Property tax collections in Columbia were 95.73% of the amount the aldermen budgeted for the fiscal year that ended June 30, Rhett White, town manager, reported to the board in early July.

Of the $307,203 revenue budgeted, property owners had paid $294,080 at month’s end. The collection rate at the same time in 2018 was 96.68%; in 2017 it was 95.49%, and 92.93% in 2016.

The 2019 fiscal year ended on a Sunday, and July 1 collections brought the total to 96.08%.

The 2020 budget calls for a property tax rate of $0.601 per $100 valuation, the same as in 2019. The budget is based on the value of taxable property inside Columbia being $42,966,000.

State law exempts from taxation land and buildings owned by the town, Tyrrell County, the State of North Carolina, the U.S. Government, churches, and non-profit organizations such as Columbia Rotary Club, Inner Banks Hotline, Pocosin Arts, Tyrrell County Community Development Corporation, etc.