The Cape County Commission voted Thursday to raise real estate and personal property taxes for the first time since 1981 due to financial constraints.  According to Commissioner Jay Purcell, the county’s budget was short by 575-thousand-dollars last year, forcing them to raise the property tax from zero to 3-point-8-cents per 100-dollars assessed valuation.  That means your tax bill this December will go up by 10-to-50-dollars, depending on the value of your property.  This will raise an estimated 425-thousand for county expenditures.  Purcell was the only one who voted against the new rates.  He tells KZIM KSIM this should never have happened if the commission had balanced their budget.  Purcell says this tax hike should send a clear message to future commissions that they need to make serious cuts to balance the budget.  The road and bridge tax will remain zero.  A 1979 state law requires first-class counties to set a general revenue rate to balance their budget.