BY MILES LAYTON
SWAN QUARTER — While expecting a rather routine Hyde County Commission meeting, Mark Dodge of Rose Bay gave a speech that caught my eye.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, Dodge talked about high property taxes and how 2,000 families are paying the county’s bills but not seeing much for their money.
“Years back, Hyde County had a population of 6,000 or more,” he said. “Today, I hear it’s just over 4,000 — and that’s about 2,000 families or a little less. 2,000 families,” he said. “All of this income that we’re trying to take off of taxes, we’re trying to pull out of 2,000 families.”
Dodge said that because the federal and state governments own large chunks of the county’s property, this land is not taxed, so the citizens have to shoulder a bigger tax burden. He noted that though Hyde County’s population has decreased, more county employees seem to serve fewer people. And Dodge talked about how law enforcement seems to turn a blind eye to criminal activity.
There’s a lot to unpack from Dodge’s speech, but his words are echoed by many people living in rural America, certainly Eastern NC, so he is not alone in his sentiments — frustrations that the mainstream media seems to ignore. Google Oliver Anthony. Truth be told, led by Raleigh politicians who favor/subsidize policies that support the growth of cities, there has been a war against rural North Carolina for decades – that needs to change. To contend the state’s unfunded mandates and price hikes caused by salary increases and inflationary pressures, County Commissions across our region are doing the best they can with the hand they’ve been dealt.
Dodge said his property taxes have increased 400 percent – his family owns between 14 and 15 acres in Rose Bay. He passed around photos to the Commission showing that wooden structures on his property, perhaps at least 80 years old – are falling apart and sinking into the ground. However, because these structures are listed on his land, Dodge says he is taxed at a higher rate.
When asking the Commissioners if they are aware of any property values that have increased 400% since last time, Dodge answered, “I didn’t think so” before continuing, “I spent about three weeks back and forth on the phone in the tax office, and we came to an agreement that was much less than 400%… The people who live in this county, for the most part, are not really rich people. And when assessments happen and (tax) people spend no more time or care than to just come up with a figure because they see structures, that’s sad.”
Dodge then noted how the federal government owns some of the county’s best property. And it’s true – the property surrounding Lake Mattamuskeet is primarily owned by the United States government and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. Specifically, the lake and the surrounding 50,000 acres were acquired by the federal government in 1934. Possibly more acreage since that time has been purchased by the feds.
Dodge said that because the state government placed expensive boat ramps at Rose Bay, there was less tax money for county coffers.
The county’s tax base is adversely affected because of government ownership Lake Mattamuskeet acreage and docks at Rose Bay.
“The federal government’s not gonna pay a penny of tax. And the state’s not gonna pay a penny of tax on the boat ramps that they put in,” he said. “We lost that. That’s gone forever unless we figure out a way to get it back. So we’ve been allowing government entities to assume property, take property, buy property, whatever. And none of you may be interested in looking at what would it take (to get it back)? What kind of lawsuit would it take to have an abusive tax gobbling wildlife refuge come back to the county?”
A realist, Dodge conceded that a lawsuit filed by a cash strapped county against the federal and state government will probably not go anywhere. So how about this – Dodge said – a lawsuit filed against timber companies such as Weyerhaeuser – who, while they may not harvest a crop for 20 years, see a huge gain after the timber is cut down. Being that farmland is selling for around $2,000 an acre, Dodge said, perhaps it is time to rethink how Weyerhaeuser pays its fair share.
“Farmland, they tell me, is somewhere around $2,000 an acre. Good farmland,” he said. “I’m just interested to know – is Weyerhaeuser being taxed at $2,000 an acre. Because they’re farming. It’s just a 20 year crop, but when they harvest their crop, they get 20 years’ worth. Does anybody here know what a 60-foot-tall pine tree 16 inches on the stump sells for? They cut them by the millions every year. A multibillion-dollar industry right here under our feet. But are they being attacked (by taxes) like the rest of the citizens? That’s for you guys to figure out.”
Hyde County used to have a lot more people — but far fewer county employees than it does these days.
“My mom used to tell me about when she first moved here in 1956, how the population was up over 6,000. She said they had 35 county employees. I have chuckled about that all my life. How many county employees do we have today for less than half of the population? No, sir. I grew up, spent my whole life – for the first 35 years or so of it, there was no such thing as a rescue squad. I’m glad we got one, but at what expense to those 2,000 families? How much does that change? And I’m not saying get away from that. I’m saying be careful how we grow, be careful how we spend because the people that live in the county are few and they’re getting fewer.”
Dodge continued, questioning the county’s approach to spending, saying, “We’re spending thousands and thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands on departments that oversee and enforce regulatory policies like the sheriff’s office and environmental management, building inspectors, and things like that. About 2,000 families have to support all of that.”
Dodge then took aim at problems with criminal elements that he’s experienced in his neck of the woods. He questioned how the county, with all the resources available to enforce regulatory/law enforcement, how it allows a neighbor, one with a criminal record, to live in a place that’s in disrepair, that may or may not be connected to utilities – a place where trash is common and free roaming dogs threaten his family’s safety. As it relates to county’s spending priorities balanced with poor results that permit a criminal element – drugs and the associated crime, Dodge noted the high salaries of sheriff’s deputies before circling back to the tax base and spending.
“People, we are not Beaufort County. We are not Pitt County. This is 4,000-people population Hyde County! How are we paying these salaries? I don’t mind paying the salaries if we’ve got the money to pay it, but we’re not getting results. Why do we have to deal with that?”
More Hyde Commission news from Monday’s meeting will appear in a future story.
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