Did you know that the vast majority of the city’s funding comes from sales taxes and fees rather than property taxes? Fayetteville’s General Fund receives less than 4% of every property tax dollar, and less than 2% is received specifically for City roads, so we supplement the maintenance of this infrastructure through our capital improvement program. Our 2023 Budget totals $216,748,000. $89,507,000 or 41% of that funding will come from sales taxes, while $99,286,000 will come from fees for services, water, sewer, and refuse collection charges, and franchise taxes. Property taxes will provide $7,030,000 or 3.2% of our total budget.
Did you know that the market value of all Fayetteville property which is assessed by the County Assessor totals $9,644,739,562! That means that the City of Fayetteville functions as a nine billion dollar corporation, and the City Council is essentially the Board of Directors of that corporation.
Fayetteville voters approved all 9 Bond measures on the ballot in 2019. Our bond funded project categories includes:
- Street construction and maintenance
- Trail construction
- Drainage enhancements to reduce flooding
- Multiple parks projects
- Economic development projects related to job training and infrastructure
- A new Police station
- An additional new Fire station
- Energy efficiency enhancements to city buildings
- The Ramble our Cultural Arts Corridor project
Bonds are typically used by local governments to fund very large and expensive capital projects.
So just how fiscally sound is the City of Fayetteville? Our local economy has been remarkably robust despite the many challenges of the pandemic. Commercial office vacancy rates and unemployment are very low, while our hospitality and sales tax revenues have continued to recover and grow post pandemic. So much so, that in all likelihood Fayetteville will pay off our Sales tax bonds as early as 2031 rather than 2032 and 2035!
While our municipal government is fiscally sound, you and I did not choose Fayetteville on that basis. It’s the hospitality of our neighbors, the quality of education available to our children, the remarkable cultural amenities that are available here, and an appreciation for our outdoor environment that drew Lee Anne and I to Fayetteville, and most likely attracted you to come or stay. We are fortunate to live in this remarkable community.
Learn more about the 2019 Fayetteville Bond Information below.