As tax bases fall, counties brace for tough budgets. (Charlotte Observer, 4/30/2011)
Excerpt: Many residents across the Charlotte region face another year of cuts to schools, parks, libraries and other services - even as county governments may ask them to pay more in taxes.
It will be the third year with cuts or tight spending after the recession.
But some say the impact could be felt more dramatically this time. In part, that's because leaders are hesitant to dip into reserves again to pay for ongoing needs, a move that helped half of the state's counties balance their budgets and prevent even deeper cuts this year.
The reluctance to drain their savings in 2011-12, along with falling property values in some areas and fears about the state's money woes are contributing to what some county officials say will be one of the toughest budgets they'll have to put together.
Gaston County Manager Jan Winters is hesitant to put a dollar amount on the cuts that his county may be in for starting July 1. If he did, he says, "I'd have a coronary."
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