Voters in Hertford, Randolph counties see the need

• Perseverance pays off with sales tax referendums

There has been a seemingly endless supply of bad economic news for counties in recent months – declining sales tax revenues, rising unemployment rates and stagnant property values. Many county commissioners have probably stopped reading their morning newspaper and watching the evening news.

In the midst of this bad news, counties received some good news in early March when voters in Hertford and Randolph counties approved referendums on the quarter-cent sales tax.

In Hertford County, the measure received more than 87 percent of votes cast, while more than 54 percent of voters in Randolph County approved the additional sales tax. What makes these results even more encouraging is that both counties had put the issue on the ballot before – multiple times in Hertford, in fact – and in each instance, voters had overwhelmingly rejected the additional tax.

What may have made the difference this time is that the voters were aware of the tremendous financial difficulties being faced by counties, and that both counties had needs that were not going away, despite the souring economy.

Both counties had pledged to use the revenues generated from the new tax for capital needs. Hertford County had a list of needs, while Randolph County had pledged to dedicate the funds to its overflowing community college.

The counties also made a concerted effort to educate voters on how the funds would benefit the county. In Randolph County, where the unemployment rate was 11.4 percent in December, the message put to citizens was that Randolph Community College would be the venue to retrain citizens so they will be able to find new careers in today's economy. Obviously, the message resonated with voters.

As an educator and parent, I am always looking for learning opportunities. I think there are several lessons that can be learned from these results. One is a simple one that our parents instilled in us when we were in grade school – if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

The other lesson is not to underestimate voters. Many observers will say that trying to implement a new tax or increase taxes during an economic recession is not a wise move. The citizens in Randolph and Hertford counties, however, displayed an ability to look beyond the short-term and make a decision that will benefit their communities for a long time to come.

For once, the newspaper contained some good news for counties. Let's hope this is just the beginning.