Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

County considers sales-tax option

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Susan Dickson

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Orange County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday said they wanted to hear more from the public before deciding whether to put a quarter-cent sales-tax referendum on the November ballot.

Though the board voted unanimously to postpone their decision until June 15, several board members indicated that they would support such a referendum.

In the 2007 state 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. As a result of that budget deal, counties lost state-supplied school-construction money and some sales-tax revenue.

If the sales-tax increase is put on the ballot and voters approve it, the Orange County sales-tax rate, which would apply to all goods and services except food and medicine, will increase from 7.75 to 8 percent. The revenue from the tax increase would not be shared with the state or local municipalities. According to County Manager Frank Clifton, the tax could generate $2.3 million annually, though revenues for fiscal year 2010-11 would be minimal.

Only two people spoke at the public hearing. Chapel Hill resident Will Raymond said that though he understood why the county was looking for tax revenue, the tax was regressive, despite the exclusions.

“It’s just a couple bucks a week. Well, for a few people in our county, a couple bucks a week is a lot of money,” he said.

Raymond added that if the board were to pursue the tax option, commissioners should consider putting the proceeds into county social services.

“You should make sure that it’s allocated to mend the harm that it’s going to create,” Raymond said.

Clifton said the board should consider allocating the funds for education, debt service or economic development.

“We’ve had a lot of people come forward on those issues,” he said.
Several commissioners said they would support putting the referendum on the November ballot.

“I think in many cases, the property tax is a regressive tax,” Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said. “This is an opportunity to spread the tax out on all the citizens.”

Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier agreed.

“The property tax, especially for people who have lived in the community for a long time and who have fixed incomes, it truly is a regressive tax,” she said.

The public hearing will continue at the June 15 meeting, when the board is scheduled to make a decision on the referendum.

In other action, commissioners voted to develop a three-year plan to create a funding stream for libraries, particularly for a Southwest Orange County branch library, and to increase funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library with a memorandum of understanding outlining a funding formula and other details.

However, board members indicated that budget constraints probably won’t allow an increase in the county’s allocation to the Chapel Hill Library this year. The Chapel Hill Town Council has asked the county to increase its contribution to the library’s $2 million operating budget since 40 percent of library patrons reside in the county outside Chapel Hill city limits.

Clifton’s recommended 2010-11 budget includes $250,000 for the library, an amount that hasn’t changed for several years.

Several board members said they were uncomfortable with an increase in funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library at a time when the county library system is facing cuts. The proposed budget includes cuts to all county libraries and the closure of the Cedar Grove Library.

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme