Last November’s race for Chapel Hill mayor revealed a growing concern from Chapel Hillians that the town is anti-business. Councilman Matt Czajkowski nearly beat well known liberal Mark Kleinschmidt with a pro-business, pro-change agenda. The vote was 49 to 46 percent. Councilman Czajkowski isn’t letting up. Now he’s pushing the mayor and council to think twice before they spend. That’s right — in liberal Chapel Hill, a council member is questioning spending. The issue is whether to borrow $16 million in bonds to expand a library. It would require a tax hike and the mayor wants to do it now instead of waiting to confirm a new budget in what is expected to be a tough year. That brings us to this great question from Czajkowski. Keep in mind, this is Chapel Hill (emphasis is mine):
That could add about $40 to the tax bill for a typical $300,000 home, but the council also has a tentative goal of zero tax increase this year, meaning other services might need to be cut.
“The question becomes, ‘What don’t you do if you’re going to do the library?’ ” Czajkowski asked. “I think it’s worth waiting two and a half months to know the answer to that.”
Thank you, councilman. It is refreshing to know that someone is thinking about the burden of paying for an expansion, as well as the difference between a “want” and a “need.”
