Locke Foundation: Charlotte taxes highest

Ryan,
Thanks for bringing attention to our By the Numbers report. It's one way we try to bring transparency to city and county governments. I just want to highlight some additional analysis we have done on the data in the report as it relates to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

1. Charlotte has higher taxes by dollar amount, but it also has high incomes and high property values. As a percent of income, Mecklenburg's combined tax burden is lower than Durham's and New Hanover's among urban counties.

2. Per capita revenue for Charlotte grew slower than any of the other six municipalities with high tax burdens and population greater than 25,000.

3. Of the counties that are home to these municipalities, Mecklenburg's share of tax and fee revenue grew faster than all others but Durham.

4. Unlike the state government, Charlotte’s operating and total spending was no faster than inflation and population growth between FY’96 and FY’07.

I hope this provide some context.

It seems that Beverly wants it both ways about the Mayor in Charlotte. She on the one hand says that it is just a ceremonial position with no power, while on the other hand, he is to blame for the high taxes & crime rate. You can't have it both ways, particularly since the democrats have pretty much controlled the city council since he has been Mayor. That led him to vetoing one budget proposed by the democrats that wanted higher property taxes (unfortunately that meant also not adding as many patrolmen). God forbid what the taxes would be in Charlotte if the democrats had carte blanche and there was not a Republican Mayor. And don't forget that Charlotte has to buy its own crime lab and spend $2 million to pay for prosecutors that the State should be providing.

My hunch is that the Mayor is pleased that he has controlled property taxes over his time in office. Can Beverly say the same thing about the $6 billion in new taxes for the state as well as runaway and wasteful expenditures?

If Negative Bev and her union buddies think the Mayor is responsible for the county tax rate, then she hasn't learned much in her 20+ years fighting for the status quo.

i wonder if oiur gop nominee will feature that fact in his campaign advertiements.