New Hanover County at a crossroads

We are all very fortunate to call New Hanover County home.  Don’t take my word for it.  Over the past several years, a number of businesses have chosen to make New Hanover County their home. The list includes large employers such as GE-Hitachi and smaller companies looking for growth opportunities in our region.

The single most referenced reason for choosing New Hanover County as a place in which to do business has consistently been quality of life.

Unfortunately, with the economic recession, New Hanover County and its residents face the real possibility of finding that quality of life diminished. We’re simply at a crossroads where hard choices have to be made that will significantly impact our community.

Voters will have the opportunity to decide whether or not New Hanover County will be able to continue to provide our coveted quality of life to residents and businesses on May 4th when the Sales Tax Referendum appears on the ballot.

The county’s property tax collection rate is an impressive 98 percent, which means we receive almost all of the property tax forecasted.

However, due to an $11 million to $14 million funding gap in the coming budget year, New Hanover County, although still financially stable, simply cannot continue to provide a laundry list of services that many residents are unwilling to do without. The services that will be lost include public libraries, Cape Fear Museum, parks, Arboretum, Senior Center, Veterans Services and over 900 teaching positions would be eliminated; all are services paid for through your property taxes, and all  are services which drastically affect  our daily lives.

The county is required by state and federal mandates to provide certain services such as those that have improved the health and safety of its citizens.

Approximately 85 percent of the county’s budget pays for school construction, teachers, various health and human services. This leaves only 15 percent for quality of life services, as well as the assistance the county  provides to its outside partners. Outside agencies such as the Domestic Violence Shelter and Services, Rape Crisis Center and Elderhaus to name a few, actually help keep county costs down by providing the services not required by local government.

New Hanover County has forecasted revenues from property taxes, permits, inspection fees and Register of Deeds fees to remain flat during the next fiscal year. Our options for balancing the budget include reducing expenditures, or raising revenue. The current fiscal year has been extremely difficult. We have cut our spending by $21 million. We have laid off more than 100 employees. And for the employees  who remain with us, furloughs have caused economic hardship.

Another obligation to consider is debt service. New Hanover County  voters have approved bond referendums for public schools, Cape Fear Community College and parks.

Payments on that debt service are now due. With each bond referendum, it was made clear that borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars would have to be repaid with interest.

Just like any business or homeowner, our mortgage is due.

For those businesses and citizens who rely on tourism-based revenue I ask this: ‘Would we still enjoy the   benefits of tourism without places like Airlie Gardens and the Cape Fear Museum?’

For those employers who do business with our attractions ‘What impact would the loss of these tourist draws have on you?’

These job losses and the domino effect of reduced services across a wide spectrum will negatively impact our local economy.

Many of your employees, our fellow citizens, enjoy the new soccer and park amenities New Hanover County has provided.  Are your employees ready to play softball in the dark or kick a soccer ball in knee-high grass?

On May 4th, voters in New Hanover County will decide whether the county increases its revenues by $5 million to $7 million by raising the sales tax rate from 7.75 percent to 8 percent. A number of counties across North Carolina have already approved sales tax increases as a way to meet the growing demands of providing quality services.

The increase in sales tax will not affect most non-prepared food items, prescription medications, gasoline, car purchases or utilities. The price of a $100 pair of shoes would increase by 25 cents. Increasing the sales tax rate would help spread the burden to our visitors and those who come here to shop. So I pose one final question, ‘Is this too high a cost to keep the lights on the soccer fields, teachers in the classroom and the tourism economy growing?’

I truly believe uncertain times call for us to think about the end result we want for New Hanover County, to think about who we are as a people, and what we want to look like when better times arrive. The decision is in the voter’s hands.

Jason R. Thompson is the Chairman of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.