Letter to the Editor Chowan Herald submitted May 5,2026  Published ??

Since 2021 county spending (the budget) has nearly doubled, from$15.8 million to the proposed $30.6
million. Since the 2022 revaluationthe budget has shot up 48%. The2020 census shows county
population has decreased so the burden on each taxpayer has increased. You are guaranteed to pay more if the tax rate is higher
than the so called “revenue neutral” rate, 55.25 cents—yet theproposed budget is 9 percent
higher at 60.25 cents per hundred;ie an immediate tax increase. (I am familiar with one Habitat for
Humanity home—affordable housing—that has increased in valuation by 98% since 2022, so
even if the rate was 55.25, this homeowner faces a major tax hike.)

The best solution for Chowan residents to this spending problem is for commissioners to
set the tax rate so the revenue for the FY26-27 is exactly the same as for FY25-26 —this year, which is
44% higher than it was two years ago. Taxing folks on an asset that does not produce income is a
“wealth tax” because until a house is sold it does really not create value, regardless of the county
revaluation number. In fact it is really an “unfunded mandate”. ..by the county on you! Does the
county expect people to take out a home equity loan to pay their taxes?

WHAT TO DO: 1) educate yourself; don’t blindly accept the official narrative—online go to:
robinsams.com/tax.htm, govinsights.io, and the Facebook page for Kim Ringeisen. 2)talk
with your neighbors, 3)email to the county commissioners at
board@chowan.nc.gov and tell them what course of action you want them to follow. Their
allegiance should be to the people who elected them, the people of Chowan County rather than
Raleigh bureaucrats.