How out of touch are Orange elected officials with many of their constituents? Just two days after Orange County voters soundly defeated the land transfer tax hike by a 2 to 1 margin, Orange County Commission Chairman Barry Jacobs is already planning for a fall ballot item to help hike taxes. From the Herald-Sun:
Barry Jacobs, current chair of the commissioners, said that he hopes that the board will approve a local funding alternative option to appear on the November ballot.
“I’m appreciative to the people who tried to take up the ball for the notion that local government needs more funding options,” Jacobs said. “And in this case we only got to arrange for this option, which had the deepest pockets available opposing it. The notion that local government should have local alternatives is still important and still needs to be pursued.”
Nowhere in this story is there a discussion of curtailing spending. As a result of that failure to be sound fiscal stewards, Orange County’s property tax rate is already 95 cents per $100. Couple this oppressive rate with Orange County’s many “smart growth” policies such as tree and open space preservation ordinances and buffers, and you have a county intent on making living here an option only for the wealthy, powerful elite.
