On Nov. 2, the voters rejected a quarter-cent sales tax increase for Orange County.
A combination of a bad economy, confusing wording on the ballot and a poorly designed marketing plan is what ultimately killed the referendum.
The editorial board endorsed this modest increase earlier in the semester, as it would have helped the county maintain and improve vital services. Now that the tax has failed, it places more pressure on the county to seek revenue from other sources.
But raising taxes in a recession is always a challenge. When you give the voters a say, the challenge gets tougher.
It isn’t easy to talk voters into paying more taxes when they are already trying to make do with less everywhere else. As Hillsborough resident Winton Smithwick put it: “(the tax increase) means absolutely nothing except what it stands for, and what it stands for is more.”
The confusing wording on the ballot didn’t do the referendum any favors either. Voters were given the option to be either for or against “Local sales and use tax at the rate of one-quarter percent (0.25%) in addition to all other State and local sales and use taxes.”
The wording seems pretty straightforward in the context of this editorial, but as an item on a lengthy ballot with no additional information, voters could have been confused.
The county did spend money trying to explain what the tax would mean, but the $30,000 campaign missed the mark entirely. The tax passed in the more liberal urban precincts but failed in rural areas that would have benefited greatly.
This won’t be the last time a voluntary sales tax increase is put on the ballot. Poor timing, wording and marketing might have helped kill a measure which would have passed under different circumstances. The county should be aware of this going forward.
