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A healthy local economy relies on healthy local government, and a healthy regional economy relies on a healthy economy in its regional center of commerce. We have that right now in Asheville, Buncombe County and the Western North Carolina region, but it is all being put at risk due to pending legislation in Raleigh.

The state Senate’s proposed budget calls for a shift in the method of distribution of locally generated sales tax dollars. It would move the state away from the current system which has local government retaining most of the locally-generated sales tax to a system of redistribution based on relative population of counties across the state with little regard to where the revenues are generated. Such a move would be a devastating change for urban counties and those with tourism economies like Buncombe’s. In effect, we’d become an exporter of the tax revenues that we have worked hard to build.

The argument in favor of this change is that redistribution of our sales tax dollars to economically weaker, more rural counties would help them build infrastructure, improve schools and attract new businesses. The argument continues that those rural counties lose when their residents travel to counties like Buncombe to work, shop, dine and use services, and that those rural counties should be able to retain some of the dollars they spend elsewhere.

That argument ignores how a regional economy functions. About 40 percent of the people that work every day in Buncombe County do not live in Buncombe County; they travel in from nearby counties. Those non-resident workers rely on local governments in Buncombe to maintain the infrastructure and services necessary to support their jobs, and indeed, the entire regional economy. It is costly to provide infrastructure and services, and paying for it now comes nearly entirely from locally-generated property taxes and sales taxes. In effect, those using and relying on the infrastructure and services now help pay for them. The Senate’s plan would unfairly increase the burden on Buncombe residents, and that is bad for Buncombe’s economy. And what is bad for Buncombe’s economy is bad for the entire western region’s economy because a great region relies on a strong economic hub.

The local government units in Buncombe County — our municipalities, our fire districts, our school districts, and the county government itself — provide critical infrastructure like connecting roadways, a great airport, emergency response and public safety systems, regional hospitals and health care centers, parking and transit systems, and the list goes on, all adding up to a safe and welcoming environment for workers and customers, both local and visiting. But when tax leakage compromises our ability to provide a high level of service, the impact is also felt in rural counties that rely on Asheville and Buncombe as a center of jobs, services and commerce.

Under the Senate’s latest plan, the loss to Buncombe County and its six municipalities in FY 2016-17 would be nearly $7 million. It would be impossible to strip resources like that away from local government without a serious negative impact that our economy would feel.

Gov. Pat McCrory, who has said he will veto this bill, has said the proposed sales tax distribution would have negative impacts on tourism-reliant counties. McCrory has also highlighted the lingering negative effects of similarly harmful legislation last year that eliminated business privilege license taxes for local governments. We agree with Gov. McCrory that local governments need broadly-generated resources to support a strong state-level economy.

The legislature continues to chip away at cities and local governments both in terms of regulatory authority and in revenue options. Cities and counties must have the revenue needed to provide the level of services and quality of life their residents and visitors deserve. Currently, the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all the neighboring counties, enjoys a 4.7 percent unemployment rate, the lowest in the state. We have worked hard together to achieve our strong economy, but the strength of that economy is tenuous. To remain strong, local governments need reliable streams of revenue. If the Senate proposal succeeds, the revenue stream would shift from the sales tax to increased property taxes. That is not only ineffective tax reform, it’s regressive and inequitable. Simply put, we oppose this sales tax distribution. The loss of a significant portion of local sales tax revenue would present challenges operationally for public safety, service delivery and the maintenance of the infrastructure in Buncombe County. Please communicate your opposition to this harmful legislation.

Esther Manheimer is the mayor of Asheville.