Minutes 03-15-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Quarter Cent (1/4¢) County Sales Use Tax; 2) Directing Staff to place the attached Draft Resolution Scheduling a Special Advisory Referendum Concerning the Levy of a One-Quarter Cent (1/4¢) County Sales Use Tax on the April 5, 2011 regular meeting agenda for Board action; and 3) In preparation for possible Board approval of the referendum resolution at the April 5, 2011 regular Board meeting, scheduling and directing staff to move forward with public notices for a public hearing at the same April 5, 2011 meeting in the possible uses for the potential proceeds from the additional sales tax if approved by the voters. Michael Talbert gave an overview and the history of the sales tax referendum. There are two referenda scheduled for 2011 — Buncombe County and Mecklenburg County. One referendum has been approved in Halifax County. The last time Orange County considered this matter, it failed by just over 1,000 votes in November. The State law requires that the County wait one year before holding the referendum again. The next possible date will be November 8, 2011. If the majority of the voters approve it, it could become effective as early as April 1, 2012. Approximately $625,000 would be generated in the current fiscal year (2011- 12) and $2.5 million could be available for the following fiscal year. Public Comment Greg Andrews pointed out that the sales tax was successfully voted down in 2010 and he is not in support of raising any taxes in Orange County. He wants to focus on spending cuts. He said that Orange County offers very little businesses. He wants to bring new business to Orange County. He asked the County Commissioners to go back to their pledges when they were running for office, which was to bring new businesses to Orange County. Janet Clarke lives in Mebane in Orange County and her children attend Gravelly Hill Middle School, and she works in Chapel Hill. She said that the voted against the sales tax referendum. She said that she is here because she feels that the voter's choice has not been respected by the Orange County Board of Commissioners. She said that before the vote, she educated herself by reading materials published by Orange County. After considering both sides, she believes that Orange County can find another way than a tax increase to meet needs. She said that she wonders about the Board's perception of the general public after reading an article published in the November 4, 2010 edition of The Daily Tarheel the day after the vote. She quoted Commissioner Yuhasz: "The difficulty in reaching the rural voting precincts accounts for the tax increase's defeat. It passed generally in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough, the urban districts; but failed in almost all of the rural precincts. Part of that is the difficulty that we have in reaching the rural residents. There is not a newspaper that regularly reaches these people. There is not a radio station the equivalent of WCHL. The internet access is much sketchier in the rural parts of the County." She said that she takes exception to that comment. She made another quote: "The Board hasn't determined what specific projects the revenue would have funded." She said that she understands that more money would be helpful, but she wants to come up with a plan that everyone can agree on. She suggested cutting funding to non-essential programs until the economy recovers and encouraging more businesses to set up shop in Orange County. She said that she would be grateful to do her shopping in Orange County rather than Alamance or Durham County. Bonnie Hauser spoke on behalf of the Orange County Voice Board of Directors. She read a prepared statement.