And off the cliff we go.
With the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education voting 7-2 last night for a $620 million bond package, the concept of fiscal restraint has been tossed aside. Everything is now riding on Superintendent Peter Gorman’s skills as a salesman.
First stop, the county commission. Technically, commission chairwoman Jennifer Roberts has the votes to rubber-stamp CMS’ budget-busting request. But deep down she has to know that the request is excessive and does not represent actual careful planning of capital projects. Think more of a kitchen sink approach.
Dare Roberts go back and ask CMS to try again? I doubt it, but Roberts should at least get a clear picture from County Manager Harry Jones on what such a number does for the county debt load moving forward — not to mention spur some honest talk about a county property tax increase.
Update: Should we get ready for a Friends of Mecklenburg County? Given that CMS and the Powers That Be seem to be reading straight from the Wake County playbook, the next move would be the formation of pro-bond group modeled on the Friends of Wake County. There are already indications that things are moving in that direction.
If so, expect a splashy Web site and big name co-chairs of the group.
