Carrboro board votes 6-1 to support land transfer tax

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 6-1 Tuesday night to pass a resolution supporting a land transfer tax in Orange County, which commissioners have promised will shore up funding for schools and parks.

If approved by the voters May 6, the tax could generate $3.5 million in the next fiscal year, the county's staff has said.

Mayor Mark Chilton, a real estate broker, has been vocal in his support of the tax.

Former Alderwoman Diana McDuffee spoke at the meeting Tuesday on behalf of the newly formed nonprofit group Orange Citizens for Schools and Parks.

She said there are two ways to raise more money to fund the schools and parks: increased property taxes or a land transfer tax.

"The schools are going to be built either way," McDuffee said, adding that she thinks this is the more progressive way of funding them.

Alderwoman Jacquie Gist cast the dissenting vote, saying she would rather increase property taxes.

"Right now the real estate market is depressed," she said. "If the community wants more parks and schools, then the community needs to share that burden, not a small group of people."