By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
At a public hearing on Tuesday, county residents were split on whether the county should hold another ballot referendum on a quarter-cent sales-tax increase.
Members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners have indicated they would like to revisit a proposed quarter-cent sales tax on the ballot this fall. Orange County voters narrowly rejected a proposed quarter-cent sales tax on the November 2010 ballot, with 51.24 percent, or 21,180 votes, against the sales tax, compared with 20,755 votes, or 48.76 percent, in favor.
The board had voted to dedicate funds from the tax to economic development, schools, emergency services and libraries.
In its 2007 budget, the legislature gave counties the option of a quarter-cent sales-tax increase or a 0.4 percent land-transfer tax to help compensate for money taken away from counties when the responsibility for paying for Medicaid was turned over to the state.
Orange County voters overwhelmingly rejected a transfer-tax referendum in May 2008. The General Assembly is considering rescinding the option for a transfer tax, and commissioners have said they are concerned the legislature might also take away the sales-tax option.
Greg Andrews, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board of commissioners in 2010, pointed out that the tax was already voted down by the county.
“With the condition of our economy and the level of our property taxes and the lack of jobs here in Orange County, the last thing we should consider is any sort of tax raises,†Andrews said, adding that the county should instead focus on bringing in new businesses.
Marty Mandell said she supports the tax because the county needs the revenue to fund education.
“I think it’s the least painful way we can fund schools. If people keep building new houses, you will have to keep building schools,†she said.
If approved, the tax would cost residents an additional 25 cents on a $100 purchase, excluding groceries and medicine. County staff has estimated that the tax would raise $2.5 million annually.
Most board members have said they would support putting the tax on this November’s ballot, but Commissioner Earl McKee said he would prefer to wait until the 2012 primary because the referendum would be the only item on the ballot this fall for districts outside the municipalities.
McKee said he supports the tax, but that he worried about low turnout in those areas, as well as the additional $26,000 the county would spend to open precincts that would otherwise be closed.
Others said they were not willing to wait.
“This year the state legislature is likely to take money away from schools’ capital,†board Vice Chair Steve Yuhasz said. “We are either going to have to let our schools begin to fall apart or we’re going to need to find a source of income to make necessary repairs.
“I think each month that we delay costs us $100,000 or more.â€
The board voted to continue the public hearing until April 5, when the board could vote on whether or not to put the referendum on the ballot.
In other action, the board voted unanimously to approve a measure that would allow the Orange Water and Sewer Authority to use its 5-million-gallons-per-day allocation of water from Jordan Lake. The authority can already draw from the lake through Durham or Cary in the event of an emergency, but the change would allow OWASA to use water through its own allocation.
The state periodically reviews the allocations for Jordan Lake. OWASA officials have said they are working with the consortium of Jordan Lake partners to update its information and make a case for the use of the water to prevent the state from reducing or eliminating the authority’s allocation.
Chapel Hill and Hillsborough have also approved the measure, but the Carrboro Board of Aldermen balked at the proposal, saying that the additional water wasn’t needed and citing concerns about the water quality. Unless Carrboro agrees to the amendment, the change won’t take effect.