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The Orange County Board of Commissioners will place a 1/4 cent sales tax on the ballot this November. Revenues generated from the tax, which is expected to raise $2.3M annually, will be allocated for economic development (42.5%), repairing older school buildings (42.5%), public safety (15%). The tax will not be applied to food or pharmaceuticals.
Of the $977,500 expected to be raised for economic development, the county manager has proposed that 30% ($293,500) go to building infrastructure within the economic development zones and 15% ($146,625) go to a small business loan fund such as the one Carrboro initiated many years ago. I haven't seen anything designating the use for the remaining $439,875 (55%) other than a report in the CH Herald about the need to offer incentives.
When we go to polls in November, we will not be voting just for the new sales tax, but also for this allocation plan. Can you support it? Does this plan signal a new day to you?
Questions that I'm interested in having discussed are is 30% enough to build the needed infrastructure in less than 10 years? How should the other 55% be spent (I am totally opposed to incentives)?
Given that development plans have slowed, one of the more immediate remaining questions about Carolina North is how people will get there. The Town of Chapel Hill has been studying the issue of how to best move pedestrians and bicycles, especially. They held several public meetings, and this week they released a recommendation. I'm very happy to see the town staff favored Route A, which uses Cameron Avenue, the Libba Cotton bike path, and the right of way around the rail line as it goes north from Carrboro to the Horace Williams tract. (See map below.)
I was push-polled by Edge polling on behalf of the Lawson campaign or some other Republican PAC this evening. The questions were reasonably straightforward for the first 5-7 minutes, then got more paranoid about illegal immigration and whether or not the country had abandoned the Constitution. It closed with something like, "David Price, a college professor and your current representative, is an 11-term incumbent who supports Barack Obama's takeover and bailouts for companies that are too big to fail, and votes with Nancy Pelosi more than any other member of Congress. If this makes you more likely to vote for him, press 1. If it makes you less likely, press 2."
Final question, same button choices:
"BJ Lawson is a father, a medical doctor, and a successful small businessman who is reported to have strong grassroots support who will lower taxes and restore the Constitution blah blah blah..."
The most interesting question was about whether or not I supported Federal regulations that may add burdens to local and small farmers who sell at Farmer's Markets. Perhaps Lawson is trying this out as a wedge issue against Price?
In case you haven't noticed, I am on vacation and not able to visit the site regularly. I've been out since Monday, and I'll return about a week from today. Until then do not expect blog entries to get promoted to the front page or anonymous comments to get approved (although I'll drop in and check up IF I can).
Happy summer to you!
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