Cumberland County commissioners to consider changing sales tax distribution

Cumberland County commissioners will consider a resolution Monday that would change the county’s sales tax distribution method, according to a March 26 memorandum from County Attorney Rick Moorefield.

The county previously participated in an interlocal sales tax agreement with the governing bodies of other municipalities in Cumberland County, the proposed resolution states. That agreement began in 2003 and will end June 30, 2025. Under the agreement, the county used the “per capita” method of sales tax distribution, meaning municipalities did not have to give back a portion of their sales tax proceeds to the county, according to the UNC School of Government.

Now, the county is considering switching to the “ad valorem” method.

The per capita method looks at population, allocating revenues based on each municipality’s population compared to the county’s population. In comparison, the ad valorem method allocates revenue based on each municipality’s property tax rate compared to the county’s property tax rate, according to Orange County.

State law requires that, if counties wish to change from one method to another, they pass a resolution in April, two fiscal years before the switch would take effect. 

The county gave notice to local municipalities in June that it planned to change to the ad valorem method, according to a news release.

The change would take effect July 1, 2025, the memorandum states.

In other business:

• The board will consider approving a $351,593 contract with Fayetteville-based Bill’s Well Drilling Company to build and test three wells in the Gray’s Creek area, according to a March 26 memorandum from General Manager for Natural Resources Amanda Bader. The test wells are part of the first phase of efforts to build a water and sewer district in Gray’s Creek to address GenX contamination in the water.
• The board will consider cutting some solid waste fees in half from April to June in celebration of National County Government Month and to mitigate illegal dumping, according to a March 26 memorandum from Bader. If approved, the temporary reduced rates would be $10 per load for pickup truck loads of municipal solid waste and $5 per item for bulky waste, the memorandum states. County staff plan to measure the success of the program by tracking the number of dumping complaints and tickets for at least one month, according to a presentation attached to the meeting agenda.
• The board will consider appointing members to the following boards:
• One member to the Cape Fear Valley Board of Trustees. Ryan Aul and Dr. Torica Fuller were nominated March 18.
• One member to the Joint Fort Liberty & Cumberland County Food Policy Council. Joyce Adams was nominated March 18.
• Three members to the Civic Center Commission. Joshua Choi, Dwight Thompson, Kenneth Burns, Jami McLaughlin and Peter Pappas were nominated March 18. (McLaughlin is a freelance reporter for CityView, covering Spring Lake.)
• Four members to the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission. Sarah Burton, Michael Long, Laura Mussler and Donna Pelham were nominated March 18.

The board will meet Monday at 9 a.m. at the Cumberland County courthouse.

Reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500.

This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501c3 charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.