As the Advocate has reported for several weeks now, the county budget is in the red. While many are quick to place blame, the truth is there is no one place to point the finger. The last tax increase in Lawrence County was nine years ago in 2006. The majority of revenue raised by that tax increase went directly towards building the new county jail. Moreover, just after that increase, our county went through the worst recession since the Great Depression with unemployment going over 17%.
Since that time, our county has worked hard to be fiscally responsible while at the same time maintaining a high level of services for our citizens. We have even made some progressive investments for our future like putting SROs in every county school, expanding our industrial park and purchasing properties for new schools. Nevertheless, after nine years, rising costs and dwindling revenues, coupled with inflation, have depleted our fund balance.
Over the past several weeks, I have sat in over 20 hours of budget committee meetings. The budget committee should be commended for cutting over $1 million from an already lean budget. However, despite their best efforts, a shortfall still exists. As County Executive Williams has said many times, we have two choices to fix our shortfall: raise revenue or cut services like E-911, fire departments and other vital services our citizens rely upon every single day. Unlike Washington D.C., we can't just push our debt limit higher, we must address the situation head on. Personally, I think cutting those services would only compound our problems as a county.
That leaves us with raising revenue. From the onset of our budget process, I said I would consider a tax increase if the proposed tax did two things: spread the burden out fairly as possible and was forwarded thinking, meaning it not only addresses current problems, but future ones as well. I said this because I feel it would be unwise to pass a tax increase on the people of our county just to address our current shortfall. If we are serious about being competitive as a county moving forward, we need to be able to invest in areas like our schools, roads and economic development. If we don't have revenue to adequately improve in these key areas, we will find ourselves in this same situation again only a few short years from now. Past history tells us that.
After much discussion and deliberation, I feel the best way we can proceed in this situation is by putting a wheel tax increase on referendum in the coming weeks. The amount of increase should reflect the amount needed to fix our current problems and make needed improvements in schools, roads and economic development. Over the years, the people have consistently said they prefer the wheel tax to the property tax because it is fairer. I agree with that notion given that roughly only 38% of citizens (16,000 citizens) pay property tax while there are over 42,000 cars registered in Lawrence County. If the people truly support this avenue of taxation, now is the time to say so.
In putting this on the referendum, the citizens should understand that if the proposed wheel tax is defeated at the ballot, the county will have to consider a large cut in services or a property tax increase. While none of our options at this point are favorable, letting the people decide their own future is the most desirable and democratic path forward. I hope my colleagues and the citizens of our county will agree.
Chairman Pro-Tem Lawrence County Commission
