Fayetteville reports $9 million budget shortfall due to changes to tax system in Cumberland County

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The city of Fayetteville is facing a major economic gap after Cumberland County changed its tax collection system earlier this year. Officials are trying to balance the budget and shield residents from the financial strain.

Mayor Mitch Colvin said Fayetteville officials have until June 30 to balance the budget. The pressure is steep--as the budget has a $9 million hole.

"We have some serious budget concerns where we're trying to fill a hole that county commissioners left us with a formula change," Colvin said. "And so we want to make sure that whatever this transition is, that it's not going to adversely impact our citizens."

According to city officials, the county's move from a system that calculates taxes based on the size of local populations to instead giving municipalities a share of county sales taxes is what has triggered the budget shortfall for Fayetteville. Officials said this could force the city to raise taxes to makeup the gap.

Fayetteville isn't the only one being impacted. Officials said other municipalities like Hope Mills and Spring Lake are also facing budget gaps. Those areas report a shortfall of around $2 million each.

Fayetteville officials said they're also looking at where they could make slight reductions in city services and make efficiencies in city staff. However, officials said they're looking to avoid making layoffs to city staff--a move no one wants to make.