Was no tax hike best for county?
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Though the question of raising taxes has always been a divisive issue, many commissioners agree is has reached a new level of controversy with the preemptive move by Commissioner Terry Bell last Monday night keeping the current $2.31 tax levy.
Bell obviously had the support of the majority of his fellow commissioners, since the amended budget passed handily with a vote of 16-6, while the levy passed 18-4, with two commissioners absent.
While some cheered the commission?s dedication to keeping tax rates low, others questioned whether the county can support its current service levels over the next year. A number of commissioners have weighed in on whether this move is good or bad for the county as a whole.
Budget and Finance Committee chairman George Smartt has been vocal in his opposition to allowing fund balances to continue to decline, saying the county will eventually have to address this issue. Smartt says commissioners have caved in to a vocal minority who will always push to avoid a tax increase and have made an uninformed decision.
?I think the majority of them are well meaning and think that they have done good,? Smartt said. ?But they?ve made a tremendous mistake, because what we?ve done by allowing the teachers raises to go through without an increase in the tax rate going to the school system, we have ensured that next year, those raises will be a liability against the funds that normally go to the system, and there will not be enough money to cover those raises.?
Bell defends his move and says he feels the county can survive another year without a tax increase, and says he has the figures to prove it.
?People have just lost their jobs,? Bell said. ?We?ve got so many people out of work. And there?s a little more to it. We?ve got $8.2 million in the bank, this county does. There?s $2 million of it is set up to pay on the jail debt, so that gets us downs to $6.2 million after we make the capitol outlay notes for the ambulance, the sheriff?s cars and the school buses. So that leaves us $6.2 million in there. If you?ll go back, when this commission took office, we had $4.5 million in there, so that?s a net gain.
?It?s hard for me to say we?ve got to raise taxes on people who are having such a hard time when we?ve got that much money in there,? Bell went on. ?That?s just kind of my point of view on it.?
Bell says the public reaction to his move has been universally positive.
?I have had a world of calls thanking me for standing up against a tax increase,? Bell said. ?I?ve not had any negative calls saying you should have voted for a tax increase, you?ve really hurt this county. I?ve not had anybody call and tell me that.?
Smartt says he sees a potential for disaster next year, particularly with the issue of teacher raises.
?What?s going to happen is either A: the system will have to cut teachers, or B: we?re going to have to cut salaries, or C: you?re going to have to give them some more money,? Smartt said. ?So we?ve basically passed an increase next year to the school system, because we?re not going to let them cut teachers.?
Smartt says the decision will put the county deeper in a financial hole at a time when the economy will have little chance to improve and cover the deficits.
?We?ve just shot ourselves in the foot,? Smartt said. ?Our job as commissioners is to see through the smoke and mirrors and do what?s right.?
Commissioner Sally Brock, who voted for no tax increase, with some admitted reservations, says it was hard to decide what to do, considering the current economic situation.
?I don?t think that it was necessarily the best idea,? Brock said. ?Because sooner or later we?re going to have to pay the piper. But at this particular time, with so many people out of work, and of course the flip side of that is if you want to get jobs in here you have to spend money to do it, but with so many people out of work, I just didn?t feel good about voting for a tax increase.?
Brock said she was for the teacher raises, but worried about cutting Industrial Development Board funding.
?I didn?t feel good about that,? Brock said. ?Industrial development and education, to me, are the two most important things for the county. Again, I just think that we?re begging for time this year so that next year hopefully we can do better.?
Cutting the fat
Budget cuts made Monday include the following:
? Bicentennial celebration ? $50,000 ? eliminated
? Motor vehicles ? $45,000 ? capitol outlay notes if needed
? Industrial Development Board ? $480,000 ? cut to $144,375 which covers operating costs. Any improvements or projects needed, like infrastructure or roads, will be covered by capitol outlay notes as needed
? Sheriff?s cars ? $110,000 ? will be covered by capitol outlay notes as needed
? Ambulance building ? $50,000 ? to be covered by capitol outlay notes
? Non-profits ? all requests for increases were eliminated as organizations were cut back to last year?s allotment.