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Yow's push for sales tax hits a wall

Thursday, May 22, 2008

(Updated Wednesday, June 11 - 3:27 pm)

By Gerald Witt,
Mark Binker
Staff Writers

GREENSBORO — After state legislators said they wouldn't agree to Guilford County putting a 1-cent sales tax before voters, one commissioner called for more effective representation in Raleigh.

Commissioner Billy Yow pushed the sales tax as an alternative way to pay bond debt on school and community college construction and to lower the property tax rate.

Before voters could see the sales tax referendum on the fall ballot, it needed the Board of Commissioners' support, full support from the local delegation to the General Assembly, and approval from the General Assembly.

But it didn't get past the local delegation.

"I do not approve, so I'll save you the time," Rep. Pricey Harrison said during a meeting Wednesday of the Guilford delegation. "I'm just fundamentally opposed to these regressive taxes."

Hearing of her opposition, Yow questioned Harrison's district awareness. Opponents of so-called regressive taxes claim that they take a greater percentage of money from the poor than from the rich.

"She's been out of touch and she needs to get in touch with her people outside her backyard," Yow said.

Guilford County voters this month approved $651.4 million in bonds for schools, GTCC and a county jail. And after the vote, many commissioners said the only option to pay for the debt would be through property tax rate increases. On that same day, a quarter-cent sales tax failed by a 3-to-1 vote.

Reps. John Blust and Earl Jones and Sen. Katie Dorsett also questioned why the county wanted a 1-cent sales tax when a quarter-cent sales tax was recently defeated.

Yow said he believes that paying for the bonds only through property taxes means that some residents could be taxed out of their houses. If paid only through property taxes, the average property-tax bill for the owner of a $200,000 home will increase an average of about $185 in each of the next five years.

Though the penny sales tax is effectively dead, the quarter-cent tax can appear again in November without consent from state legislators.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com

COMMISSIONERS MEET TONIGHT

What: Guilford County commissioners meeting
When: 5:30 p.m. today
Where: Old County Courthouse, 301 W. Market St., Greensboro
On TV: Cable channel 13 in Greensboro and other areas of Guilford County outside High Point; cable channel 8 in High Point
Whats going on? Commissioners will get first crack at the 2008-09 budget from County Manager David McNeill, expected to include a property-tax increase that would boost by $245 the bill for the owner of a $200,000 home. Theyll also hear a report from the Greensboro Partnership showing the state of Greensboros economy.
Want to be heard? Speakers can address the board on nonagenda items regarding county business for three minutes at the start of the meeting. A sign-up sheet will be available near the lectern.
Full agenda and live video: http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/commissioners/granicus
Whats next? Will Guilford County Schools get all the money they want? Will your favorite nonprofit receive arts funding? Will the commissioners bicker endlessly about who should get what? Guilford commissioners will hold budget hearings May 29 and June 2, with a hearing June 5.
GERALD WITT