"One is on the tax side: The state really controls what local governments can tax and also the rates, except for one tax, the property tax rate," explains Dr. Walden, a professor of agricultural and resource economics. "So, for example, if a county wanted to raise the sales tax rate, they can’t do that. They have to go to the General Assembly and get permission.

"So many local governments want the state to give them options that they can choose -- give them a menu of taxes that they can choose from: sales, income, tax, gas, fees, et cetera. -- so counties don’t have to run off to the General Assembly every time they feel like they need to change their tax structure," he says.

"So that’s one issue, whether we go down that road. Another issue is what should the state do –- what functions should the state do and pay for; what functions in our state should locals do and pay for," Walden adds. "And this has really come to a fore with two issues: school construction (many at the local level say the state should actually help more with local school construction) and Medicaid (... we are the only state where the locals kick in some money).

"So these are the two big issues that this tax commission will be looking at," Walden concludes.