Your turn: Do sales taxes deliver the most bang for the buck?

Get more. Pay less. Get other people to pay.

That’s the selling point for adding additional sales taxes in your community. Roads, public safety and mental health services are just three examples of how local governments have added to your overall bill for meals and goods.

Sales taxes are a relatively easy sell to voters because everyone who buys goods in your community pays the tax. And it’s relatively easy for voters to forget they’re paying that sales tax because it doesn’t show up as big money the way your annual property tax bill does.

Transform Rockford understands taxing bodies need money to pay for the things that residents want and need. However, how can the general public see how its money is being spent and how can the average citizen hold officials accountable?

Sales taxes will be the focus of a forum hosted by Transform Rockford at 5:30 p.m. April 4 at the Nordlof Center. Admission is free.

Transform Rockford’s goal is to provide residents with the information they need to become engaged citizens and determine whether money is being spent as intended and whether it aligns with the community’s vision and values.

“You want people to leave feeling like there is something they can do to make their public sector perform better or to contribute to their community.”said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. Martire will moderate the discussion.

There’s a lot to talk about. Do residents think they're getting value for the money? What would they change? How do additional taxes affect business owners, especially those who sell big-ticket items where an extra 1 percent can add up to a lot of money. Does it affect how they grow their business? What keeps them here?

South Beloit residents on March 19 voted for an additional 1 percent sales tax to pay for roads.

South Beloit Mayor Tom Fitzgerald estimates that as much as 90 percent of the money raised from the new sales tax will come from four truck stops near Interstate 90 and a cannabis shop.

“We were looking for a fix that would affect our residents the least,” Fitzgerald said. “Most of the people out there are passing through because it’s off I-90.

“We didn’t want to raise our taxes – nobody wants to raise taxes.”

The sales tax is expected to raise $1 million and has a five-year sunset clause.

“Every dime of that 1 percent will go to our roads,” Fitzgerald said. The increase puts South Beloit’s sales tax at 8.75 percent, the same as in surrounding communities.

Freeport also recently raised its sales tax by a percentage point for roads. The measure was approved by the CIty Council on a 5-4 vote with Mayor Jodi Miller casting the deciding vote.

“When we presented the data – the facts – once people understood the why, there wasn’t really anyone who was opposing,” Miller said. “People were like ‘we get it; you have to do that.’

“When people are informed and can make their own decisions, then you have a win.”

Miller estimated that 30 percent to 40 percent of the estimated $3 million to $3.5 million the tax is expected to generate will come from out-of-towners. The tax also reduces the need to issue bonds to pay for road projects.

Freeport City Council will review the tax every two years during budget time. The money can only be spent on roads – it can’t be spent on anything else. It would take a three-quarters majority of the council to change where the money goes.

Rockford started the sales-tax for roads initiative in 2007 when voters approved the Rebuilding Rockford referendum. The tax has a 5-year sunset clause and voters have solidly supported it whenever it's been on the ballot.

Recently the Rockford Public Schools Board heard a presentation about a 1 percent facilities tax to help with building needs. The Winnebago County Mental Health Board was under criticism because of what were perceived to be high administrative fees and a hefty surplus. Rockford’s City Council briefly discussed creating a business district and levying a ¼ cent sales tax to pay for parking infrastructure.

What’s the tipping point? When do sales taxes deter economic activity? Those are good questions for the April 4 forum. Hope to see you there.

Wally Haas is executive director of Transform Rockford. His email address is whaas@transformrockford.org.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Your turn: Do sales taxes deliver the most bang for the buck?