taxes
I have reviewed a lot of letters sent to the Chapel Hill Town Council about whether or not the Town should move forward on expansion of our Library. Letters fall on either side of the issue, but in letters against expansion, I see a theme. Writers often want it known that they are a fan of books, but they don't want to pay more taxes toward making more available to Library users.
At last night's Chapel Hill Town Council meeting a decision was put off regarding the Town Manager's recommendation to move forward and issue the voter-approved bond for the Library expansion. There were two major issues. First, the anticipated operating expenses for the expanded Library would result in a tax rate increase of $0.0113. This would add about $34 to the tax bill of a homeowner with an appraised house value of $300,000. Second, several Council members were concerned about moving forward until Orange County commits to a more equitable funding of the Library since 40% of the users and 40% of the circulation is by Orange County, non-CH residents.
Local governments need money. Meanwhile items are sold locally that are a burden on the public and cost citizens money. Likewise for bad practices. One solution to balance these things out is to tax the undesirable activities and products, both to discourage them and to provide funds to help offset their costs to the community.
Haven't seen much buzz on this topic, and don't know who's behind Orange County Voice, but there's a group in rural Orange passing out information that Orange county is considering what could be some pretty radical changes in the way trash is handled for non-incorporated residents. If this is true, rural residents really need to voice their opinions and concerns.
One of the recent threads raised the issue of the unsustainable increases in taxes that Chapel Hill citizens are faced with. I'd be interested in knowing what services/benefits citizens (this includes Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange County) would be willing do do without in order to minimize tax increases or to even decrease taxes. Would you be willing to have trash picked up every two weeks instead of weekly? Would you be willing to have recycling every other week as well? What about schools? Would you be willing to have larger class sizes and/or fewer teachers? How about fire/police protection? Would you be willing to have fewer police and fire persons or to have fewer stations and longer response times?
Anyone who watched the Chapel Hill budget process last year knows that the Town Manager and his staff worked hard to cut the budget to the bone, in many cases leaving staff positions unfilled to make the Council-requested percentage cuts. Although I don't believe public safety was jepoardized by these cuts it is hard (for me, at least) to see where any future cuts might come from.
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
