Editor’s note: This is the first in an occasional series of articles being contributed by Sen. Doug Berger.
As many of you know, I am a Democrat who proudly wears that affilation. I firmly believe that Democrats should offer a clear choice when running against Republicans in campaigns for public office. The question often came up during my campaign for Senate as to whether I would support a good idea if its origin was from a Republican. While there are clear partisan differences between the Democrats and Republicans, as evidenced most recently on the issue of the lottery, most issues we vote on in the General Assembly have broad bipartisan support.
One piece of legislation that passed this session was HB 1779, “An Act to Create a Combined Motor Vehicle Registration Renewal and Property Tax Collection System,” authored by freshman Republican Rep. Dale Folwell from Winston-Salem.
I met Rep. Folwell early on during our freshman orientation classes. He is an accountant by profession and a principled conservative. I had the unique opportunity to hear his idea early on as to how the counties could collect more tax money and thus reduce the need to raise the property tax. His idea was so logical and good for the state that despite the fact that he was one of the 20 representatives who voted against Jim Black to be speaker, Speaker Black allowed his idea to be heard for consideration in the House, and it eventually became law.
When citizens renew the registration on their motor vehicles, they have been billed months later for the property tax they owe. Vance County had $350,779 in uncollected taxes at the end of the fiscal year. As of July 1, the property tax rate for Vance rose from 90 cents to 92 cents per $100 valuation. A single penny will generate $187,090. See the Daily Dispatch article for more details.
HB 1779 requires that the property tax be collected at the time a person receives a renewal on his motor vehicle registration. Let’s hope this measure will increase collections and reduce the likelihood of having to raise property taxes.
Sen. Doug Berger, D-Youngsville, represents Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties in the state Senate. He is scheduled to appear Tuesday before the Vance County Board of Commissioners.