Dear Rockingham County voter:
During the remaining days of this primary season, The John Locke Foundation has helped educate us with this great report on the local sales tax issue. If we work hard to spread this common sense message, perhaps we can begin to turn the tide of tax and spend in this county.
To view the report, click this link:
http://johnlocke.org/acrobat/policyReports/rockinghamco-rb55.pdf
The reports shows irrefutably that this county has enough money available to it to build Phase III schools. The question is will we as voters hold our elected officials accountable to spend our money more efficiently, or will we continue to give them a pass on fiscal responsibility?
Please forward to those who may be interested.
Excerpts:
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) projects that over the next ten years, the number of students in Rockingham County schools will decline by 1,922, or more than 13.5 percent.
If the school district has facility needs, the county commission and school board need to show taxpayers how they would spend the almost $27 million in state money provided for capital improvements over the
next ten years.
Rockingham County benefited from the Medicaid swap more than many North Carolina counties. While 23 counties are receiving only the state’s promised “hold harmless” amount of $500,000 a year for
ten years, Rockingham County receives a little over $1.9 million the first full year and a total of $16.4 million over ten years.
From FY 2004 to FY 2006, Rockingham County gave over $4.2 million in incentives to a few selected private businesses. This practice is unfair to the hundreds of businesses in the county who are, at times,
forced to compete with tax-subsidized businesses.
