In case you missed this news nugget from the weekend News & Observer, it’s worth repeating:

During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Pro-Tem James West gave
a lengthy and impassioned spiel about why he was voting against a plan
to require Raleigh rental property owners to pay an annual fee to the
city. Among his stated reasons was his belief that Raleigh has become a
city that tangles its residents in a rat’s nest of rules, regulations
and fees.
(emphasis added). This, West explained, eventually would come back to bite the
City Council.

“I’m of the opinion that power we abuse is power that we will eventually lose,” West warned.

Michael Sanera made a similar argument when the Raleigh council launched its ill-fated attack on garbage disposals.