In a statement, the long-time commissioner said, “I want to thank the citizens of Halifax County for allowing me to serve as one of your Halifax County commissioners for the last 11 1/3 years. I believe that I have had a big part in making Halifax County a better place to live.”
Manning said he intends to file on February 10 and will run as an at-large candidate, “To continue serving all the citizens of Halifax County.”
Said Manning: “I believe that this election is one of the most important elections that we have ever had in Halifax County. Some people want the Halifax County Commissioners to merge or consolidate all three of our School Districts into one countywide district. North Carolina General Statute 115C-68.1 gives the county commissioners the authority to merge districts into a countywide district but requires the county to 'provide local funding per ADM to the resulting school administrative unit at least the highest level of any local school administrative unit during the preceding 5 years before the merger.'”
Manning continued: “At the present time, the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District has a $.21 Supplemental Tax rate, Weldon City SD has a $.17 Supplemental Tax rate but the rest of Halifax County, the Halifax County School District does not have a Supplemental School Tax. In May 2012 the voters of the Halifax County School District turned down a Supplemental School Tax by a 72 percent to 28 percent margin.
“I do not support a merger or consolidation of the three school districts in Halifax County for several reasons. The primary reason is that it would impose at least a 30 percent or more — $.21 — property tax rate increase on the majority of Halifax County citizens. Those are the same citizens who voted two years ago not to have a Supplemental School Tax.”
Manning said in the statement, “The financial condition of Halifax County is much better than it was when I came into office in 2002, though we are still a Tier 1 county. We have not had a property tax rate increase since 2003. We had a re-evaluation in 2007 and we tried to make the new tax rate as near revenue neutral as we could. The property tax rate decreased from $.86 to $.68 per hundred in 2007 and has continued at that rate since then.”
