A new commission board will step up in December.
GREENSBORO – All thanks to voters in May, Guilford County got funding approved for a new jail, an expanded community college and improvements for public schools. Now they just have to bring in the cash.
"The voters approved the bonds, it's there, and we've got to pay for it," said Guilford County Commissioner Paul Gibson.
Some commissioners hope voters will approve a quarter-percent sales tax increase the second time around. That would bring in some $16 million a year, though last May voters said no to raising the sales tax from 6.75 percent to a full 7 percent.
"We really didn't have much of a campaign to educate the voters," said Gibson. He says it seems voters weren’t aware the education bonds would mean a debt for the county's finances.
It’s a debt commissioner Bruce Davis doesn't agree should be paid for with a “regressive sales tax.” He says it will hit fixed and low income families hardest.
News 14’s Jonathan Lowe has more on Guilford County’s attempt to get a sales tax increase approved.
"[Low income families]…will spend 15-17 percent of their income in consumer products," Davis said.
But if voters say no for a second time in November… "We raise property tax about five-cents for the next 12 years," said Gibson.
Davis says he prefers that plan over the sales tax, but adds the county needs new sources of revenue like raised fees on water and trash services.
"Those things… there are collection fees to that, and there are a number of services," Davis said.
A new commission board will step up in December. Both Gibson and Davis agree that board could change where revenue from a possible sales tax would go.
Commissioners supporting the sales tax increase say the county gets 40 percent of its incoming revenue from people traveling through Guilford County.