Budget officer should have filed proposed budget with governing board by today. Tax collector is not required to accept prepayments of 2015–16 taxes until proposed budget for the new fiscal year has been filed with governing board. G.S. 159-11; 105-359(b)

§ 159-11.  Preparation and submission of budget and budget message.

(a)        Upon receipt of the budget requests and revenue estimates and the financial information supplied by the finance officer and department heads, the budget officer shall prepare a budget for consideration by the governing board in such form and detail as may have been prescribed by the budget officer or the governing board. The budget shall comply in all respects with the limitations imposed by G.S. 159-13(b), and unless the governing board shall have authorized or requested submission of an unbalanced budget as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the budget shall be balanced.

(b)        The budget, together with a budget message, shall be submitted to the governing board not later than June 1. The budget and budget message should, but need not, be submitted at a formal meeting of the board. The budget message should contain a concise explanation of the governmental goals fixed by the budget for the budget year, should explain important features of the activities anticipated in the budget, should set forth the reasons for stated changes from the previous year in program goals, programs, and appropriation levels, and should explain any major changes in fiscal policy.

(c)        The governing board may authorize or request the budget officer to submit a budget containing recommended appropriations in excess of estimated revenues. If this is done, the budget officer shall present the appropriations recommendations in a manner that will reveal for the governing board the nature of the activities supported by the expenditures that exceed estimated revenues.

(d)       The budget officer shall include in the budget a proposed financial plan for each intragovernmental service fund, as required by G.S. 159-13.1, and information concerning capital projects and grant projects authorized or to be authorized by project ordinances, as required by G.S. 159-13.2.

(e)        In each year in which a general reappraisal of real property has been conducted, the budget officer shall include in the budget, for comparison purposes, a statement of the revenue-neutral property tax rate for the budget. The revenue-neutral property tax rate is the rate that is estimated to produce revenue for the next fiscal year equal to the revenue that would have been produced for the next fiscal year by the current tax rate if no reappraisal had occurred. To calculate the revenue-neutral tax rate, the budget officer shall first determine a rate that would produce revenues equal to those produced for the current fiscal year and then increase the rate by a growth factor equal to the average annual percentage increase in the tax base due to improvements since the last general reappraisal. This growth factor represents the expected percentage increase in the value of the tax base due to improvements during the next fiscal year. The budget officer shall further adjust the rate to account for any annexation, deannexation, merger, or similar event. (1927, c. 146, s. 6; 1955, cc. 698, 724; 1969, c. 976, s. 1; 1971, c. 780, s. 1; 1975, c. 514, s. 4; 1979, c. 402, s. 2; 2003-264, s. 1.)

 § 105-359. Prepayments. (a) To Whom Made. – Payments of taxes made before the tax receipts have been delivered to the tax collector, herein referred to as prepayments, shall be made to the regular tax collector unless the governing body shall have designated some other person to receive them. The regular tax collector or person named to receive prepayments shall give bond satisfactory to the governing body. (b) When Accepted. – No taxing unit shall be required to accept any tender of prepayment until the annual budget estimate has been filed as required by law. (c) Estimation of Liability; Overpayment and Underpayment. – If the tax rate has not been finally fixed or if the assessed valuation of the taxpayer's property has not been finally determined at the time a prepayment is tendered, the tax collector shall compute the amount of the tax liability on the basis of the best information available to him. If it is later ascertained that there has been an overpayment, the excess (without interest) shall be refunded by the taxing unit. If it is later ascertained that there was an underpayment, the unpaid balance of the tax shall be due, and the balance due shall be allowed the discount or charged the interest in effect with respect to taxes for the same year at the time the balance is paid. (d) Receipts. – A receipt issued for a prepayment made on the basis of an estimate of the tax rate or assessed valuation shall so state, and such a receipt shall not release property from the tax lien created by G.S. 105-355(a). An official and final receipt shall be made available to the taxpayer as soon as possible after determination that the tax has been fully paid. (e) Duties of Chief Accounting Officer. – It shall be the duty of the chief accounting officer of the taxing unit to: (1) Secure and retain in his office, available to taxpayers upon request, the official receipts for taxes paid in full by prepayment. (2) Credit on the tax receipts to be delivered to the tax collector all taxes that have been paid in full or in part by prepayment. (3) Prepare and deliver refunds for overpayments made by way of prepayment. (4) Reduce the charge to be made against the tax collector by deducting from the total amount of taxes levied so much of the amount received as prepayments as is not required to be refunded under the provisions of subsection (c), above. Any chief accounting officer who fails to perform the duties imposed upon him by this subsection (e) shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. (1939, c. 310, ss. 1706, 1707; 1969, c. 921, s. 2; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 723; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)