Hopefuls zero in on '07 tax hike

Eight vie in GOP contestes; 5 Dems seek nomination

April 27, 2008

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

A decision to hike property taxes more than 22 percent last year has become the key issue incumbent commissioners in Caldwell County are being forced to defend as primary day approaches.

Commissioners passed a sharp property tax hike last year, which challengers from both parties say is one of the top reasons that motivated them to run for one of three open seats.

Incumbent Republicans John Thuss and Faye Higgins will face six other candidates vying for the GOP's nomination, three of whom have formed a bloc and hope to fill all of the board's open seats. Five Democrats are also hoping to secure their party's nomination.

The winners of the May 6 Republican primary will go on to face the three top vote-getting Democrats.

Longtime Republican commissioner Herb Greene's seat is also open, but he is not seeking re-election.

Beyond the tax increase, challengers from both sides say current commissioners have made bad decisions, citing the county manager's salary, building a new Department of Social Services building, giving large companies tax incentives, and how the board plans the budget.

Incumbents, meanwhile, argue that the board has been making sound decisions, like creating better educational opportunities, boosting economic prospects and making sure county buildings are in good condition and able to provide quality service.

The Republicans
Thuss, a retired veterinarian, has served on the board for two stints, from 1988 to 1992 and from 1996 until now. Having a bevy of challengers in the Caldwell County primary is normal, but his opponents, he said, don't fully understand what commissioners have to consider when making budget decisions.

They have to adhere to mandates issued by the state and federal government, he said, while keeping a fund balance and juggling each department's budget.

"What do you want us to cut?" he said. "That's what they don't understand. They want the service to be top of the line and for people to be the best trained. But that costs money, and that's what taxes cover."

Commissioners, he said, are trying to satisfy all of these demands while also finding ways to bring new industry and jobs to the county while recovering from the exodus of furniture factories in recent years.

Higgins, who was elected to the board in 2004 and retired from the Department of Social Services, voted against the tax increase and said she would like to see commissioners pass a quarter-cent sales tax referendum to help meet budget needs.

"It doesn't seem right to make property owners shoulder most of the taxes," she said. "There has to be a better way to handle that."

Higgins also said she will focus on bringing new industry and jobs to the county and finding ways to bring more educational opportunities, like the Appalachian State University extension program.

Retired businessman Clay Bollinger, textile director Rob Bratcher and real estate developer Ben Griffin are running as a group and say their 98 years of collective business experience make them the best candidates.

"(County government) is a $78 million business, and it's absolutely not being run that way right now," Bollinger said.

The men said they would look at the budget in the long term, setting goals beyond the fiscal year and looking forward as far as 2018.

"You have to have planning and not chaos," said Griffin, who has made three unsuccessful commissioner bids. "By balancing the budget and living within our means, we can find a workable plan for the future that we can afford and prosper with."

Bratcher, who has spent his entire life in Caldwell, said he and his running mates would also like to make sure their children have long-term educational and professional opportunities and won't feel forced to seek better jobs outside the county.

"I'd prefer my son, who's a freshman, and my daughter, who is graduating this year, to live in Caldwell County and have rewarding careers here," he said.

Steven Fekete, meanwhile, said his reason for running was simple.

"I'm tired of complaining," he said.

He's frustrated with the property tax increase, he said, especially when commissioners decided to give incentives to Google that would slash the company's taxes for several years.

"There is no justification for giving a billion-dollar company handouts for coming to Caldwell," he said.

Fekete, a mechanic, said he would also try to trim the budget by cutting services he doesn't think are necessary, like air-conditioning at the county jail and forgoing tax incentives for companies looking at coming to Caldwell.

Bill Oxford, a furniture manager retiring next week, served on the Cajah's Mountain Board of Alderman for eight years and said his experience of working with budgets would benefit the county.

"The biggest thing that I hear is that people want change," he said. "I don't think anyone is satisfied with where we are and where we're going."

He said he would find ways to control spending by looking at each department's request and see what could be trimmed.

Arnold Wilson, a business owner making his first bid for office, did not return several messages left by the Observer.

The Democrats
The key issues - the tax increase and jobs - have varied little between the parties, with candidates saying they want to focus on bringing fresh ideas to the board and allowing residents to be more involved with decisions.

Barbara Weiller, a retired banker and former member of the Caldwell County School Board, said she would bring decades of business and political experience.

Weiller said she has already met with most of the mayors in the county's chartered municipalities and wants to make sure every community feels involved. She would also like to have better communication with each county department.

"I want to let them know I'm interested in their communities," she said. "I plan on being as open to everyone as I can."

Randy Church, a former chief of the Lenoir Fire Department, retired from the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office in December and said his years working in the community would benefit the board.

Church, who's running based on a "common-sense approach," said bringing Google to Caldwell was a good first step that needs to be followed up with fresh ideas.

Jerry Coffey, meanwhile, drives a tiny, lime green and fuel-efficient car and said he would like to encourage Caldwell residents to look for ways to conserve energy. Beyond that, he said, he would like to implement a "monitoring system" in which one person hired by the county would review every tax dollar commissioners propose spending and present it to the community before voting.

"The people in Caldwell County need to know they are stockholders in the county, and they need to approve of what's happening with their money," he said.

"We're going to have to address the issues with more out-of-the-box kind of thinking about how we are going to recruit new business," he said. "(It's going to require) some unconventional thinking."

L.C. Coonse, a retired schoolteacher, said he hasn't seen the leadership from commissioners that he thinks is necessary to run a county. Watching taxes soar, he said, was just one thing that motivated him to run.

"There has been a lot of reaction to problems, and all that causes is more reactions to more problems. It's a spiral," he said.

Coonse said he would like to review all the numbers commissioners are privy to and set objectives for long-range financial plans that would allow the county to stay within its budget from year to year.

That's a plan that Timothy Shore, who has run for a commissioner seat twice before, said commissioners need to implement if they are going put the county back into the global economy.

The tax increase, he said, could have been a much softer blow if the board had been thinking about the budget in four-year increments rather than one. Setting priorities for life's necessities, he said, is something he does with his money and something he expects commissioners to do as well.

"If families have to tighten their budgets, the county needs to do the same," he said.

About the tax increase
On June 18, commissioners approved, in a 3-to-1 vote, a 12-cent property tax increase that would fund a $77.5 million operating budget. Faye Higgins voted against the tax hike.
The board initially considered an 18.5 percent tax increase but voiced concerns about residents still struggling with unemployment and low wages being able to handle the hike. When they gathered to vote two weeks later, however, the board decided against the 18.5 percent hike and raised taxes more - to 22.2 percent.

The new rate, 65.99 cents for every $100 of value, means that taxes on a $150,000 house would be $989.85, an increase of $180 a year.





All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.