Rather have growth than not!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a minor league baseball game in Kinston NC.  We also had to drive through the downtown area in Kinston and found it very depressing.  Kinston is obviously a struggling community, so I did some research to see what sort of growth they were experiencing.

Kinston’s property tax base has not changed much since 2008.  Actually their tax base dropped by $10M over the last year.  Their population has dropped by 8.8% since 2000.   Property tax is $.70 per $100 valuation.

Let’s compare this to Holly Springs......

Our property tax base increases consistently every year.  From FY 2014 to today, our tax base has increased by approximately $1.2B.   Our population has increased by 197% since 2000.  Our tax rate is $.4325.

Overall, I much rather deal with the impacts and challenges of growth than what Kinston is dealing with.   We are very fortunate to live in such a dynamic place!