"...My business is going to slow down if something doesn't pick up quickly," he said.

But in the midst of the ongoing economic slowdown and increasing gas prices, citizens in Nash County are being asked the same question as their neighbors in Wilson -- are you willing to support a 0.25 cent sales tax bump to help provide more funding for the county?

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to decide this question.

In March, Nash County Commissioners voted unanimously to put the sales tax referendum on the May ballot. Commissioners have committed to spending 80 percent of the funds raised by the tax increase on public school or community college projects and the other 20 percent on public safety and community facilities projects.

The sales tax increase wouldn't affect food, medicine, home and automobile purchases, and, if approved, it is expected to generate about $2.8 million a year for the county.

The new tax money will go to help service the debt for a $100 million, five-year capital improvement plan. Commissioner Robbie Davis said the county intends to borrow $92 million in three separate bond issues over the next five years for a number of projects, and the sales tax will help support the debt service for these bonds. The county will pay the remaining $8 million.

Specifically, commissioners have said they would like to use the money to pay for a new classroom building for Nash Community College, a new high school and a new elementary school.

"Our growth is essentially between Rocky Mount and Nashville," he said.

Strickland also said the school district plans on tearing down and replacing one of the main buildings at Middlesex Elementary.

"We have about 10 mobile units out there so it will help with relieving some of the overcrowding," he said. In addition, he said it will provide updated classroom and office space.

They have also identified the need for more space for traffic in front of Coopers Elementary School and are considering widening traffic lanes in front of the school.

While there aren't any current specific needs at Southern Nash Middle School in Spring Hope or Southern Nash High School in Bailey, Strickland said that if they identify any, they will try to work those into the budget.

Dale Bachmann, who lives in Middlesex, said he definitely sees a need for the tax, especially when it comes to Middlesex Elementary.

"The elementary school over here, they have no spare room whatsoever," he said. "We have got so many modular classrooms over here, we are running out of land. Just this winter, they added another Pre-K mobile unit because of the new students that are coming into the area."

Bachmann said he likes the tax because a larger percentage of it is going to schools. He is president of the PTO at Middlesex Elementary and is writing on behalf of the organization, asking people to vote for the tax.

"They have made education their priority, which is the way it should be," he said. "If they keep on this avenue of dedicating money to education the way they have in this quarter cent, I think you will see substantial growth in Nash County."

But the fact that commissioners are committing a large portion of the sales tax money to education, makes Temple wonder where funds from the North Carolina Education Lottery are going.

"Where is that money that was going to be such a boost for education?" he asked.

This commitment that commissioners have made that a large percentage of the money from the sales tax will go to education is something that Reid Parrott, chair of the Building for Education Committee, said he is proud of.

Parrott said Nash Community College is in need of the money.

"With the growth they are anticipating, and the growth they have experienced, they badly need a classroom building. They need space to put those students in chairs."

The Building for Education Committee is an independent group devoted entirely to promoting the sales tax. In March, the group held a series of meetings around Nash County to educate people about the tax.

Unlike Wilson County, where signs have gone up opposing the sales tax hike, there hasn't been a lot of opposition to the tax in the form of signs or organized groups.

"I haven't seen any signs up against it," said Johnny Barnes. Barnes farms in Nash, Wilson and Edgecombe counties.

Education is just part of where the extra money generated from the sales tax will go.

County Manager Robert Murphy said the county plans on replacing the Nash County Sheriff's office because it is currently housed in an old jail, adding courtroom space and expanding parking at the Nash County courthouse, expanding parking around the Claude Mayo Jr. Administration Building and putting more parking in downtown Nashville.

In addition, he said they want to put a permanent EMS station at Nash Health Care Systems and make improvements to the animal shelter and senior center in Nashville. He said they hope to put a new senior center in the southwestern part of the county.

Murphy said the southwestern part of the county, which includes Bailey, Middlesex and Spring Hope, is in need of the center because of the growing population in that area.

Parrott said he sees the tax as reasonable because the money has been pledged to construction projects.

"What I like to stress is, we are talking about capital construction, not programs," he said. "..None of this is going into programs, it is going into tangible projects."

Davis said that is why he is behind the tax.

"The board has committed 100 percent to capital improvements," he said. "That is the main reason I am behind it."

Nash County Commissioner Billy Morgan said he is for the tax as long as the money goes where commissioners pledged it to go. He said it is a fair tax because everyone gets taxed the same.

But Morgan said he thought it was poor timing for the referendum because of the economy.

"Everything is draining them to death already," he said. "...If the economy had been good, and people weren't so strapped, it would be different."

Temple said it seems like commissioners could pull money from somewhere for the projects they plan on pursuing. "It seems like there are enough different places where they can pull money from," he said.

Murphy said cutting from the budget isn't an option for the commissioners.

"Our revenues have been growing at a very modest rate over the last several years," he said. "Our obligations have increased exponentially. We have been cutting our budgets to the bare bones over the last several years."

hilary@wilsontimes.com | 265-7868

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Wayne County on the Sales Tax Increase:

WAYNE COUNTY will also hold a referendum Tuesday to decide whether to raise its sales tax.

If the 0.25 cent sales tax increase does pass, it will generate about $2.4 million annually for Wayne County.

Wayne County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Jan. 15 to hold the referendum.

According to Wayne County's Web site, the county has many capital needs that the increased sales tax could be used for, including an emergency radio communication system, schools, public library, health department and services for the aging center.

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Where the Money Goes:

NASH COUNTY commissioners say they will divide the 0.25 cent sales tax increase that voters will decided on Tuesday in the following ways:

* 80% to fund projects for the Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools and Nash Community College

* 10% to fund projects for the Sheriff's Office and Emergency Services

* 10% to help pay for other community facilities such as a new senior center and animal shelter