Molly De Marco's blog

A committee to help pass the sales tax referendum has been created with representatives of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Carrboro Board of Alderspersons, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Board of Education, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, The Partnership for Children, the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce, the Orange County Schools Board of Education, the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtor, and Orange County Justice United. 

I am serving on the Campaign for Jobs and Schools committee as a representative from Orange County Justice United. Justice United discussed the referendum at one of it’s full meetings and voted to endorse it. We are supporting the sales tax because funds raised in this way will reduce the exorbitant sewer and water rates for our lower income neighbors in the north of the county and will also reduce the tax burden on county homeowners, while supporting our schools.

An anti-lingering ordinance was passed in 2007 in response to neighborhood complaints of loitering and disorderliness at the intersection of Davie and Jones Ferry Roads in Carrboro (the Town of Carrboro Ordinance 5-20 can be viewed here starting on page 8). This intersection (and the Pantry located there) is one of the most popular sites in our community for the gathering of day laborers to meet potential employers.

Local organizations have raised concerns over this ordinance unfairly targeting minority residents and not being constitutional. In fact, the North Carolina ACLU raised such issues when the ordinance was being drafted. Concerns were also voiced on Orange Politics both before and after the ordinance was put in place.