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Mecklenburg cuts may get worse; tax raise a possibility

By Tom Roussey - bio l email

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - Mecklenburg county commissioners have said they don't want to raise taxes during a recession.  But now several of them tell WBTV it may come down to a choice between a tax hike and even deeper cuts than expected.

Mecklenburg County has already announced plans for nearly across the board cuts to its services, including the money it gives to schools.

But the county doesn't yet know how much money it will get from the state this year, and the budget news out of Raleigh seems to be getting worse by the day.

Mecklenburg depends on state money for a lot of the things it does, so an unexpected reductions could leave commissioners scrambling to fix their already depleted local budget.

"What happens in Raleigh is going to affect us locally," said Democratic commissioner Harold Cogdell.  "And it's going to affect us in a bigger way than we've felt in many years -- if ever."

The county won't know how much money it's getting from Raleigh until possibly August.  By then commissioners will have already passed their local budget.  So if the state gives less money than expected, they'll have to go back and change the budget.  That's when the deeper cuts or a tax hike could happen.