Resident urges board to consider quarter-cent sales tax on 2026 ballot, cites state revenue practices

Stuart Smith, a resident who spoke during the public comment period, urged commissioners to consider placing a quarter-cent sales and use tax on the ballot in 2026 so more of county sales tax revenue remains in Alamance County.

Smith described a small, recent purchase of two copies of the Alamance News and said he observed a sales-tax rounding that raised questions about how small fractions of a cent are handled at the register. He said he contacted the North Carolina Department of Revenue's sales and use tax division and spoke with an administrative officer, Ed Strickland, to ask where amounts collected above earmarked tax collections are remitted and how rounding is handled. Smith said Mr. Strickland told him that in his experience, counties that appealed directly to voters with a tangible need ' often for public schools ' were more successful than counties that simply put a quarter-cent tax on the ballot without a stated purpose.

Smith recalled that an earlier local option sales tax measure failed and that the county then raised property tax rates, a change he said he preferred to avoid. "I'd much rather pay a quarter cent on my sales tax than I had an increase in property taxes," Smith said.

Ending: Smith concluded by asking commissioners to consider the ballot option for 2026; no formal board action or vote on the matter occurred during the meeting.