Though the Guilford County voters have, time after time, voted down a quarter-cent sales tax increase, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners has refused to take no for an answer and they plan to put the measure on the ballot again when countywide elections resume in early 2026.
And the sales pitch for the sales tax hike has already begun.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston told the Rhino Times this week that there is one large contingent in the county that should definitely support a sales tax increase – but that they clearly don’t understand the situation yet. He said one thing the county needs to do before the next vote on a sales tax hike is educate homeowners and other property owners why it’s advantageous to them to approve an increase.
It would mean an additional one quarter of a cent increase per dollar for most items sold in the county.
“Homeowners should get behind a sales tax increase if anyone should,” Alston said in an interview with the Rhino Times.
Alston said Guilford County is facing big economic challenges in the future that have to be paid for and, the sales tax increase would be a way to raise roughly $35 million extra a year to do things like provide vital services and help pay back the school bond debt.
He pointed out that everyone pays the sales tax – not just property owners in Guilford County. Those who don’t own property, he said, would have an increased share of the coming burden, as would people who do not live in the county but who work here or who are just passing through.
“If there is no sales tax increase, then the burden of increasing county expenses will fall on the shoulders of the property owners,” Alston stated.
Of course, one fear of those considering approval of a sales tax hike is that the current spend-happy Board of Commissioners would keep the burden on property owners the same and just see the new $35 million each year as extra money that they can use for new projects and programs.
Nearly half of North Carolina’s 100 counties have voted for and approved a sales tax increase; however, Guilford County has proven very recalcitrant in that regard over the years.
In November of last year, county voters soundly shot down the increase once again.
In fact, only 30 of the county’s 165 precincts favored the measure in that election.
The commissioners were hoping that the 7th time would be a charm in November of 2024 and now they’re hoping that the 8th time – in 2026 – will be the charm.
So far, 46 of North Carolina’s 100 counties have adopted the measure.
Some backers of the referendum say it hasn’t been marketed very well in Guilford County in the past and it is certainly true that in 2024 there didn’t seem to be a grand, loud, all-out unified sales pitch for the sales tax hike.
That may change next year when county officials take another run at it.
Here’s a brief history of how the sales tax referendum has fared in Guilford County.
In 2007, the NC General Assembly voted to allow counties to increase their sales tax by a quarter of a cent – as long as county voters approved. And the very first time Guilford County government could do so, it put the tax hike on the ballot. That was the 2008 Primary election.
Voters shot it down.
Since it failed, the commissioners put it back on the ballot six months later – on the November ballot that year – only for it to fail again.
The Board of Commissioners then put the sales tax hike on the ballot in the General Elections in 2010 and 2014, and once again in 2020.
Since none of those efforts were successful, the board put it on the 2022 Primary Election ballot – where fewer voters turn out than in general elections – and it still lost.
Here’s how, by the numbers, the sales tax hike referendum has fared in past years.
In the 2008 General Election, it failed massively with 65,329 voting for it and 148,798 voting against. That is, it lost 30 percent to 70 percent.
Fifteen years ago, the advocates almost managed to get it passed: It came close in the 2010 General Election, when 66,198 people voted for it, while 70,022 voted no. That vote came down to 49 percent voting yes and 51 percent voting against.
The measure didn’t fare nearly as well four years later, in the 2014 General Election when 68,735 voted for it and 91,962 voted against. That year it lost 43 percent to 57 percent.
In the 2020 General Election, 89,440 voted for it, while 181,033 voted against. That works out to 33 percent yes votes to 67 percent no votes.
In the 2022 Primary Election, 33,720 people voted for it, while 41,457 voted against it. That 45 percent to 55 percent vote didn’t cut it either.
And, again, in November of 2024, the referendum went down with 60 percent of the county’s voters voting no.
The commissioners may very well get their way in 2026, but it will take a lot of work to get there and Alston believes convincing property owners will be a large part of that battle.
Is skip for real? he can’t manage the county now and he wants another tax hike. 2026 property tax hike will be his demise.
I am liberal minded but Skips is nuts
– So how will you vote?
I left Guilford County to my new farm nearby. Not my problem anymore.
Then why post anything.
Because Chris loves the sound of his own voice. Jerk!
I mean Chris is the jerk, not you Aussie.
And we would, dear Skippy, IF we had a fair tax & eliminated income taxes & property taxes. Otherwise, we should only want you Democrats (and some Republicans) removed from office as soon as possible.
Thanks Al I knew what you meant
Skip sure doesn’t mind spending someone else’s money for his so called county projects. He still has not explained where all the money for civil rights projects were spent?
I still say DOGE needs to come to GUILFORD CO. N. C.
And I totally agree with you!
Hey Skip, the school bond debt is your bastard child along with your other far left progressive programs which are not self sufficient. NO vote again from me.
Stop spending money on pet projects. try running the school systems efficiently..
——————
Is there any difference between Guilford County government and The Mafia?
“Heyyy… we gonna get you – one way or another! An’ if you donna pay, we send around ‘the boys’ to persuade you… Ha, ha, ha…!”
This abuse of the democratic process is obscene. We keep telling the Parasites in government “No” and they ignore us. But if they somehow wangle a “Yes” verdict one time, suddenly “the people have spoken and the issue is settled”.
Margaret Thatcher called this The Ratchet Effect. She was right, as usual, and it explains why NC Sales Tax has almost doubled in the time I’ve lived here.
Government is greed.
Sounds more like Guilford County property owners need to wake up and pay more attention to who they’re voting for!
Well Skip Alston figured out marketing worked with the school bond ( and most bonds don’t actually have to spend the money exactly as propsed- I remember a bond for an ice rink never built). I think if something is voted down once there should be a certain respite before it can be brought for a vote again. Bringing it up for a vote many times until it passes reminds me of children begging for a toy.
Marketing or Electioneering?
From The Carolina Journal:
“A candidate for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners has accused the county government of using public dollars to illegally promote the passage of a $1.7 billion school bond and quarter cent sales tax increase.
The referendums are on the ballot for the May 17 primary. Early voting is already underway.
“Guilford County is expending taxpayer funds and other government resources to promote a viewpoint favoring the passage of both referendum,” wrote attorney Charles Winfree in a letter to the Guilford County Board of Elections.
Winfree wrote the letter on behalf of Alan Branson, the Republican candidate for county commission. The letter requests an investigation by the Guilford County Board of Elections, the State Board of Elections, the County Attorney, the State Treasurer, and the State Auditor.
By law, county governments are permitted to use taxpayer funds to conduct educational campaigns surrounding ballot referendums. But governments are strictly prohibited from actively promoting the passage of those referendum. That sets up a fine line between education and advocacy that counties often appear to cross.
The letter from Winfree cites a number of examples of the county allegedly engaging in electioneering activities, including instances where school principals held mandatory meetings to direct teachers and staff on how to promote the referendums.”
Skip Alston and Kay Cashion are actively campaigning to get that changed. Hopefully the legislature can see through their ploy to use taxpayer money to convince voters to vote to raise their own taxes. How absurd is that? Skip Alston and Kay Cashion are eager to raise your taxes so they can spend the tax money on projects that the taxpayers do not agree with. See how that works? The NC legislature should tell Skip Alston and Kay Cashion “NO” on their idea to take advantage of the taxpayers in NC. Remember to vote NO in 2026 to raise the Guilford County sales tax.
Issue is, no matter how much money they take in, this commission spends more.
Damn Skip! You wasted away hundreds of millions of dollars in the last four years! To use an increase in property taxes as a club to increase the sales tax is tantamount to extortion!
Not just NO, HELL NO!
i love that photo – a place where vehicles exist with their attendants. not mine !
They should want a board of commissioners who spend less, but they seem inclined to keep sending these bozos back.
Skip Alston has already violated the “prohibited from actively promoting the passage of those referendum” by his disingenuous and false attempt to persuade voters to pass the sales tax increase. He has already crossed the line to suggest that passing the sales tax increase will help prevent the rise in property taxes. DO NOT fall for his ploy. Remember, Alston is the DEI; WMBE; tax and spend; salary and benefit increases for county employees, commissioner, which all contribute to increased property taxes. And by the way, many of those that do not pay property taxes also receive back from the state at the end of the calendar year all sale taxes paid during the year. Another scam against the property taxpayers, which begs the question, what do these moochers do to enhance the quality of life for all people in Guilford County? Texas now has its own DOGE person. NC should follow Texas with its own DOGE. Vote NO on the sales tax increase in 2026. Alston should be investigated for his remark suggesting that if the sales tax is passed, the passage would have a beneficial effect on property taxes. “If there is no sales tax increase, then the burden of increasing county expenses will fall on the shoulders of the property owners,” Alston stated. That is campaigning for the sales tax passage. VOTE NO in 2026.
Where’s Billy Yow when you need him? He seemed to be the only one who would ever call Skip out on his BS.
Ok. What you got?
“Wanting a tax hike” is called the Big Lie. Say it often, and loudly, makes it so.
Congrats ‘Term Limits’. A NC judge ruled that ole skippy, the Guilford Commisoners and the school board illegally worked together to trick taxpayers into approving the $1.3 Billion school bonds. But the judge said that since these ‘bad actors’ had fooled 60% of voters, the results of the bond proposal was ‘okay’. When bonds are approved, the money has to be spent within 10 years and repaid within 20 years after it is spent. So, someone born TODAY will be on the hook for these bonds when they are more than 30 years old and have kids of their own. What a great legacy to leave for your kids and grand kids. Look, mommy and daddy put you in debt for the next 30+++ years. Have a happy life and try to raise a family with that debt having over your head.
BTW, the county can put taxpayers in debt without a taxpayer vote by using 2/3 bonds. This approach allows the any government to borrow more money once 2/3 of a previously issued bond has been repaid. Of course this means taxpayers will NEVER be out of debt and the dems can continue to spend money WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL. This is GREAT NEWS for the TAX AND SPEND DEMOCRATS who control the county and school board.
The school board recently projected that the number of public school students will drop by 5,500 in the next 5 years. If a typical school has 400 to 500 students, that means the school board doesn’t need about 10k schools. THEN WHY DO THEY WANT TO BUILD SCHOOLS THAT ARE NOT NEEDED. Maybe the dems on the school board can explain that!
As for the sales tax increase, ole skippy and the dems on the county board must not be able to read. Ole slippy and dems have tried to raises the sales tax 3 previous times….EVERY ATTEMPT FAILED. Maybe they are ‘gradiates’ of the public schools in Guilford that keep failing kids. Today’s kids are the next generation of adults and leaders and the ones who will raise taxes to make up for the failure of current democrat ‘leaders’. Maybe they think their 4th attempt to raise taxes will work. It must be hard for dems to see daylight with their heads planted somewhere the sun doesn’t shine.
The real estate reappraisal will be in 2026 and the county already projects they will receive $45 MILLION more dollars than they receive now…and that is without raising the tax rate. WHAT A GREAT FLEECING OF TAXPAYERS.
If you want to change YOUR future and the future of you kids and grand kids, VOTE NO ON ANY TAX INCREASE and VOTE YES FOR REPUBLICANS TO RUN THE COUNTY AND SCHOOL BOARD. THEY KNOW HOW TO WISELY SPEND THE MONEY THE DEMS TAKE FROM YOUR POCKET.
There is nothing more irresponsible than a politician spending other people’s money. Even drug addicts steal less money than the government, yet for some reason we tolerate it.