GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford County Manager Victor Isler presented his FY2027 budget recommendation on Thursday, proposing a $935 million spending plan that would raise the property tax rate well above what the county needs to simply maintain current revenue levels.
Isler recommended a tax rate of 61.90 cents per $100 of assessed value — 8.64 cents above the revenue-neutral rate of 53.26 cents. That gap matters for homeowners: even if the county lowered the rate from its current level, many residents whose property values rose sharply in this year’s reappraisal cycle could still see their tax bills go up, depending on where the final rate lands. The proposed rate is 11 cents lower than the current rate in the county.
The largest single driver of spending above revenue-neutral is K-12 education. The recommended budget allocates $307.5 million to Guilford County Schools — an 8% increase over the prior year — accounting for 5.53 cents of the 8.64-cent gap. That investment includes $9 million toward a five-year phased pay plan for classified school staff, $5 million for a 1:1 student technology program, $1.8 million for school safety and security enhancements at all schools and $33.5 million to support the county’s school bond debt service strategy…