What-if scenarios

Oconee County Councilman Wayne McCall asked his colleagues last night to think about the possibility that the county’s revenues for 2013 could be less than projected, if the new Duke tax assessment falls. Duke Energy remains the county’s number one taxpayer and, to a great extent, the county’s budgets are figured. McCall said the assessment could reflect a shift by Duke of construction projects to its North Carolina service area. County Administrator Scott Moulder last night had no direct answer to McCall’s question of how a lower assessment could impact what Moulder envisions for county operations in 2013-14. That led McCall to express concern about the impact of a lower Duke assessment on public school spending. And it led budget chairman Reg Dexter to renew his complaint that the state fails to live up to its financial obligations to county government.