Join Aaron Keck every Tuesday afternoon for Chatham County Roundup, a recurring series that shines the spotlight on Chatham County through engaging discussions and interviews with locals, newsmakers, officials and more. 

This week on Chatham County Roundup, join 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck for a conversation with Zachary Horner of the Chatham News + Record for an in-depth discussion of something interesting voters will find on Chatham County ballots this election season: a referendum for a quarter-cent sales tax increase.

“Chatham’s current sales tax rate is 6.75 percent, which is the base for every county in the state,” said Horner. “That’s where every county starts, and I think a little more than half of the counties in the state still have that and it’s still the lowest rate. Orange is a 7.5 percent, just for context.”

The sales tax in Chatham county does not apply to unprepared food purchases or gasoline, and is paid by anyone spending money in the county rather than just residents. According to Horner, county staff estimates that had the news sales tax rate been implemented in the past year, the county would have received an additional $1.6 million in revenue.

“$1.6 million is really not a lot when it comes to government,” said Horner. “It’s really kind of a smaller slice of a pie, but it could really make a difference in some areas. So, for education, for example, that could help cover the operating costs of a new school for a year … most counties set aside this money for one or two uses, but Chatham has set it aside for four: education, agriculture, affordable housing … and parks and recreation.”

With the referendum on Chatham’s sales tax on the primary ballot rather than the general election ticket, Horner hopes to inform the decisions of voters with his work.

“It’s not necessarily a very popular referendum if we look at the state,” said Horner. “But, you know, it’d just be interesting to see how Chatham votes.”

Listen below for the full conversation, visit the Chatham News + Record website for Horner’s three-part series (part one, part two and part three) on the subject of the sales tax, and tune in weekly for more conversations about Chatham County happenings, people, news and more.

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