels for the top of some county buildings, including the SportsPlex in Hillsborough and the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill.
Bouma drafted the list for Marcoplos as a starting point for discussion. It also recommends hiring a consultant to provide more technical assistance and lead a community conversation, he said, because his time is limited and a consultant could bring specialized analysis and planning tools to the table.
“If we’re talking about trying to meet the ambitious goals that the county has set for itself in transitioning to 100% renewable energy, there’s going to be a lot of decisions; people are going to feel that in their lives,” Bouma said. “Allowing people to get used to that idea, to understand what it might mean for them, to see what opportunities we could pull out of all of the challenges, and to make sure ... that we actually hear from the voices of the people who would be most impacted, so that we’re not putting words in their mouths” will be important.
Work already has started
Additional contractors might be needed to ensure building projects meet their energy-efficiency, construction and cost-savings goals, Bouma said.
Other, ongoing projects include a community-scale greenhouse gas emissions inventory, likely available later this year, and multiple building improvements, including the installation of LED lighting and energy-efficient heating, air and water systems. A pilot solar project is planned for the new Efland EMS substation and could be expanded to the county’s planned Northern Campus on U.S. 70.
The county also has made use of geothermal wells, which use the earth’s consistent temperature to more cheaply heat and cool buildings.
Six county buildings in downtown Hillsborough, including the Orange County jail, the courthouses and Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the District Attorney Office, are served by a geothermal well system installed in 2014. That system could pay for itself in about 15 years and generates about $37,000 in annual savings, Bouma said.
This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Commissioner proposes tax increase to help Orange County meet its climate-change goals."
