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d. Public Hearing on Local Revenue Options Referendum <br /> The Board conducted a public hearing to solicit opinion from voters regarding which, or <br /> both, of two local revenue options should be placed on a May 2008 referendum for voter <br /> consideration. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that the Board has scheduled to make a decision on this on February <br /> 19th. He said that the state legislature has moved monies so that Orange County received less <br /> than expected, and because residents do not want tax increases, then the state legislature has <br /> given the counties options to choose to put before the residents —a %-cent sales tax increase <br /> or a 0.4-cent increase in the real estate transfer tax, or both. The Board of County <br /> Commissioners cannot advocate for one or the other option, but can only educate the public on <br /> both options. <br /> PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> Mary Copeland could not speak. She tried to relinquish time to someone else, but the <br /> Chair did not allow this. <br /> Robert Gardinier said that he has been a resident of Orange County for 37 years and he <br /> is concerned about the limited revenue options. He asked the Board to place both revenue <br /> options on the ballot in May so that the taxpayers could give consideration to both options. He <br /> said that restricting County revenue to sales tax and residential property owners is not fair. <br /> Roy Loflin is a 40-year resident and he is opposed to any additional sales tax or property <br /> tax. He said that in the fall 16 counties had this referendum and it was turned down by a margin <br /> of more than three to one. He is on a fixed income and he has to adjust his spending based on <br /> current resources. He said that the Board of County Commissioners needs to base its spending <br /> on current revenues, like he does. He is opposed to any new taxes. He said that the budgeting <br /> may require the Board to make cuts or reductions. He said that a tax by any other name is still <br /> a tax. <br /> Mark Zimmerman said that he is speaking against any tax. He listed three <br /> misconceptions of the land transfer tax. First, it is not a tax on growth. He said that last week a <br /> County Commissioner characterized the transfer tax as, "a way to realize funds to pay for the <br /> infrastructure costs by residential growth." To the uninformed, this implies the tax is focused <br /> new construction. In fact, the tax will affect all transactions, whether new construction or <br /> resales and simple land transfers. New homes only accounted for 14% of all real estate <br /> transfers in Orange County last year, which was a declining percent. He said that they must be <br /> diligent that the discussion of this tax accurately describes the breadth and impact of the tax <br /> and does not unintentionally mislead the public. Second, he made reference to the Chamber <br /> annual meeting, where his friend described a private transfer tax that he is imposing on future <br /> residents of his new development. He said that this tax is different than the transfer tax that the <br /> County is considering. This tax is limited to only the high-end condominium owners and does <br /> not fall on commercial, office, and retail; and he specifically exempted all affordable housing <br /> residents. He said that this tax places a regressive burden on low-income homeowners <br /> because it is a sales tax on your home. He said that right now there are homeowners who <br /> would lose money on the sale of their home, but still would have to pay this tax. Third, if citizens <br /> are going to base their vote on the revenue projections from last year, he advised them not to <br /> do this. He said that these projections were based on data from previous years when the real <br /> estate market was on an unsustainable trajectory. Things are different now and Orange <br /> County's transactions fell for the first time in years in 2007. He said that no matter what <br /> happens as the correcting market recovers over the next few years, there will be no gain as was <br /> projected over a year ago. He said that this is the worst time to add more cost to selling a <br /> home. He said that this is not a tax on growth, but another tax on property. He asked the <br /> County Commissioners to not go forward with the real estate transfer tax. <br />