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The county did not let the citizens decide between the proposed .4% real property transfer tax and the ¼ cent increase in the sales tax. Several other counties have both proposed taxes on the ballot this November.

Transfer taxes are paid from the seller out of the equity they have accumulated in their real property assets.

Transfer taxes are an unreliable source of revenue for securing long-term bonds because real estate transactions are tied to economic cycles.

Sales tax is a broader based tax that distributes more of the tax burden on a greater number of citizens, including transient tourists.

Brunswick County ranks third (3^rd) in the state for the most local taxes and fees paid by an individual. If you are a resident of Brunswick County, 8.39% of your personal income goes towards those local taxes and fees. For example if you make $40,000 a year, $3356 is just for local taxes and fees. A person making $40,000 a year makes $3333.33 a month in income, so you are actually working for Brunswick County one month out of every year.

For every increase in $1,000 in the cost of a home, 160 households are eliminated from affording the American Dream-homeownership. A transfer tax on the average priced home (2007) in Brunswick County of $296,048 is $1184. That is at least 160 households in Brunswick County that will not own a home.

Has anyone ever seen a tax, once it is implemented, go down in cost or be repealed? If the counties wanted a 1% transfer tax, they will eventually get it.

The school system budget for the previous three years increased 6.64% while the school population increased just 2.88%. The actual student population is not meeting the forecasted projections for new classrooms.

Medicaid relief granted to the county will save approximately 1.2 million dollars in 2008-09 and 1.5 million dollars in 2009-10. Due to the state taking over the county Medicaid share, these funds are undesignated. They can be used for any school infrastructure needs.

The North Carolina lottery produced revenue for Brunswick County schools in the amount of $692,863 for 2006-2007. Projected revenues for 2007-2008 are $757,078. This is new money for the school system that the state legislature designated for school capital projects; new buildings or renovating buildings.

These two new sources of revenue combined create $2 million for the county to use to purchase bonds for new school buildings, if new buildings are needed.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is $70 billion behind in road improvements in the entire state. The sources of revenue for road construction include a gas tax of $.295 paid per gallon at the pump.

North Carolina also collects a 3% Highway Use Tax on vehicles in lieu of a state sales tax. The tax is assessed each time a title is transferred. The maximum tax for commercial vehicles (vehicles with a weight greater than 26,000 pounds) is $1,000.00. All other vehicles are charged 3% with no ceiling. This money goes into the Highway Trust Fund.

The 2007 state budget increased the percentage of Highway Trust Fund money that may be spent on administration from 3.8 percent to 4.2 percent, resulting in a corresponding reduction of resources available to spend on road projects, such as intrastate, urban loops, secondary roads, and municipal road projects.

North Carolina counties do not have the authority to build roads. Road building is expensive and requires another level of bureaucracy. We need to apply pressure at the state level for some accountability for the transportation dilemma the state is in now.

Brunswick County is the only county in the state wanting to use this new money for roads. Brunswick County should not get into the road building business, now or ever.