On Monday, Jeff A. Taylor told WSOC-TV that even though Charlotte’s city manager says a property tax increase is needed to fund vital public safety services, any increase would actually fund the lowest priorities that politicians won’t cut to concentrate on high priorities. The Charlotte Observer turned to John Hood for perspective on the potential tax hikes in Charlotte and surrounding locales. He explained that growth is the typical reason cited for tax increases by both prospering and struggling counties. “I can’t find a community that says, ‘We have exactly the right Goldilocks level of growth,” he said. Last month, The Charlotte World published Paul Chesser’s CJ story about the desire of some city leaders to fund new arts programs despite the area’s already oppressive tax burden. The paper’s April 1 “Media Watch” column also used some of Hood’s explanation about the impact of the group ACORN, which registered large numbers of Democrats in the area before last November’s election.