Dear Parks:

In light of your sudden interest in comparing Mecklenburg’s tax burden to that of other counties, we just wanted to say “Hi,” we’re the John Locke Foundation and this is what we do.

In fact, we did the very same number crunching you recently directed your staff to do way back in January in the report By The Numbers: What Government Costs in North Carolina Cities and Counties. We found exactly the same thing that your staff did — that Mecklenburg far outstrips other urban counites in the state in local tax burden.

There is a tiny bit of confusion about the total numbers. Your per capita numbers seem a little low, at 2.72 percent of income or $1,064 per year. We got 2.96 percent and $1,139 respectively. Still, both findings are far above the state median of 2.16 percent and $515 and several steps north of both Wake and Guilford counties. And that assumes we are defining taxes and fees the same way, and that may not be the case.

Anyway, we also note that it evidently required a phone call from an offical at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce for you to pull this info together. Our report is available 24/7 to anyone who wants it, and you do not even have to a be a highly-connected insider to get it. In the future, feel free to direct calls on this topic to the Locke Foundation and you’ll avoid making your staff duplicate the work we’ve already done.

We think you’ll also have to agree that the data is unmistakable — Mecklenburg’s tax appetite tops that of other similar counties and shows no signs of slowing down.

Thanks!