by Elissa Yount
Henderson’s problems of blighted neighborhoods, rutted and overgrown streets, water line failures, cracked and jagged sidewalks, antiquated sewage treatment, crime, litter, and general trashy conditions seem to be far more prevalent than in Oxford, Warrenton, Franklinton, Louisburg, or South Hill.
Why do these towns look so much better and seem to be prospering so much more than Henderson? All these problems can be corrected with money spent wisely. Why doesn’t Henderson have the money to keep these problems at bay like other small cities?
Bobby Gupton knows the reason, and he is having a hard time getting people to see the light about how our city taxes are spent. To begin with, every single taxpayer in Vance County is charged county taxes, and those taxes pay for all county services. But if you live in the city, then you have to pay again for 911, the library, the recreation center, the aquatics center, the airport, and economic development. That is a huge hunk of money that could be going to correct the many deficiencies in Henderson and to provide essential services.
If the city taxpayer were asked to pay twice for our social services, there would be a huge uprising. If the city taxpayer were asked to pay twice for our local education, there would be a huge uprising. If the city taxpayer were asked to pay twice for Medicaid, or the county courthouse, or the jail, or the sheriff, there would be a huge uprising. So, if our taxation is fair, why isn’t the city taxpayer paying twice for every county service?
Last week I heard another lame argument about why the joint projects are fair. It had to do with population. I think this is another case of “liars figure and figures lie”. We are not assessed taxes on how much we use, or do not use, the services our taxes pay for. For instance, if I had no children or ten children, the same amount of my taxes would go for local public education. We are not assessed taxes on how closely we live to or how often we use services. We are not assessed taxes on the population of the city or the population of the county. So why is it that if you happen to live in the city, you have to pay twice for 911, the library, recreation, aquatics, the airport, and economic development? County taxpayers, who can use or benefit from these services equally, only pay once.
It is as plain as the nose on anyone’s face. Henderson would have a lot more money to provide essential services and to fix our dreadful problems if we did not have to use a huge hunk of our taxes to pay for things we have already paid for. This is inherently unfair, and our city suffers greatly because of this double taxation.
Bobby Gupton continues to let us know it. There are people who want Bobby Gupton to just shut up, and they have used many tactics to sidetrack him. They do not want this to be an election issue.
Clearly they do not know Bobby Gupton very well. Mr. Gupton is not interested in his social position. He does not care if people do not like what he is saying. He does not bow to pressure, intimidation, or ridicule. He keeps telling the facts. He has the intellect to expose the facts and figures and, to this day, no one has refuted them. The way we are taxed in the city is wrong, and it needs to be righted. You can and should make this the biggest political issue in the upcoming municipal election.
It is way past time for the city to stop pussyfooting around, grab the bull by the horns, and fix this unfair taxation. Then maybe we can start looking more like Oxford, and Franklinton, and Warrenton, and Louisburg, and South Hill.