Sales taxes, voters and what part of "no" is unclear
Cross posted from Inside Scoop.
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So earlier this month, about three-quarters of voters in Guilford County rejected a one-quarter-cent sales tax increase.
If you're Guilford County Commissioner Billy Yow, what do you do?
That's right: ask the General Assembly to authorize a referendum on a full penny increase. You'll find that little nugget squirled away at the end of this coming Thursday's commissioners meeting agenda. You can read the proposed resolution here. (PDF)
I got wind of this from Rep. Maggie Jeffus, a Greensboro Democrat who chairs the Guilford County legislative delegation here at the General Assembly. I think she was a bit surprised to see this request show up, but agreed to look into running it.
In an e-mail, Sharron Kurtz, a lawyer for the county, sent Jeffus a copy of the resolution.
"Guilford County Commissioner Billy Yow has requested that I forward to you a proposed resolution that will be presented to the Board for their consideration at their next meeting...The one cent would be committed exclusively for repayment of educational debt," Kurtz wrote.
There are a few problems right off the bat with doing this sort of thing down here. Drafting deadlines for legislation and rules governing what is or is not a "local bill" may be hard to get around.
But the biggie may be the requirement that all 10 members of the county legislative delegation sign off on this thing.
Several members expressed skepticism that they could bring themselves to back such a measure, even if the legislative voodoo can be done.
"I'm going to have to talk to several folks, because the voters just said 'no,'" said Rep. Laura Wiley, a High Point Republican.
Sen. Phil Berger, a Rockingham Republican who represents parts of Guilford County, was similarly skeptical.
"I'd like to see the request before I make too much of a commitment, but I'll tell you I believe the voters of Guilford County have spoken on the issue of whether their taxes ought to be raised," Berger said.
Gerald Witt is reporting out a story for tomorrow's paper, which I'm sure will include some comments from Mr. Yow.
