The public interest
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Joe Testa
A woman, once homeless, told the story recently of how she had been helped by local agencies that work to ensure low-income residents have affordable housing opportunities in our community.
Today, this Franklin County resident is now working toward a college degree, quickly moving down the road to a better life.
It’s stories like this that help illustrate the need to provide additional affordable housing options in Franklin County.
I recently testified at a public hearing to express my support for increased funding for affordable housing and the agencies and programs that provide these services. The Franklin County commissioners have been conducting public hearings on their plan to double the real estate conveyance fee, collecting an additional $6.8-million per year to fund this initiative.
During my testimony, I presented a plan to the commissioners that would provide the requested increase in funding to $6.8-million for these important initiatives, but without any additional taxes and without jeopardizing the county’s strong financial position.
In fact, even with the increase in funding for affordable housing from the county general fund, Franklin County would fare better than most other counties of similar size that have secured the coveted “double, Triple A” bond rating from the nation’s leading credit rating agencies.
Some have said that because Franklin County’s real estate conveyance fee is at the lowest possible amount — the state-required $1 per $1,000 of sales price — the tax should be raised to bring it in line with surrounding counties. This, in my opinion, is wrong.
I am a firm believer that government should never impose more taxes than are really needed. Just because we are lower in that particular tax than surrounding counties is not a sufficient reason to raise ours.
Other counties aren’t like Franklin County. Some of the smaller, more rural counties likely need the additional general fund dollars brought in by the increased transfer tax because they don’t have sales tax or real estate tax receipts anywhere near Franklin County’s.
We have benefited from a strong real estate market with stable property values and the addition of more than $1-billion in new construction activity each year. That’s private investment, which adds to the tax base.
The county commissioners raised the county sales tax earlier this year, which is expected to bring in an additional $88-million per year. When that increase was adopted, it was believed that a conveyance tax increase was off the table. At the Dec. 8 hearing, one of the commissioners stated that my position was raised at the 11th hour.
This is not true. I made it clear last summer that I would oppose an increase in the conveyance tax when commissioners were considering several tax increases, a fact acknowledged by a member of their staff after the hearing.
My office’s analysis clearly shows that Franklin County government’s cash reserves are very large and building rapidly. While it is certainly prudent to hold some funds in reserve for a rainy day, governments should never impose new taxes in order to run up the reserves when they are already higher than nearly every other top-rated county in the U.S. of comparable size. The public can put those dollars to better use itself.
Several speakers at the recent public hearing expressed a desire for a dedicated fund for affordable housing. If commissioners wish to earmark $6.8-million each year for affordable housing, they can do that right now without raising taxes. That decision, however, would not be legally binding on future commissioners, regardless of whether they impose this new tax.
There is no question that affordable housing is an issue that must be addressed in our community. As county auditor, I administer the state’s Homestead Exemption program that provides real estate tax relief for qualifying seniors and disabled property owners, and I have led my office staff to contribute significantly to help homeless families in our community. I’d like to see us do more. While testifying in support of affordable housing funding, I told commissioners that I would like to work with them to explore the possibility of creating a “Homestead Exemption Part B” program to assist Franklin County seniors who just barely miss qualifying for the existing Homestead Exemption program.
This would allow us to reach even more seniors and help them stay in their homes.
We can accomplish this without placing an additional tax burden on our residents. Those interested in reviewing the data I presented to the commissioners may view it on my Web site under “affordable housing proposal” on the home page at www.franklincountyauditor.com.