When the General Assembly agreed to relieve the counties of their Medicaid burden, they also authorized the counties to put a local tax increase in front of the voters for approval. They could choose either a land transfer tax or a sales tax increase. The tax revenue could be used ?for any legal purpose.? During the November 2007 referendum debate, we heard many counties intended to use the money for school construction. Brunswick County talked about using theirs for a newly authorized option ? county built roads. Another use we will surely see as more counties put the referendum on the ballot in 2008 is jails. According to this report, Hyde County has no money to staff its newly constructed jail. Alexander County is asking its voters for sales tax approval on Jan 8 in part to, reportedly, meet a shortage of jail space.
Why is the 2007-08 $20 Billion state budget not meeting these needs? Because money continues to go to big companies like Google, Goodyear and Dell; because pork continues to take priority over real needs; and Medicaid expansions are spiraling faster than we can pay for them. Why are county budgets coming up short? Because many counties? revenues are paying for incentives (in addition to the state?s giveaways), non-profit charities, over funding of cash reserves, and poor fiscal management of school construction. See our series of regional briefs here.
As your county considers raising your taxes, expect to hear that the money is needed for school construction, roads, and now jails. These are core government functions that should be at the top of the priority list as lawmakers are making funding decisions, not at the bottom. More taxes aren?t needed, a responsible priority list is.
