For those who enjoy viewing this blog, it’s important to note that some of the more exciting truths is that we often disagree within the halls of the Foundation.
In this instance, I must take exception to Sanera’s post below where he laments a proposed “impact fee” which is what is really being proposed in Wake and makes the case that it is an example of why city/county mergers are bad government.
The truth here is that a bad idea is a bad idea. Cary didn’t need to merge with Raleigh to impose moratoriums on housing a few years ago. Chatham didn’t have to merge with Pittsboro to impose a ridiculous $2900/home impact fee to cover school construction.
Merging can make sense in some communities. In mine, for instance, we merged the city and county planning departments, we also merged the water system, and we moved environmental health into the same building where permits are obtained. All of this resulted in lower costs to the citizens and a less cumbersome system that required citizens to drive to multiple buildings to obtain permits. On the water front, having one system should bring maintenance costs and therefore, bills down.
Merging services isn’t always the answer, but it should be on the table at times. The example cited by Sanera is a bad idea, plain and simple.
