Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker told reporters this morning about his three-point agenda for the next year.
- Double impact fees to $2,500 per house. This will be an $8 million to $10 million tax increase on new houses in Raleigh. Meeker said it would keep property taxes 1-2 cents lower than they otherwise would be and the money would go to roads and new parks. Capital expenses grow 15 percent per year, but 3-4 percent growth in new residents only produces 3-4 percent growth in new revenues. Michael Sanera has questioned the mayor’s reasoning about impact fees. Somehow the mayor thinks there is a “market rate” for impact fees.
- Make water restrictions permanent. Meeker wants to limit outside watering to two days a week in the morning or evening forevermore. On the bright side, he would also like to introduce higher rates for those who use more water. Combining water restrictions with higher rates may lead Raleigh to have the same problem Cary did a few years ago when conservation efforts and wet weather cut water consumption faster than higher rates could increase revenue. The mayor did admit that the current method of not charging sewer for outside irrigation water meters subsidizes the use of water for landscaping. If the city has a very limited supply of water, Meeker added, harsher restrictions will follow – including limits on the number of times you can flush the toilet during the day.
- More bus routes, more frequent buses, more regional buses, and so on. Meeker would pay for all of this with a higher car registration fee or a 1/2- to 1-cent hike in the property tax rate, half what Meeker claims the city would save with higher impact fees.
No mayoral address would be complete without talking about how energy efficient the city will be with its vehicle purchases, LED lighting, and energy efficient buildings.
One genuinely positive item from the press conference was Meeker’s opposition to the North Hills TIF.