Making the most of a tax surplus

What could the people of Sussex County do if they unexpectedly received more than $1 million?

For Sussex County Council, the answer is nothing. Just give it back.

In a sudden and unexpected vote, council voted 3-2 to give back most of a recent $1 million-plus windfall, returning it to the taxpayers, who stand to get $8 to $10 each, or perhaps much less.

The impulse to give surplus money back to property owners is a healthy one; most people would agree that when the county collects more money than it needs, it should consider returning the funds to the people who paid them.

In this case, council did very little considering at all. It voted to give the money back on the very same day the surplus was announced.

What is the rush? Neither the amount of the surplus nor the amount that will be returned to taxpayers has yet been established. A more reasonable approach would have been to announce the windfall and then wait at least a week to gather information and consider the money’s best use.

In this case, county officials realized there is a surplus just days after Allen Family Foods declared bankruptcy, leaving thousands of Allen employees and growers possibly out of work, scrambling to land new jobs as Allen’s assets are sold off.

More than 1,000 people are already on the waiting list for the county’s housing rehabilitation program, waiting for loans to assist them in repairing and weatherizing their homes.

These are tough times for many Sussex County residents.

Returned to taxpayers, the $1 million windfall might quickly make its way into the economy, but the benefits will be so spread out they will go largely unnoticed. That same $1 million spent putting people to work, for example, or improving housing would likely have a greater economic return.

County officials should pledge that the next time they have $1 million to spare, they will place the matter on the agenda and take at least a week to reflect on how to use it.