Last night the Orange County commissioners were scheduled to discuss whether or not to put a quarter-cent hike in the sales tax on the November ballot. This News & Observer story says the idea was tabled to due to the late hour and won’t be discussed until after the summer break on August 19.
It’s fair to believe the issue really was time, since the meeting reportedly went on until 11 p.m. However, it’s also fair to wonder if the commissioners simply didn’t relish opening another can of worms after taking so much heat over the latest property tax hike (the rate will rise to 99.8 cents). Even Commissioner Mike Nelson, a proud liberal, is acknowledging the county’s tax and fee burden cannot be sustained by many families. I’d bet they’re also still miffed over May’s defeat of the land transfer tax option in a county dominated by liberals.
Regardless of the reason, rest assured, this issue will come up again.
