By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
Apparently, the second time was the charm for the Orange County quarter-cent sales-tax referendum, which passed with 60.67 percent of the vote in Tuesday night’s election.
“I think that it is a very positive indication that the community supports both education and economic development,†County Manager Frank Clifton said.
According to the Orange County Board of Elections, the majority of voters in rural Orange County voted against the sales tax, while most voters at precincts located inside town limits voted for it.
This same referendum was on the ballot in the November 2010 election and was defeated by 51.2 percent of the vote. This time, 17,652 total votes were cast regarding the tax, while 42,849 votes were cast in the 2010 election.
“I think this time, the county saw what the sales-tax money would be used for, and this time the members of the community got out and worked hard to show the benefit of the program,†Clifton said.
“The support for the tax was pretty broad,†he added. “The more people learned about it, the more they understood what they could help accomplish.â€
The sales-tax increase is one-quarter cent, which is equivalent to a 25 cents on every $100 spent, and will bring the county’s sales-tax rate to 7 percent. The tax will not apply to gas, groceries and medications.
The county is projected to receive $2.5 million annually from the tax, with 20 percent expected to come from tourism. The funds will be split 50/50 between economic-development initiatives and schools.
The county’s two school districts will split the 50 percent received, $1.25 million, and use it to update old buildings and for technology initiatives.
Jamezetta Bedford, chair of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, said while the money received from the sales tax will be helpful, it will make up for only a small portion of budget cuts.
“I need for citizens to understand that it is probably going to be only around $700,000 a year, which is not a lot of money,†Bedford said.
County commissioners have pledged to maintain the allocation of the sales-tax funds to economic development and schools for the next 10 years.