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By Ron Fitzwater
After Weeks of sparring between supporters and detractors Ashe
County voters rejected the Land Transfer Tax with a firm no, but
for the commissioners who fought hard for the tax it could have
been worse.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting the unofficial numbers
were 3,321 for and 4,088 against, a 10.4 percent margin of defeat.
With the two-to-one and three-to-one defeats it took last November
in failing to be approved by 16 counties the relatively narrow
loss already has county officials talking about putting it back
on the ballot for the November general election.
"I talked to a couple of the commissioners and we feel like
maybe we should have done a little better job addressing all the
concerns surrounding the issue," County Manager Dan McMillan
said. "We just had so many people who said they really didn't
know what it was and didn't know what it meant. So the commissioners
have said maybe they will know more about it the next time. So
from that I gather that they plan on putting it to the vote again."
At stake for voters was the choice of a .04 percent land transfer
tax that affects only sales of real property or an increase in
the property tax for all residents.
Commissioners have stated that they need the additional revenue
that the tax would have generated to pay for capital improvements
in the county; specifically, renovations to the county library,
construction of the new law enforcement center and repairs to
school properties.
McMillan said that as he goes through the process of putting together
the new county budget, he and the commissioners will be looking
to possibly increase county property taxes as the said they would
have to do if the LTT failed.
The referendum faced significant resistance from several county
and state organizations. One of those groups the John Locke Foundation
publicly opposed the tax in Ashe and other counties across the
state.
Commenting on the defeat of the tax in Ashe, JLF Vice President
for Development Chad Adams said, "Once again with today's
results the tax has been soundly rejected since November. Now
we are awaiting results from other counties but in Orange at this
point it is going down soundly at almost a two-to-one margin.
Now the Ashe County vote being so close means that it was probably
a pretty spirited competition up there and the good news with
that both side did a good job of getting their information out
and that is healthy for the process. People got to let their voices
be heard and have decided that that type of tax is not good for
Ashe County right now."
Adams said that if the commissioners put the tax back on a future
ballot they will again take a look at the county's needs and revenue
sources and decide if they will again oppose the tax.
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