Forsyth County commissioners may use the nearly $7.9 million that the county received Wednesday from Dell Inc. to lower the property-tax rate next year.
Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt said during a commissioners' briefing yesterday that the county should approve a resolution within two weeks to give the money that it received from Dell to local taxpayers.
"It is their money, and we should return it," she said. "They deserve it."
The money would allow the commissioners to lower the property-tax rate from 67.4 cents for each $100 of value to 65.4 cents for every $100 of value, Whisenhunt said after the briefing. The lower rate would be part of the 2010-11 budget.
Under the current tax rate, the owner of a $150,000 house would pay $1,082 in taxes. Under the lower rate, that homeowner would pay $981, a savings of $101.
Anyone who pays property taxes in the county would get the lower tax rate, Whisenhunt said.
In October, Dell announced that it would close its plant off Union Cross Road in January and eliminate about 900 jobs. Dell officials agreed to an early payback of $26.5 million that it had received in local incentives.
The commissioners allocated $6 million from the county's fund balance in fiscal year 2005 to help pay for the preparation of the site for the Dell plant. The commissioners also provided $1.91 million in additional incentives for Dell.
Dell repaid the city of Winston-Salem $15.5 million on Tuesday. The county received its money -- $7.89 million -- a day later.
For returning the money early, Dell received a discount of about $66,000. It was not required to return the local money until the plant closes in January.
Under a deal worked out by city officials, Dell kept a discount of $19,758 for repaying the money early, a county record shows. The county put the money into a bank account that would earn, through investments, the entire $7.91 million, Paul Fulton, the county's director of finance, told the commissioners.
Commissioner Debra Conrad said she was happy that Dell had returned the money, but she questioned whether Mayor Allen Joines had the legal authority to negotiate the return of county taxpayers' money.
County officials should have participated in the negotiations with Dell about the discount, Conrad said.
"Protocol was not followed here," she said. "The city of Winston-Salem made the deal without our consultation."
Joines said he represented only the city in talks with Dell. Joines said he told Dave Plyler, the chairman of the board of commissioners, on Monday that he had talked to Dell about returning the money early to the city and county.
"My point to the county was if they didn't get the money right now, the city would have been glad to hold it until February and give them the full amount then," Joines said. "He (Plyler) understands the time value of money."
On Tuesday, after the city announced that the money would be repaid early, Plyler offered several ideas for how the money could be used.
He also talked about using it to lower taxes, putting it in reserve as revenue for the 2010-11 budget or making a contribution to the county's rainy-day fund.
Plyler didn't attend the briefing yesterday because he was out of town. He could not be reached last night for comment.
County Manager Dudley Watts said that the commissioners will discuss a resolution about lowering the tax rate at their briefing Thursday.
jhinton@wsjournal.com
727-7299
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