The Triangle

OWASA, Durham, & Chatham County have agreed to jointly explore the possibility of installing a water intake on the west shore of Jordan Lake where OWASA owns property. Our local Orange County governments have some misgivings about the project and these were discussed at the Orange County Assembly of Governments meeting last night, which was also attended by Durham Mayor Bill Bell and Chatham County Commission Chair George Lucier. The following is a statement that I prepared for presentation at that meeting. (I actually ended up talking off the cuff to avoid repeating points that others had previously made.)

Take this with a big grain of salt, as the study comes from the right-wing John Locke foundation (who are constantly in the papers, in spite of the fact that they have shown that ideology trumps ethics in their "research").

According to the Locke Foundation, the per person tax burden in other towns amounted to:
[- $2,424 Holly Springs;]
- $2,198 in Morrisville;
- $2,055 in Chapel Hill;
- $1,991 in Durham;
- $1,976 in Cary;
- $1,945 in Hillsborough;
- $1,935 in Carrboro;
- $1,891 in Knightdale;
- $1,875 in Wake Forest;
- $1,866 in Fuquay-Varina;
- $1,816 in Raleigh

Leadership Triangle is currently accepting nominations for the 2007 Goodmon Awards recognizing individuals, organizations, partnerships and elected officials who exhibit outstanding regional leadership in action. The nominations process closes at 5P ET on 1 November, 2007. Applications are available online at www.leadershiptriangle.com or by calling Winkie La Force, executive director of Leadership Triangle, at 433-1577.

The awards will be presented at a gala on December 10, 2007, at American Tobacco Campus, Durham. Former winners from Orange County include County Commissioner Alice Gordon, Mebane resident Monica Doss of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, Chapel Hill fire chief Dan Jones, and Chapel Hill Town Council Member/Mayor Pro Tem Bill Strom.