Quarter-cent sales tax referenda perfect in 2011

By Jason King
Assistant Communications Director

County quarter-cent sales tax referenda enjoyed a perfect 4-for-4 day at the polls Nov. 8, giving the local revenue option a sweep for 2011. Voters in Buncombe, Durham, Montgomery and Orange counties approved the measure in early November. Cabarrus (May 17) and Halifax (Feb. 1) counties also received voter approval in 2011.

Since the option was granted to counties by the General Assembly in 2007, 56 counties have put the quarter-cent sales tax option before voters a total of 82 times. Twenty-three counties have now gained voter approval – 13 of those have been approved since March 2010.

The earliest any of the four counties can begin collecting the additional quarter-cent sales tax is April 1, 2012. Slightly more than 50 percent of Buncombe County voters approved the additional sales tax, which county commissioners say they will dedicate for capital improvements at Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College.

A "Join Our Buncombe Solution (JOBS) Committee" advocated for the sales tax through a "Vote for A-B Tech" campaign, touting the referendum as an issue about jobs, education, the economy and the community college's important role in each.

A-B Tech, which saw enrollment growth of 45 percent over the past decade, cited more than $129 million in critical building needs.

Durham County voters not only approved of the quarter-cent sales tax supporting education, but also a half-cent sales tax increase for transit. The transit tax, which is expected to generate $18 million during a full fiscal year, will fund additional bus service and eventually commuter/light rail access to Research Triangle Park and Chapel Hill.

The education tax received more than 56 percent of the vote. The Board of Commissioners voted to divide the additional revenue to fund public school teacher and personnel positions, school debt service, need-based scholarships to Durham Technical Community College, and a Durham Partnership for Children Transition to Kindergarten initiative.

Assistant County Manager Deborah Craig-Ray said committees of interested parties raised private funding to advocate for the additional sales taxes, while the county provided public education about the taxes on its PEG channel, website and Facebook and Twitter presences. It also mailed a question-and-answer brochure to all registered voters in the county, produced some public education radio commercials and ran information on screens in the lobby of its main county facility.

"We checked everything we did with our county attorney to make sure we were in the county education realm," said Craig-Ray. "Our goal is to provide public education."

Buncombe and Durham were running the referendum for the first time. Montgomery and Orange counties previously put the measure on the November 2010 ballot.

Montgomery's referendum received less than 29 percent of the vote one year ago, but gained the approval of more than 51 percent of voters this time. Commissioners dedicated funding to education in the form of school facilities improvements.

More than 60 percent of Orange County voters, who narrowly defeated the sales tax referendum in November 2010, voted in its favor in 2011.

Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said the county's education efforts included fliers that, with the help of the Chamber of Commerce, were distributed to citizens. The county worked with a local marketing design firm to produce the fliers as well as a public service announcement that the county posted on YouTube – marking the first time the county had made use of social media to educate the public about an issue.

Harvey said commissioners and county management "took every opportunity" to present summary information on the quarter-cent sales tax at public meetings – not just county but also municipal government and school board meetings.

The county's public education material pointed out that 20 percent of the county's sales tax revenue comes from non-residents or temporary residents.

The Board of Commissioners pledged to use the additional estimated $2.5 million revenues for education and economic development. The education funding will be distributed to county and city schools on a per pupil basis for facility improvement of older schools and the purchase of technology. The economic development funding will go toward helping grow business through an economic development plan that provides funds for entrepreneurs, small business loans, innovation centers for new businesses and support for agriculture businesses. Funds will also be used to improve utilities and water and sewer infrastructure.

To view results of county quarter-cent sales tax referenda since 2007, visit www.ncacc.org/revenueoptions.html.