When the General Assembly agreed to let counties increase the 0.2 percent tax on property sales -- a transfer tax -- by another 0.4 percent if local voters approved, those in the real estate and home-building industries reacted as if the Grim Reaper was a-knocking at the door.

A well-funded lobbying campaign against such an idea rolled on. And in Tuesday's elections, it flattened the transfer tax in those jurisdictions where it was on the ballot. Proceeds from the tax would have gone to help pay for the impact of growth on schools and other public services.

Voters in 16 counties -- perhaps also with an eye toward the ongoing national housing market slump -- pretty much made it unanimous, and the proposals went down to a resounding defeat. Wake County leaders don't appear likely to put the issue on the ballot next year, and no wonder. In nearby Chatham County Tuesday, the proposal lost by more than a 2 to 1 margin. In neighboring Johnston County, the margin was 85 percent against to 15 percent in favor.

It's true that the transfer tax isn't a perfect idea. Yes, it could affect people who have long held their homes as retirement equity (a 0.4 percent tax would mean about $800 on a $200,000 home). But the catastrophic forecast of some in the real estate industry that it would make homes less affordable is a bit much -- just as claims that impact fees on developers, perhaps adding $2,000 or $3,000 to new home prices, would have a similar result isn't the whole story. When one considers, for example, the huge sums some homeowners have made on long-held properties when they sell them, a transfer tax doesn't look like a deal-killer. And the fact is that with impact fees, a few thousand dollars, which might be passed on to buyers by developers, wouldn't make much difference in mortgage payments.

Nevertheless, the people have spoken. But regions with burgeoning growth, such as the Triangle, still have to come up with better long-term revenue solutions. Schools are growing. Police departments and human services agencies will still have more people to serve. That growth benefits everyone, particularly through higher property values, but also with improved quality of life factors such as more entertainment venues, more customers for existing businesses and the like. Not to mention the vigor that new residents from a multitude of places can bring to a community.

Counties such as Wake and cities such as Raleigh have to raise more money, period. Impact fees are one option, and should be raised, but even that won't pay for growth by itself. Property tax increases, ideally with more generous homestead exemptions for elderly people on fixed incomes, are simply inevitable.

Voting against potential funding sources, in other words, doesn't make the need go away. Growth wasn't on the ballot, because it is happening by acclamation. Yes, it can be managed better. Yes, it may slow a bit from time to time. But it's here.

Now local government leaders must face the music, and they'd best stand up right now to find sources of more money, and to make growth more orderly and cost-efficient. If they do not do that, this past election won't matter, anyway. Because the citizens will lose in a landslide.