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Commissioner Proposes Quarter-Cent Sales-Tax Referendum to Fund Teacher Supplements
Summary
A commissioner told the board he will bring language to put a quarter-cent local sales-tax referendum on the November ballot to fund teacher supplements, aiming to raise revenue without increasing property tax; staff were asked to identify the exact rate and ballot language for an April 28 vote.
One commissioner told the Gaston County Board of Commissioners on April 14 that a local sales-tax referendum could provide funding for higher teacher supplements without raising property taxes.
The commissioner said a quarter-cent sales tax — collected in part from visitors and nonresidents — would allow the county to raise supplemental teacher pay to a midpoint among peer districts. "I'm inclined to bring forward to this board in our voting meeting a voter referendum that will appear on the ballot in November, where the voters can agree to levy that other quarter cent sales tax to supplement teacher supplements," the commissioner said.
He said the county manager was asked to work out the required tax rate and ballot language and that the board would need to vote at the April 28 voting meeting to forward the referendum to the board of elections. No specific revenue target or the exact rate needed to reach peer-salary levels was presented at the work session; the commissioner said staff were tasked to determine the "magic number."
