I am a volunteer and the spokesman for Orange County FreedomWorks. I was contacted by a citizen concerned about inaccuracies on this site about Tax Revolt and FreedomWorks. I thought it might be a good idea to attempt to correct some of the inaccuracies by providing information.
FreedomWorks is a national, state, and local organization made up of grassroots activists. FreedomWorks is a non-partisan organization with members from all political parties. Unlike what was said in a recent Carrboro newspaper editorial, FreedomWorks is not “a GOP effort to recruit new members to the party”. North Carolina has the largest and most active state chapter with more than 32,000 members across the state. Along with tax and budget issues, North Carolina FreedomWorks members are extremely engaged in private property rights issues. Our members are working against forced annexation and the use of eminent domain. An example of one of our NC FW issues: NC FW opposed the United State’s Navy’s plan to build an OLF (Outlying Landing Field) at Site C in Washington and Beaufort counties.
Orange County has an active FreedomWorks chapter.
Orange County FreedomWorks began as Orange County CSE (Citizens For A Sound Economy). After the merger of CSE and Empower America, the new group chose the name FreedomWorks so Orange County CSE became Orange County FreedomWorks. Over the years, OC FW has been very active. A few of our projects: Opposed System-Wide School Merger, Supported District Representation for the Orange County BoCC, Opposed the Land Transfer Tax. Several years ago, OC FW was awarded a FW Most Active Chapter Award.
For all of our projects, including Orange Tax Revolt, funding comes from here in Orange County. Money is donated here to be used on the specific project then spent on that project. We have never used funding from outside Orange County for OC FW projects.
How did OC FW become involved in this project? Members of OC FW began receiving calls asking us to help organize a group and movement of citizens concerned about their recent revaluations and the upcoming setting of a new tax rate. A few OC FW members met with those citizens who had contacted us to ask for our help. At an organizational small group meeting including a couple OC FW members and several OC citizens, OC Tax Revolt was formed.
It concerns me deeply that there are those who continue to claim that OC Tax Revolt is about an “outside national group using local folk to forward their agenda”. This is entirely a citizen led venture. FreedomWorks members working on OC Tax Revolt live here in Orange County. FreedomWorks is not “using” Tax Revolt to discuss any of our other issues. Contact information is being gathered – but only so that Tax Revolt can stay in contact with interested citizens.
Issues:
Comments
Dupes
I never have gotten a sense that Freedom Works has greatly influenced this issue. I think most people are truly concerned with there tax bills and see the issue as truly local. After all the hundreds of people showing up to show concerns about there valuation and the new tax rate the commissioners pretty much ignored all of it and accepted this questionable valuation and also redefined revenue neutrality so they could raise taxes. The real estate revenue neutrality rate is .818 they redefined revenue neutrality to justify an .86 rate pretty much assuring everyone get a pretty hefty tax increase (pretty devious and sneaky). I'd suggest everyone look at their tax bills and see what it will look like in another 4 years if this growth continues. Can anyone say New Jersey. The county has pretty much gentrified the Northside of Chapel Hill now they are working on the whole county.Thx
Northside?
Do you really think the County is responsible for the gentrification of Northside? Bear in mind that the county's contribution to the property tax rate in Chapel Hill is only slightly more than 50%. On a $200,000 house (that's about the average valuation on the street I used to live on in the heart of the neighborhood), the county would charge $1,720 a year under their new tax rate. That's about the average cost per month for most of the houses on that street that were for rent. If you want to blame someone for the rapidly increasing cost of living in Northside, blame the slumlords who buy up properties and charge exorbitant rates to student renters while providing a minimal (and often negligent) amount of upkeep, or blame the university for providing an inadequate supply of reasonable student housing. But don't blame the county. It just doesn't stand up to a reality test.
Blame UNC?
Jason--University housing has to pay for itself. It also has to meet stricter construction standards than commercial property so it costs more to build (and maintain). Then take a look at occupancy rates, even when costs are comparable to the local community. Students like living off campus. You can blame UNC for a lot of things but they have nothing to do with the gentrification of Northside. Northside's gentrification is the result of local land use policy. As a community, we chose to concentrate growth inside the urban boundary. Policies can have unintended consequences.
Greenbridge, Rural Buffer, UNC, Northside & Dorms
"As a community, we chose to concentrate growth inside the urban boundary. Policies can have unintended consequences."The Urban Services Boundary undoubtedly played a role in creating Greenbridge, if that is your point. But I don't think Greenbridge is really what Jason is talking about. The Northside neighborhood is far more greatly affected by the student rental market - a reality driven by the combination of many market forces and the proximity of UNC. But, be clear: Greenbridge is not student rental property. "You can blame UNC for a lot of things but they have nothing to do with the gentrification of Northside."First, Jason didn't say that he blames UNC. Second, UNC has "nothing to do with the gentrification of Northside?" Don't be ridiculous. The gentrification of Northside (and Westwood and every other neighborhood accessible to campus) is clearly caused by the University at some level. Personally, I don't blame UNC (although UNC is the ultimate cause of almost all things that happen in Chapel Hill and Carrboro in that the towns would not have been created without UNC). "Then take a look at occupancy rates, even when costs are comparable to the local community. Students like living off campus." The canard that students don't want to live on campus is a bit of a cop out. What you mean is: Many students don't want to live in the kind of housing that UNC has created in the past. And who could blame them? I don't want to live in a dormitory either (anymore).UNC-Greensboro built a student apartment complex, which seemed to be very popular when last I saw it (15 years ago admittedly) and I would guess that other universities have probably done some other creative things with student housing. That said, obviously, there will always be some students who do not want to live in University housing. And that is okay.
Speculation
"Second, UNC has "nothing to do with the gentrification of Northside?"
Don't be ridiculous. The gentrification of Northside (and Westwood and
every other neighborhood accessible to campus) is clearly caused by the
University at some level."It's so much more complicated than you are making it sound. Students live in Northside, Pine Knolls, and the other previously historically black neighborhoods because that's where affordable housing exists close to campus. Why were those homes available for purchase by speculators? In large part because there are no jobs in this community outside of the University. It's the speculation that caused gentrification; the students provided a market for the speculators. So by my thinking, the land use policies of the town are more responsible than the university/students.
The significance of the role
The significance of the role of local planning in all this is debatable, but it would be a mistake to think that UNC has nothing to do with it. In any case, I agree with your larger point: No one has really shown us that UNC ought to somehow be blamed for the situation. That is, there's a big gap between being a cause of something and that thing being your fault.
Northside
The DTH had a really great article on the Northside 4/8/2009. It had some really interesting statistics. In past decade Northisde went from 75% homeownership to 75% student rental in a decade. These houses would be great start up houses with sustainablilty qualities (living in town) for first time buyers or children of senior homeowners inheriting those properties but since the University can't house all of its students there is a demand for rentals near campus, so investors scarf them up and rent them to students (at 450-600 per room). The article cited property taxes as one of the major reasons for the turnover. One lady was payin 3000-4000 for her taxes. Wait till she gets her new bill with the new valuation and the .86 rate + her city taxes. With the resale of these properties it drives the property valuation up for the existing homeowners in those neighborhoods many on fixed income to the point that they are driven out because they can't affford the rise in property tax compared to their income level. Of course they get the double wammy of city and county taxes rising with those valuations. If that is not gentrification I don't know what is. This is exactly what is happening out in the county. Many fixed income property owners are beginning to realize their is a chance they too will be priced out of their homes because of these ridiculous valuations and the increases associated with the tax rates. Even middle class owners that have worked all their lives to own their houses and paid their bills religously. That is why we have seen 100's of county residents showing their concerns about the recent valuations and tax rate assignment at various county meetings.Thx
Thanks for reading. You can
Thanks for reading.You can read the article here:http://www.dailytarheel.com/news/city/students-push-out-owners-1.1650130(It's since been pointed out to me that my use of the term Realtor was careless, and that should be fixed soon.)This was part of a series of ours on the housing situation in Chapel Hill and the county. Of particular interest to this thread is Evan's article, the first in the series, which looked at the movement of University empoyees to other towns. Make sure to check out the graphic, which shows the increase by town over the last years. http://www.dailytarheel.com/news/city/in-chapel-hill-pricey-homes-push-o...Best,Max
"A" cause verus "THE" cause
I don't think anyone here would deny that increased property taxes contribute towards unintended consequences, and likewise, I don't think most people are happy with rapid shift in ownership from the working class to rentals. But to state that "the county has pretty much gentrified Northside" is to ignore the pressures of development and the real estate market which undoubtedly have a much larger influence on affordability in this neighborhood than the county tax rate. That's like blaming the high cost of a diamond ring on the sale tax portion of its price. Desireable things aren't expensive because they're taxed, they're expensive because they're desireable; there's a limited supply and high demand! I suppose you could blame local government for using our tax revenues to create such a high standard of living that the desireability of the area forces high real estate values, but it seems a bit circuitous to me.
redefining neutrality
Last reval did the county LOWER the revenue neutral base rate to raise the same amount of money when sales tax receipts were going UP? I understand from upthread that the county has redefined the base rate to raise the same total amount of money from all sources since sales taxes are DOWN. Do I understand correctly that they are lumping ALL revenues in together to get the rate, not JUST property tax revenues? I'm trying to get this straight.
I love digby.
The Tea Bag Lobby She ends with: "If any members of the press are reading this, I hope they can see that this is the story..."
Krugman and FreedomWorks AstroTurf
Noted in Sunday's NYTimes: Paul Krugman also takes note of conservatives' national role in generating supposedly local outrage: These "tea-parties" - which are "antitaxation demonstrations that are supposed to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution . . . don’t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They’re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires."http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/opinion/13krugman.html?th&emc=th In OC, concern about the validity of property assessments - a real issue - has been extruded into 'AstroTurf' by diverting focus and demanding outrage at all aspects of local taxation and spending --unquestionably with an eye to the fall elections.
"grasstops"
digby, again. (following up on Krugman's NYT article.) "Now, none of this means that the people who show up at the rallies don't actually believe in what they're rallying for. It's primarily a team sport for them, and this is the conservative team's play. But most of them probably don't realize (and wouldn't believe if you told them) that they are rallying on behalf of a major media conglomerate and other vastly wealthy interests to support rich people and corporations at the expense of people like themselves. Of course, that is the organizing principle of the Republican Party in general, but it is spectacularly arrogant at a time like this.If the press were to do its job, it would inform the public of this instead of regurgitating professional beltway press releases and pretending that these tea bagger parties are even coherent much less representing a legitimate grassroots anti-tax movement."
FreedomWorks and Insurance
This 2006 Washington Post article about FreedomWorks aka Citizens for a Sound Economy is interesting.
With Insurance Policy Comes Membership
Unbeknown to Some, Those Signing Up With Firm Are Joining Conservative Group
Roy,
do you condone the tactics described in this memo by another FreedomWorks volunteer? http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/08/memo-details-co-ordin... Is this what we can look forward to seeing in future OC forums?
If the FreedomWorks people don't actively oppose
the gargantuan expenditure of military money that enriches so many corporations at the expense of citizens, then they are dumb as a post or working us like hustlers.
Do you know what those
Do you know what those tactics remind me of? The people that protested Tancredo at UNC last spring. As I said here then, such things are awful and shouldn't be tolerated, although unfortunately there wasn't all that much consternation over the Tancredo protest. The issue of letting people speak rather than shouting them down is much more important than immigrant issues or health care issues or other things. It is fundamental. That guide to how to disrupt public meetings and the subsequent video that I saw of it in action just tells me that shameful intolerance spans all manner of people, from GOP lobbying groups and rural conservatives to self-styled activists in Chapel Hill and Carrboro and Morehead Scholars at UNC. But then again, life experience had told already that that kind of behavior can come from anyone.
Removed, my apologies
Removed after edits.
Reality Check
A starting teacher in NC makes less than $30 K a year, even in Chapel Hill. There you have it. Back in the 1950's, North Carolina was 48th (2 from the bottom) in per capita expenditures on public education. Lot's of people educated (or not educated) back then are running things now. It's come up some since then, but it still is not up where it should be. Some of the problem is inherent in how we evolved. We pay for good fire departments everywhere because we know it is important to quickly stop a fire. Problems caused by less than excellent education for all take years to develop and are not in your face like a fire. By recognizing this evolutionary quandry, we can hope to overcome it.
I just opened the mailbox
I just opened the mailbox and my tax bill has arrived. 2009 bill (combined CH, OC, and CHCCS) is 2.4% more than 2008. Certainly not neutral to me, but not as high as it has been in the past either (last year was 7.7% increase).
Ours
is 4.71% higher. Of course that has little to do with the meaning of "revenue neutral!"
very efficient with the billing
My new tax bill went up 5.6% ... just about what you'd expect when Democrats tell you "your taxes aren't going up" ... and the bill came right on time. Quite efficient.I wish I could get County services to be as efficient as their billing is. For example, I'd like to get the Sheriff's deputies to come when I call them instead of phoning me back and telling me they aren't interested in enforcing County statutes.Oh, and I wish ... OH, how I wish! ... that sometime, somewhere, SOME form of goverment - local, State or Federal - would stop trying so hard to reinforce the poor image I have of them.
Taxes in Pittsboro
My tax bill went down 20% which was already 40% less than I paid in Carrboro 2 years ago before this last reassement. The tax assesment on my old house went up 35%. But I never checked what that meant in real dollars. Am I gloating... maybe. But there has to be an upside for being 14 miles south of heaven.
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