Last week we told you about JLF”s work in Charlotte to help focus
public debate on a proposed tax increase, which ultimately failed when
the Charlotte City Council passed a no-tax-increase budget. John Hood,
Jeff A. Taylor and Chad Adams were part of JLF’s effort, and The Charlotte World
published Hood’s piece about the Charlotte scenario. Now comes word
that Gaston County Commissioners have voted to reject an increase in
the county’s property tax rate as part of a $202 million budget adopted
for fiscal year 2005-06. In January, Don Carrington, Joe Coletti and Adams met with the board at its retreat. The team
provided Gaston officials with information on the dangers of incentives, the
opportunity presented by performance management, and the
need to scrutinize large buckets of money rather than spending time assessing minor expenses. To that end, Coletti provided
an overview of the budget’s major expenses. Adams was invited back in
May to provide additional information and recommendations. This week,
the Times-News of Hendersonville interviewed Adams about that area’s
taxes. The story should run this weekend.