Deep thoughts on Guilford County's revenue and debt conundrum, by Yes Weekly's Jordan Green

"Guilford commissioners acknowledge bond spending likely to require tax increase

...Over the next two years, [Guilford] county’s debt service payments will make a “dramatic jump” to almost $100 million in FY 2012 and then just below $120 million in 2013, before gradually tapering off.

The county is going to have to tackle its debt to pay for its new jail and new schools. Guilford County voters approved a $412.3 million school bond and $114.6 million bond to build the new Guilford County Detention Center in May 2008. The bad news for the county is that tax revenues are expected to decrease by 1.4 percent next year...

“When citizens voted for this debt, they voted to pay for it,” Democratic Commissioner Kirk Perkins said during a briefing yesteday. “That looks like a cliff we’re getting ready to ride off.”

[Kirk] Perkins asked [Brenda] Fox what to articulate her plan for when the county’s debt service payments jump by $40 million.

Once off the cliff, there is still hope if you keep running.

By running ever faster you may not fall.

Wyle E. Coyote

...Chairman Skip Alston...said...“If we were to kinda put a little elbow grease to it, put some brain power and think outside the box, there are other ways we can resolve that debt…. The sales taxes were down about $8 million this year. Hopefully, people will start spending. To say ‘raise taxes’ just because we’re looking at a $40 million [increase] next year I think is irresponsible…

.

There is no question we did not recognize the severity of the problems

Al Hubbard

Former White House chief economics adviser

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...Perkins and Democrat Paul Gibson suggested two possible alternatives to increasing the property tax: respectively, a moratorium on issuing new bonds for schools and a quarter-cent sales tax.

Jordan Green
Yes Weekly"