What are county commissioners doing to educate public about sales tax increase

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY-TV) – One of the hot races on the ballot during the May 4th Primary will be the quarter cent sales tax increase referendum. County Commissioners recently spent more than $15,000 dollars on a survey that showed a majority of voters were against it. The county is also spending thousands of dollars with a local ad firm that’s been assigned to get help find ways to get the word out.

But so far, all they say they’ve done is print a pamphlet in-house, use some social networking sites, and we’ve found some emails from Chairman Jason Thompson threatening to sell Airlie Gardens if it doesn’t pass.

“Our budget isn’t just about Airlie Gardens,” said New Hanover County commissioner Jonathan Barfield. “It’s about our schools and realizing the county provides roughly 900 positions to our school system that are not mandated. School nurses and teachers, as well. Can you imagine our schools with 900 less employees.”

The whole reason the tax is on the table is because New Hanover County is facing an 11 to 14 million dollar deficit. The increase is estimated to raise 5 million dollars next fiscal year and 7 million each year after that.