Last week I reported on Orange County’s use of taxpayer dollars to fund a campaign the county says informs the public about the quarter-cent sales tax referendum that appears on the Nov. 8 ballot. The Orange County Republican Party, which opposes the tax hike, says the campaign is advocacy, pure and simple. Orange officials contend it’s not.
In response to what’s taking place in Orange County, and because of similar activities in other counties, John Locke Foundation Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies Daren Bakst concludes that public school systems in Durham, Orange, and Montgomery counties, along with the City of Durham and Orange County government, all have violated state law by misusing tax dollars to promote sales-tax referendums on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Here you’ll find my reporting on the City of Durham’s use of a city TV program to advocate a “yes” vote on Durham County’s transit-tax referendum.
