By MICAH HENRY for The Taylorsville Times
Don Taylor, one of the main proponents of an incorporation push for the Bethlehem Community, spoke during the public comment portion of the Alexander County Commission meeting on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, and gave an update on the incorporation process.
“It’s not just about process, it’s about our community, our future, and ensuring that we, the residents of Bethlehem, have a voice in shaping the direction of our town,” he stated.
Taylor said he was pleased to share the group is in the “final stages” of incorporation. “Petition signatures have been approved by the Board of Elections, exceeding the amount for incorporation. We received official notification from Hickory, stating they will not oppose the incorporation of Bethlehem. We have a Town Charter, boundaries, and statistics, including the form of government and approved tax rates. We have a legally approved draft bill, ready to present to the General Assembly. We have received preliminary budget proposals from several organizations for contracted services. Right now, we are working with the North Carolina Local Government Commission to obtain the financial certificate for incorporation. We expect to complete that submission in the next few weeks.”
“Once we receive approval, our next step will be to follow the new House rules, adopted in January, and submit our completed incorporation packet to the Municipal Incorporation Subcommittee. This will bring us even closer to making Bethlehem an official, incorporated town, something that has been made possible by the dedication and determination of residents of Bethlehem,” Taylor explained.
He said the drive to become a town is “not opposition to growth…We’re not being selfish, nor are we against new housing. And we’re certainly not trying to stop currently approved projects. Those projects will move forward as planned. However, what these projects have done is highlight an important issue, one that many residents were unaware of. In May 2024, the County made changes to our zoning rules. These changes allow for high density housing in ways that do not reflect the vision that most of us have for Bethlehem’s future. That is our main concern.
“That is why over 1,000 residents have voiced their support for incorporation. It is not the effort of a few individuals. This is a movement led by the people of Bethlehem, by neighbors who care deeply about the future of the town.
“What this means for Bethlehem, by incorporating, we’re giving ourselves, the residents of Bethlehem, the ability to protect our town from future high density housing projects, preserve our farmland and community character, decide for ourselves what is best for Bethlehem. It is about local control, about ensuring that the people of Bethlehem, not outside developers or county officials, but the residents of this town decide where and how we invest in our future.
“We are making progress, with the continued support of Bethlehem residents, we will succeed,” Taylor said. “We look forward to working with County officials, local municipalities, and the Council of Governments as we continue down this path. Upon approval, we look forward to holding a fair and free election to elect our own Town Council, a council that will truly represent the voices and values of Bethlehem residents.”
Afterward, his wife, Marie, also spoke on the same topic. She is one of the three Interim Council members for the proposed Town of Bethlehem. She noted that the couple have been part of Bethlehem Community for more than 15 years. For the past 10 years, they have been the Republican Party Chairs for Bethlehem.
Marie Taylor indicated that she and her husband are not “outsiders trying to control our community…In fact, many of the residents who approached us with concerns about the recent zoning changes and the future of our town were long-time Bethlehem residents.”
“We discovered that high density housing is much more profitable for developers because it requires less infrastructure, things like water lines, roads, sewer systems, electrical systems, which ultimately makes it easier to build and gives them a higher profit. This presents a real risk for Bethlehem. It puts a target on our open land and we could easily lose the rural landscape we all love.
“Additionally, we learned an Urban Growth Center by the County, a term that, frankly, doesn’t fit with the image of our community and with the values of our community. Many of us who moved here for its rural charm, or who lived here our whole lives, find this designation troubling. We want to make sure Bethlehem remains a place where we can maintain the lifestyle we’ve chosen and where responsible development is possible without sacrificing what makes our town special.
“What’s happening right now is Alexander County Commissioners are making decisions based on what’s best for the County as a whole, but those decisions don’t always align with what’s best for Bethlehem. We want to ensure that we, the people of Bethlehem, have control over the decisions that affect our town. We want to protect our land, make sure our community can grow responsibly, and ensure the taxes we pay stay in our community to benefit us directly,” Mrs. Taylor related.
Per the usual procedure, County Commissioners did not respond to the Taylors’ comments, except that Commissioner Josh Lail, of Bethlehem, said he felt that the rules of the board’s public comment period were not followed. Chairman Marty Pennell said this would be addressed later, but was not mentioned elsewhere in the meeting.
Petition signature requirement met
According to Patrick Wike, Director of Elections for Alexander County, Elections staff processed and checked 1,250 petition signatures. Of those, 1,076 signatures were valid. A majority of the signatures that were not valid were from petition signers who did not reside in Bethlehem 1 or Bethlehem 2 precincts, Wike said.
The submitted petition has been verified by the board of elections and has been signed by at least 15% of the registered voters of the area proposed to be incorporated. The petition was certified on December 12, 2024.
Wike said the petitioners must present to the Municipal Incorporations Subcommittee of the N.C. General Assembly the verified petition from the county board of elections. This must be presented along with other material outlining the town government and budget, as Mr. Taylor stated earlier.
Proposed government
The draft Bethlehem incorporation documents placed online at the group’s website, Bethlehemzoning.com, show that Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, along with Bethlehem resident Kelly Suddreth, would serve as the interim governing board for the town. A Town Council will consist of three members, not including the Town Manager.
The municipal elections “shall be nonpartisan and decided by a simple plurality, and shall be held and conducted by the county board of elections in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes. The municipal election shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November and every two years thereafter. Of the three Council positions to be filled in the November election following incorporation, the single candidate receiving the highest numbers of votes shall be elected to a term of four years, and the two candidates receiving the two next highest numbers of votes shall be elected to terms of two years. At each subsequent election thereafter, to be held every two years, the number of Council positions to be filled at such election shall be filled for terms of four years,” the document stated.
The proposed town would provide Planning and Zoning, Police, Fire and Rescue, and street lighting and potentially Solid Waste Collection and Disposal with a property tax rate of $0.05 per $100 valuation. Of this, the site recently had an update stating that the town’s proposed budget and draft General Assembly Bill will reduce the net tax rate from $0.05 to $0.007 per $100 by eliminating the current $0.043 Bethlehem Fire District tax (already being paid by residents) and instead funding the fire department through the town’s general fund.
Impact to County and Town of Taylorsville
The incorporation of Bethlehem would negatively affect the sales tax revenue received by Alexander County Government and the Town of Taylorsville, as some revenue would be diverted to Bethlehem, according to officials.
Sales tax revenue is distributed on a per capita basis between the county and all municipalities within the county.
Alexander County Government would receive approximately 17.68 percent less sales tax revenue or about $1,694,991.19 (a figure equal to about 4.15 cents per $100 valuation on the county property tax rate, if the loss was remedied by raising County property taxes), County Attorney Ben Faulkenberry stated in November 2024. He noted that the County is open to negotiation of agreements to provide services to the proposed town of Bethlehem, including law enforcement, building inspections, or other desired services.
The Town of Taylorsville would receive $170,000 to $200,000 less (equal to about 6 to 8 cents per $100 valuation on the Town property tax rate, if the loss was remedied by raising Town property taxes), Town Manager Nathan Hester estimated.