A committee to help pass the sales tax referendum has been created with representatives of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Carrboro Board of Alderspersons, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Board of Education, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, The Partnership for Children, the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce, the Orange County Schools Board of Education, the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtor, and Orange County Justice United.
I am serving on the Campaign for Jobs and Schools committee as a representative from Orange County Justice United. Justice United discussed the referendum at one of it’s full meetings and voted to endorse it. We are supporting the sales tax because funds raised in this way will reduce the exorbitant sewer and water rates for our lower income neighbors in the north of the county and will also reduce the tax burden on county homeowners, while supporting our schools.
It may be hard to think of a tax increase as "justice," but Orange County has an example of just that in its proposal on the November ballot to raise the sales tax by one-quarter cent. A portion of the revenue if this wins approval will go toward providing a solution for Habitat for Humanity homeowners in Efland (many of whose homes were built by our member churches), who have been facing a 300 percent increase in their sewer rates. Justice United agrees that this tax increase, which means paying 25 cents more per every $100 you spend, equals social justice. 