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OBSERVATIONS
June 17, 2021 |
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 Wingate Lassiter |
Do we really need another cut
in state taxes with needs unmet?
Let me get personal for a moment to make a point about state and local taxes:
We paid just under $2,000 in North Carolina income tax in 2020 and just over $4,000 in county and municipal property taxes last year. Breaking that down further, our County of Johnston property tax was just above $2,300 (the rest went to the Town of Smithfield).
So why is the N.C. General Assembly cutting our state's income-tax rate (again) --- when what we pay is already HALF of what we shell out in local property taxes?
Meanwhile, our local governments continue to shoulder the burden of funding services that are supposed to be the state's responsibility.
Let's start with our public schools:
A cap on state aid to local school systems for educating children with handicaps was cited as the biggest reason for Johnston's schools going more than $10 million "in the hole" in fiscal 2019-20. The state won't reimburse local schools for taking care of more than 12.75% of total enrollment with physical and behavioral handicaps. At last report, Johnston's percentage of such students exceeds 16%.
Why should the state put a limit on its aid? It forces local school systems to make up the difference with county taxpayers' dollars or else shortchange the education of those unfortunate children.
Earlier this year Johnston's County Commissioners ran into another state-imposed dilemma, this one regarding the judicial system. District Attorney Susan Doyle asked the county to pick up the cost of two employees in her office when the state failed to continue funding past December 31 for extra help to deal with what she called "a tremendous backlog of cases" resulting from last year's coronavirus shutdown.
Commissioners agreed to provide $62,000 to make up for the state's shortcoming and keep the employees on the job through June 30, but not without heated objection from Fred Smith. The county's taxpayers shouldn't be asked to cover the state's shunning of its responsibility to fund the judiciary, he said.
Those are just two examples of what local officials have been complaining about for years, and beyond those examples are numerous "unfunded mandates" where the State of North Carolina has required counties and municipalities to take on new responsibilities without financial support from our legislators in Raleigh.
News this week further skews the debate over taxes versus spending:
As the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, the State of North Carolina announced that it expects to receive $6.5 billion more in tax revenue over the next two budget years than previously expected. Governor Roy Cooper says that means we can afford to take care of neglected needs. Leaders of the General Assembly say the surplus revenue ought to be returned to the taxpayers.
Once and a while, can we not put the well-being of everyone, especially those less fortunate than us, ahead of our own self-indulgence?
WHERE READERS HAVE THEIR SAY
Solid advice in coping
with speeding motorists
To The Editor:
Pleased to read your observations on speeding epidemic that seems to be so prevalent --- not only in Johnston County but here in Mecklenburg as well. I'm often reminded of the words told me when I was learning to drive --- long before Driver Education was the norm:
"One important thing to remember is to be aware of the other drivers on the highway with you. They may not have the same concern for your welfare as you have for theirs."
Sad but true.
To The Editor:
Pleased to read your observations on speeding epidemic that seems to be so prevalent --- not only in Johnston County but here in Mecklenburg as well. I'm often reminded of the words told me when I was learning to drive --- long before Driver Education was the norm:
"One important thing to remember is to be aware of the other drivers on the highway with you. They may not have the same concern for your welfare as you have for theirs."
Sad but true.
--- JINNY H. MITCHELL, a subscriber in Charlotte
THE SOUTH SMITHFIELD FOX: IS THERE MORE THAN ONE?
Susan Lassiter, the editor's wife, caught one of the critters on her phone camera this past Saturday morning as he (she) made its rounds through our neighborhood. We've seen a fox pass through our backyard time and again in recent months, and numerous sightings have been reported recently by other residents "in our neck of the woods" (we're close to the river and a good bit of wilderness). We'd like to get reports and photos of other sightings.
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