“Sales tax talk packs house” plus 1 more |
| Posted: 13 Mar 2011 01:13 PM PDT By Jacqueline Hough Kim Simpson, owner of Timeless Tea and city property owner, said no one wanted any kind of tax increase in Roanoke Rapids. Simpson was one of nine people who addressed council members Tuesday evening during a public hearing on the proposed tax. She pointed out 40 percent of Roanoke Rapids residents own their homes while 60 percent rent. "I don't think the 40 percent should be penalized for being property owners," she said. Jack Moore said he was speaking wholeheartedly for the possible one cent tax by the Roanoke Rapids City Council. "I think it is the most fair tax," he said "Some of the businessmen are against it. This tax is fair." Many who spoke at the public hearing were not fond of any kind of tax but felt it would be better than putting the burden of The Roanoke Rapids Theatre on property tax owners. Before the public hearing, Mayor Emery Doughtie explained the situation to those present. "We, as a council, are faced with difficult decisions," he said. "There is no need to look back over our shoulders." Doughtie presented three options — cutting back on services offered by the city, increasing property taxes or a possible up to one-cent sales tax increase to go toward the theater debt. The sales tax increase could generate between to $1.7 to $2 million annually. He also said a one-cent increase on property taxes would be a little more than $100,000. For a property tax increase to be effective and help with the debt, it would have to be raised 15 to 18 cents, Doughtie said. "We are going to have to look at increasing revenue," he said. "I go on the record saying I support (the sales tax increase). One female speaker felt if the sales tax increase was passed in the future that it needed to say in plain English that it goes away with the retirement of the debt. She stressed there was not a lot of trust in the city council from residents. "You have got to get serious," she said. She wanted to know if it was necessary to pay $25,000 to a grant writer or give a discount to the school system to use the pool. She also asked if a rule could be in place so the city council would never put residents in debt without a vote. "Let's get serious and get rational," she said. "Let's get real about solving the problem." Phil Hux, owner of First Carolina Agency, said he was with some of the council members when they met with area legislators about a possible sales-tax increase. He pointed out at that time, they had discussed a 1/2 cent increase. "Now it is at one cent," he said. "What made it go up?" Doughtie answered and said they were asking for up to one cent. "The quicker we can pay off the debt, then the quicker the debt is off of us," Doughtie said. Hux also asked if the city felt confident it would pass if there was a referendum brought to voters. Doughtie said some action needed to be taken by the city. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php | |
| Clerk seeking applicants to help with anticipated rise in property tax appeals Posted: 12 Mar 2011 08:25 PM PST When you want to contest your property tax assessment, the Board of Equalization is your first stop. It's a three-person panel that hears appeals to what the Tax Assessor's Office says your property is worth. The meetings can last a full day, and each board member needs a 40-hour training course before they can serve. Those are some of the reasons Muscogee County Clerk of Court Linda Pierce wants more candidates for the two equalization boards in Columbus. Here's another reason: It's not just property owners with reassessments who will get a slip in the mail this year. Every property owner in Columbus will get one this summer. That means some 70,000 notices will get mailed instead of the usual 4,000. Queue up a whole lot more appeals. Here's how the appeals process works: When a property owner wants to appeal, he or she contacts the Tax Assessor's Office. Pierce's office then works with the equalization board to schedule hearings. Both the Tax Assessor's Office and property owner present their cases. Board members hear only what's presented that day and do no research on their own. They then make a decision that day. Either side can appeal to Muscogee County Superior Court, Pierce said. In the past, the tax assessor set up the meetings and notified the grand jury, which appoints people to the equalization board, about vacancies. The state recently changed that and gave county clerks' offices that power. "The tax assessor can't be oversight," Pierce said. "The tax assessor is a party to the hearing." Now that Pierce's office performs oversight functions, those interested in serving on the equalization board should contact her office. Qualified applicants must have a high school degree, be a property owner, have no felony convictions and be a registered voter. They must take a 40-hour training course that takes a week and must have 8-hour training courses each year, Pierce said. The board meets periodically. It was scheduled to meet four days last week, and it will meet again in April. A full day's work can mean eight hours a day or more. Board members get paid $25 for each day they work. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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