Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ This past week I caught up with Rowan County Commissioners Craig Pierce and Mike Caskey and asked them about the recent commissioners 2-day retreat at the South Rowan Library and about the more recent buzz concerning the county’s future. Here are the highlights of what they said to make these potentially complex subjects more digestible. Keep in mind that none of these thoughts about the county’s future is set in stone. We will report in more depth on these subjects as they actually occur.
WEST END PLAZA
The county will request a “Conditional Use Overlay” from the City of Salisbury because that appears be the fastest approach to achieve what the County and the city require. The County, after finalizing their space needs study, will likely be coming before the Salisbury city council in early March. All of the commissioners are on board with this approach. The hope is that sometime in early March the County will obtain their permit for government services. In the end the West End Plaza will provide inexpensive space for the county’s future needs.
This coming Monday the county commissioners will meet and discuss their going forward with loan to pay for the purchase of the West End Plaza to be reviewed by the Local Government Commission (LGC). The county’s bond rating could potentially be lowered without a loan. The county’s fund balance is in good shape.
Taxes
According to possible projections an increase in property tax is possible depending on increases in the county budget. The commissioners desire to keep taxes low because higher taxes would impede the county’s economic growth. Its easier to attract businesses and keep them with lower taxes.
A sales tax increase “may” be forthcoming in the 2015-2016 fiscal year depending on what is occurring at budget time.
Economic Development
As yet not a whole lot was revealed about specifics concerning future plans for Rowan County’s economic development. Our commissioners hope the proposed Southern Rowan I-85 exchange gets added to the NCDOT Improvement Plan.
