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County delays decision on sales tax revenue The power struggle continues, as school officials try to hang on to sales tax dollars given to them by county officials. The battle began more than a year ago, when the Wayne County Board of Supervisors considered halting the practice of sharing sales tax revenue with school districts. That money - about $5.4 million - had helped to keep school tax rates down. However, when the State began its STAR (School TAx Relief) program, county lawmakers saw state dollars flying out the window. County officials say that by keeping school taxes down with sales tax money, they end up losing State STAR revenue. In other words, if the school tax rates were set without the sales dollars, the State would be giving an additional $1.4 million to the county. School superintendents say that their tax rates would rise over 11 percent with the loss of the sales tax money. They predict that, with such large increases, voters would reject budgets, forcing educational programs to be cut. The county's standpoint has been that, with the extra sales tax dollars, individual towns and villages could lower their tax rates. So, although school rates might rise, taxpayers would see other rates go down. They admit that it wouldn't even out for businesses and farmers who do not get STAR exemptions, but to assist, the county has offered to "phase in" the plan, so that increases are spread out over several years. When the Wayne County Board of Supervisors met yesterday, school superintendents were there to point out that there would be no guarantees of towns and villages using the extra money to reduce taxes. They pushed supervisors to stick to a promise that they would lobby the state to fix flaws in the STAR program. Savannah Supervisor Don Colvin, who heads the county's Finance Committee, suggested a committee be formed to iron out the details and report back to the county by December 30. Pal-Mac Superintendent James Tobin said that the schools would be willing, but he questioned the "short timeline for such a complex issue." He added, "It's a good move to continue the dialogue, but I'm not sure we can meet your deadline." So, for the time being, county supervisors are leaving things as they are. School officials managed to hold off a vote, but Colvin warned, "Maybe it won't pass this year but, in time, it will have to be passed." Copyright © 1999 |
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