Wrightsville Beach may increase property taxes

The Board of Alderman will consider the increase when it reviews its budget Monday night.

Wrightsville Beach is considering boosting its tax rate from 6.34 cents per $100 to eight cents. That means if you own a $1 million home, your taxes go from $634 to $800 dollars.

Wrightsville Beach Town Manager Bob Simpson said, “We’ve managed for the last decade to not have property tax increases, but like anything else, you can only go so long.”

Simpson said, in order to balance next year’s budget, he’s had to pull nearly $800 thousand from the general fund.

He said the lagging economy is partly to blame. “Government has to live by the same rules and limitations that any household has to live by. The cost of things go up and in order to maintain services, the cost of doing business escalates also.”

The Board of Alderman will review the town’s $9.5 million dollar budget and make some changes.

Simpson says it may be early June before the property tax hike is or is not approved.

In the budget summary, Simpson calls the property tax increase “regrettable.”