Time for the rubber to meet the road on city budgets. The Greensboro City Council tonight will vote on a budget with a $2.50 property tax cut but also with a 6 percent increase in water rates. Credit council member Trudy Wade —- who’s running for state Senate —- to speak out:

Councilwomen Trudy Wade and Mary Rakestraw didn’t go along with the rest of the board because they didn’t like the recommended cuts.

“All they did was kick the can down the road. It was pork barreling. They did not make serious cuts. You’ve got to make cuts you can sustain,” Wade said.

Meanwhile, the Winston-Salem City Council’s finance committee signed off on a budget that would raise property taxes and fees.

I’ve been watching Winston-Salem from down I-40 for several years now and I find it incredible that the same people keep getting elected to public office.