Liberty
How to set a budget target
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights proposed in SB717 includes language that, if adopted, would preempt the kind of debate currently raging between the Senate and House over how to calculate…
Debt service ratio
Budget, Taxation & Economy
2019-21 House Budget: Looking Ahead
The House increases spending faster than the pace since 2011, and prepares for more demands next fiscal year in education and Medicaid, but Gov. Cooper expects much slower spending growth…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
2019-21 House Budget: Appropriations and Availability
You can read our Spotlight on the House Budget or, if you prefer tables and graphs, we have them below First, we compare appropriations and availability in the House budget with…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
How to compare budgets
The State Capital and Infrastructure Fund is creating a load of confusion this budget season. The SCIF (pronounced “skiff”) was created in 2017 to wean the state from debt to…
Liberty
I Know, Everybody Needs Money
Hendersonville, also, is looking at a 2-cent tax increase: Other rising expenses in what city administrators called “a perfect storm” of financial pressure include debt service of $250,000, a $200,000…
Liberty
HP Chamber of Commerce back from the brink….
…Of financial ruin, as the Enterprise reports: Debt service on a $2 million loan that funded renovations and improvements to its N. Main Street headquarters nearly overwhelmed the organization in…
Liberty
2003 decision causes debt service to grow over 150%
Remember voting for a bond on the ballot? You know, those things city, county and the state government use to pay for things like prisons, schools, roads, and any number…
Liberty
Advocacy or Information?
According to state law, elected bodies may not advocate for bond issues. Individual members may express opinions, but the body may only inform the public about how the money will…
Liberty
UNCA Wants to Build, Too
UNCA would like to spend $4.9 million to relocate its health center and police station. The $4.9 million cost for the building purchase and renovation work would create a $90…
Liberty
Guilford sales tax, part II
The N&R reports that Guilford County commissioners are considering a vote for a quarter-cent sales tax hike. With the county facing $40 million in debt service next year, one would…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
Let Public Vote on Debt: “Promise Now, Pay Later” Policy Has Hiked Taxes
State legislators are currently considering proposals to issue hundreds of millions of dollars in additional debt without seeking voter approval. The billions of dollars worth of bonds and other debt…