If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
That’s the advice offered by an unknown source in the 1850s, and, nearly two centuries later, that has been the philosophy of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners when it comes to attempting to get county residents to vote a sales tax increase on themselves in the form of a quarter-cent sales tax hike that would apply to most things sold in Guilford County.
The Guilford County commissioners have, time and time again, put the initiative on the ballot, only to see it, time and time again, struck down by voters.
The Rhino Times is 99 percent sure that voters will not approve the sales tax once again this year– largely because they’ve always voted it down in the past and also because people these days certainly feel like they’re already paying too much for everything they buy.
But there’s another reason the tax initiative fails here while it has passed in many other counties: A lot of people simply do not trust the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to do with the money what they promise to do with it.
The last time the sales tax failed the county had passed a resolution to use the money for school construction debt repayment.
This time around they had another idea that they thought would work better: Pass a resolution saying that the money – an estimated $25 million or so, annually – would go toward increasing the salaries of school teachers and others in the school system who would be sympathetic beneficiaries of the money.
However, the problem is that many voters in Guilford County believe that, if they give the already very free-spending board yet more millions of dollars, the board, no matter what the resolution says, will spend it however they damn well please.
Or, to take it from another angle, even if the county technically spends that money on school system salaries, county funds are fungible, so the county commissioners – who likely would have given more for school salaries anyway that year– will just have extra money to, say, give to a non-profit run by a friend of one of theirs.
And, even if the current Board of Commissioners is absolutely committed to using that money for school salaries and not replacing the spending with other county dollars, there’s another problem: Current boards of commissioners cannot make commitments for future boards.
There’s an election coming up in less than two weeks that could alter the nature of the board – and, also, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners could look drastically different than it does now in five years or ten years.
That future board may not feel the same as the current board and, legally, those commissioners can use the money however they choose no matter what the current board has said of pledged in a resolution.
Legally, neither the school system nor the county commissioners are allowed to use taxpayer dollars to promote the passage of the sales tax (though they are allowed to provide objective information about it).
However, the Guilford County Board of Education is blatantly advertising for the tax hike. For instance, take a look at https://www.gcsnc.com/salestax which was created using tax dollars.
There is literally a video commercial favoring the sales tax increase on the site, and the site also makes the following claim …
“On Nov. 5, 2024, voters in Guilford County will consider a sales tax referendum. If the sales tax referendum passes, Guilford County Schools will use the additional funding to:
-
- Recruit and retain effective teachers
- Increase compensation to frontline workers.”
However, again, that’s what the commissioners have said they plan to do with the money, but the commissioners aren’t legally bound to use it in that way and, also again, money is fungible.
The problem is that there’s no specific language on the ballot that commits the new revenue stream money to a certain purpose.
At the Thursday, October 17 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, At-Large Commissioner Kay Cashion spoke of the efforts of counties across the state to change state law so that, in the future, counties in North Carolina would be allowed to use very specific language on the ballot that would legally commit the money to particular purposes such as teacher pay.
Her belief, and that of some other commissioners is that, if the ballot language could legally obligate that money to a certain purpose, it would take the trust issue out of the equation, and voters would be more inclined to approve the ballot measure since commissioners – present or future – couldn’t just take the money and spend it in any way they want.
The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners is pushing for that change; however, it’s not clear whether state lawmakers will go along.
Regardless, that change may not help the current referendum pass, but, who knows what will happen the next five times the commissioners put the sales tax referendum on the ballot in Guilford County.
All money taken from the people, by government, just becomes part of the Parasitic Sector’s huge slush fund.
All money is fungible.
Why would I vote to tax myself even more? Past history of commissioners and city council members show their continued waste on personal pet projects which financially benefits them and not the taxpayer. Trust them….no way. VOTE NO.
In my opinion ANY initiative put on the ballot that fails two times in a row shouldn’t be able to keep reappearing on the ballot for at least 5 years
Hear, hear!
This is how the EU operates. As in Ireland they just keep putting the issue out there until they get a favorable result. Then they crow that the issue has been “democratically decided”.
But in previous referenda which went against them, the issue was, somehow, NOT democratically decided.
And how come we don’t ever get a referendum on REDUCING the Sales Tax?
Eventually the turnips will be completely bled out………close now.
Trusting a politician with your money is like trusting a dog with your lunch.
With new early property tax evaluation looming in 2026. The high probability of another significant increase in values at that time. The County Commissioner’s recent history of raising evaluations significantly then holding the old tax rate giving them a huge tax increase. Then watching them give raise after raise and add multiple new positions just because they had the money…..why would I even consider giving them a sales tax increase on top of that?
Democrats always get that certain “tingle” running up their leg when tax increases are mentioned. Would it not be a novel idea to chase down how current tax monies are being spent…and make adjustments accordingly? Democrats…never ever happen. When will voters get sick enough to kick these leeches to the curb?
When have they ever tried to get a decrease in taxes? Please let me know!!!
Commissioner Kay Cashion is a Democrat liberal who votes in lockstep with Skippy Alston. She has never met a tax she did not like. The grandmotherly commissioner is way past her prime and should ride off into the sunset. What is surprising is that she is elected at-large. What is the problem with Guilford County voters? Not all grandmothers are conservative. Regardless of specific language, a tax hike is a tax hike, is a tax hike. Kay Cashion and Democrats want to try to persuade voters with misleading, flowery words that bleeding heart liberals use to deceive. Don’t fall for it. Democrats, keep your hand out of my pocket.
Truer words were never spoken, “A lot of people simply do not trust the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to do with the money what they promise to do with it.”
I voted NO
Unfortunately, thanks to Chairman Skippy, when property values increased due to the latest reevaluation, the current Democratic Board did NOT reduce the tax rate to remain revenue neutral as past lards have done. Therefore, all of us got a huge increase in our Guilford County property taxes. That money became a Skippy slush fund. Maybe he should’ve use some of that money to raise teachers pay. As you so aptly point out, money is fungible.
Why ANYONE can logically vote to increase their tax burden is beyond my understanding. Unless, they have a reason to believe paying more taxes will help them personally.
Every dollar (or 1/4 cent) extorted from us decreases our FREEDOM by that much.
You can fix ignorance, or sometimes the stubborn; but you can’t fix stoopid.
Right on! And funny that you spell/say stoopid like I do! NO to tax increase.
Maybe they should look ahead to where the sun don’t shine.
Remember, we’re talking about career, professional politicians who know they have a majority voting block in their hip pockets and will always get reelected because of it. I’m just thankful enough people aren’t blind enough to vote lockstep with them on this. But how long do we have before they DO get their way, their socialist way.
most of the tax paying people of Guilford Co. don’t trust our county Goverment
The annual salary of the Guilford County Commissioners is $34,800 for the Chairman (think Skip Alston); vice-chair, $32,400 (think J. Carlvena Foster) and $31,200 for the other seven commissioners. Since they work few hours as commissioners, I would speculate that Alston’s pay is about $45.00 an hour. Since the average social security annual benefit is about $22,344, Skip Alston makes considerably more than the average Social Security recipient, especially when considering the number of hours worked. And it is Alston and the Board who are determining the property taxes of the social security recipients who own property. But it is not compensation that drives Alston and the other commissioners. It is power, prestige, personal benefits, and influence.