Yes, there is one billion dollars — with a B — in approved Mecklenburg County debt sitting around unused. The county cannot afford to issue the debt given the revenue squeeze. Which, incidentally, explains why the George Dunlaps of the world want to add a quarter-cent to the county sales tax rate. But we digress.
The fact of the matter is the 2012 budget year is not going to throw off any more revenue for debt service. The property tax reval remains a huge unknown with the commission totally unwilling to address this matter. Instead we got hand-wringing and more can-kicking.
The simple fact is that county government must slim down still more. Both in operations and in terms of debt. There is no magic fix. There is no substitute for setting priorities.
