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Graph #12: Annual sales tax collections by component (Article 39, one cent; <br />Articles 4Q and 42, one half cent each; and Article 44, one half cent). <br />Donna Coffey said that she has heard that the cities and towns are pushing for <br />some legislation to try to get a transfer tax. <br />Graph #13: In the absence of additional local revenues, the County's <br />dependence on ad valorem property tax as its primary revenue will increase in the <br />future. The sales taxes are going to shrink based on what is happening currently. <br />Graph #14: This shows how the general fund budget has looked over the last <br />ten years. The pink line shows valuation and how this has remained stable. If the <br />budget is growing at 7.4°~ every year and the valuation is growing at 3.9%, something <br />has to fill the gap of how to fund the budget. In the past the answer has been to <br />increase the tax rate. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked why the County would have to hold the <br />municipalities harmless if they are trying to get a transfer tax. Geof Gledhill said that the <br />proposition would be to give the municipalities the transfer tax and take away the hold <br />harmless mechanism. <br />Laura Blackman said that there have been some preliminary discussions with the <br />schools on their budget drivers. There will be same earlier work sessions this year so <br />that these issues can be discussed further for direction. <br />Commissioner Jacobs made reference to school debt and said that grange <br />County has built seven new schools in nine years, and the County took half the debt for <br />Cedar Ridge High School. He said that essentially the County has built a school a year, <br />and there should be some way to track what new school facilities are coming online in <br />the school capital. He thinks that it is an incredible feat that these schools are being <br />cranked out at this rate. <br />3. Orange County Economic Development Presentation <br />Laura Blackmon said that the packet of information for this is reference material <br />only, and she wanted the Board to see some of the incentives in N.C. <br />Willie Best made the PowerPoint presentation. <br />Economic Development Defined <br />•A sustainable process of creating economic opportunity for all citizens, stimulating <br />business investment, diversifying the public revenue base, and enhancing quality of life- <br />Georgia Economic developers Association <br />•The process of creating wealth by mobilizing human, financial, physical, natural, and <br />capital resources to produce marketable goods and services.- International economic <br />Development Council <br />•A process by which local government and/or community based groups manage their <br />existing resources and enter into new partnership arrangements with the private sector <br />or with each other to create new jobs and stimulate economic activity in a well defined <br />economic zone. -Blakely <br />•Actions taken to improve the ability of people to more productively use capital and <br />natural and human resources in the production of goods and services. <br />-Whitehall <br />Regional Population 1,82,673 in 2006 <br />