How do they have a "retreat" without violating open meeting laws? It's delightful to know they have the input of, apparently, every group that has a financial interest in uncontrolled growth. Very wise of them to keep out the riff-raff, er, general public.
Guess we should all remember some of this next year when some of the County Commissioners are wanting to run for re-election or seek a state legislative seat.
So is an impact fee referendum going to be on the ballot this fall? I may have missed the announcement and want to make sure my voice is heard!
Not an impact fee, but a transfer tax, and an increase in the sales tax. The county commissioners can choose to impose one or the other, but not both, if both are approved by the voters. If the voters approve one and not the other, then the commissioners can choose to impose that one, or not. I believe several commissioners have said neither one is needed at this time, and they will not impose it if approved. But voting in favor of one or the other would be voting to give the commissioners more options in the future. The transfer tax would be 0.4% on every real estate transfer. That would amount to $400 for every $100,000 of selling price. The sales tax would be 0.25% on top of the sales tax we already pay. If both of those are voted down, then the only way the county has to meet its budget is the property tax, as they do now. So this would be a way to supplement our property taxes to meet costs for additional infrastructure such as schools, etc.
My husband and I are against any new taxes. We feel that Johnston County needs to implement more effective ways to collect the taxes they are due and then if there is a short fall propose new/increase in taxes. As things are now the state and county assume that everyone will be honest, follow the law and pay their fair share. It's not happening. Many people living in our neighborhood have increased the square footage of their homes and are not paying taxes on the improvements. Several people have vehicles that are not registered and they are not paying taxes on them. The state and county need to establish 800 numbers to report abuses. And as for controlled growth, the county needs to take a closer look at the permitting for subdivisions and develop a better way to enforce the current codes and institute stiffer penalities on builders/developers that bend the rules. And Johnston county needs to insist on better plans and development to avoid making the misstakes we all live with at 4042. And lastly, we all need to get out and VOTE.
VOTE 11-6-2007 The POLLS will be open at 6:30am Tuesday November 6th. Open till 7:30pm There are 3 polling places in the Greater Cleveland area: Cleveland Vol. Fire Dept C3 Church Cleveland Elem. School If you are a registered VOTER you are assigned a specific polling place based on where you live ---- BUT you can vote a provisional ballot at any JoCo poll. It takes **LONGER** but if you do not have time to vote at your poll you can do a provisional ballot.
Bottom line is if the Sales Tax or Transfer tax doesn't pass, then we will see our property tax rate increase. Personally, I don't plan to ever sell my house, so I'm all for the Transfer Tax. I feel that those moving into Johnston county should help pay for the issues they directly contribute towards, such as school, water and sewer, ect...
