The Board elected to place the 1/4 cent sales tax on the primary ballot coming up. March 3rd is fast approaching and we need to begin educating the public on the issues related to the sales tax referendum. We are beginning to reach out to our municipalities and civic groups to inform them. We would like to place an ad in the Stokes News as well as create a brochure/flyer to be placed around the county.  

Some of the information we would like to provide to the public is listed below:

• Educational, Helps fund areas of safety in our schools (SRO Officers, building security).

• Helps keep property tax from rising.

• Everyone benefits, and everyone pays, not just the property owner.

•  ¼ sales tax generates 3 times more revenue than 1 penny on the property tax.

• Let’s compare taxes:  1 penny of property tax = $388,500 - ¼ penny of sales tax = $1,165,500 (that’s 3 pennies).

• Non-residents pay sales tax too, lessening the burden on property owners and those on fixed incomes.

The county may spend money to educate the public on issues related to the sales tax referendum but may not spend money advocating for or against the sales tax.

Any input from the Board of Commissioners is greatly appreciated.