WENDELL — Rep. Darren Jackson discussed issues with a hometown audience Tuesday as part of his plan to hold public meetings in each of the five areas he represents in his district.

“Let me hear your opinion and I’ll let you know what’s going on in Raleigh” he said at the start of the two-hour exchange at Wendell Town Hall.

Jackson represents the towns of Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon, Garner and parts of Raleigh. He plans regular meeting rotations in the towns.

Jackson addressed the state’s $2.7 billion budget deficit and said he would have rather seen a 2-percent tax increase on incomes above $200,000 in the proposal.

He called sales tax increases regressive, saying they inordinately hurt those at the bottom of the income scale.

Dean Molman, of Knightdale, said a sales tax increase spreads the tax burden equally.

“People who can afford more should pay a little more,” said Jackson. “I think that’s fair. I do.”

Budget negotiations between the house and senate have been strained as the session has continued. Gov. Bev Perdue rejected the latest plan that would put a two-year surcharge on all taxpayers and increases on sales and beer and wine taxes.

Jackson noted he is not collecting his $104 day salary as a legislator in a lengthy session.

He said the last plan would have meant $29.10 a year more for households with less than $10,000; $40.30, for households from $10,000 to $30,000, $66.70 for $30,000 to $60,000, $111.50 for $60,000 to  $100,000, $201.50 for household incomes of $100,000 to $200,000.

He heard from more constituents on how they feel about the budget.

Carol Hinnant, a Wendell town commissioner, said education cuts should come from the top instead of the classroom. She also said medical health insurance co-pays and deductibles were too high under the new plan approved by the legislature.

Jackson said he voted against the medical insurance plan.

He said the budget proposal nixed by the governor included an increase in class size in grades four to 12, the elimination of teacher assistants in grade three, a reduction in central office administration salaries and benefits and a savings by adjusting the schedule for school bus financing from three to four years.

The proposal also would have cut one of the funds for a program to boost low-performing students on state tests, reduce allotments for text books and transportation, eliminated $12 million in literacy coaches and $5 million from the four-year-old pre-K program More at Four.

Wendell insurance agent Sherry Hedrick asked Jackson to explain shared risk — the proposal that spreads insurance costs by homeowners statewide in the case of a major storm at the coast.

Jackson said he supported a temporary 10 percent increase on homeowner premiums that would be levied in the event of a major storm. Under the legislation, this would apply to cover major coastal storms that exceed damage of over $1 billion. He said in the event of a “once-in-a-lifetime” storm that affects the coast from Virginia to South Carolina could result in $70 billion in damages. Jackson said the legislation was needed to keep insurance companies from leaving the state like Farmers Homeowners Insurance did.

Rita Rakestraw, a District One candidate for the Wake County school board, asked where Jackson stood on the Racial Justice Act, passed last week by the legislature.

Jackson said he supported it. He said the law will allow people who believe they were sentenced to death because of their race to appeal to a judge for a life sentence.

He said statistical evidence shows that blacks are more likely to be sentenced to death for a capital offense.

Yolanda Dickerson, who works as a volunteer for the American Heart Association, appealed to Jackson not to make an exception to the smoking ban for Hookah Bars. Hookah Bars feature smoking flavored tobacco with a water pipe.

Dickerson said with the method, smokers get a high concentration of tobacco over a long period of time.

Jackson also said he supported legislation requiring drivers who get a motorcycle endorsement to take a safety class. Mike Hodges, of Wendell, said his club had initiated classes and that he gets a refresher course every two years, but that he did not think it ought to be mandatory.