Foxx: No property tax hike for streetcar
That was Mayor Anthony Foxx before he became Mayor Anthony Foxx, back in 2009 when he was running around the campaign trail promising everything to everybody. Here’s the money quote in context, via a clip* from the uptown paper that was reposted at the time on the Black Political Buzz blog:
Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx said Thursday he wouldn’t raise property taxes to pay for a streetcar, despite his vote to move ahead with the project and suggestions from city staff that a hike may be needed.
“We aren’t proposing or considering any increase in property taxes, and now would be a terrible time to think of that,” he told the Observer. “I will not raise property taxes for the streetcar.”
But that, of course, is exactly what Foxx now wants to do; his entrenched reluctance to drop a $119 million spending spree for a streetcar from the city’s capital improvement plan has become a driving force behind both the prolonged and at times acrimonious city budget negotiations, as well as the likelihood that if a final budget includes a higher than county-neutral property tax increase it will be largely thanks to the Foxx Faux Streetcar to Nowhere.
It could be avoided, if the mayor decides to act like a responsible leader instead of a petulant and petty emperor.
Six councilmembers who rejected the original tax-hike budget (Republicans Warren Cooksey and Andy Dulin and Democrats Michael Barnes, Patrick Cannon, Claire Fallon and Beth Pickering) say they’ve reached consensus to support a budget that derails the streetcar, but funds a $657 million capital plan with a 2.44-cent tax increase. That compares to the 3.6-cent hike and $926 million spending embedded in the city manager’s budget that included the streetcar, which Foxx aggressively supported and a majority of council shot down.
By capping the tax increase at 2.44 cents, councilmembers who support the plan contend they’ve essentially crafted a no-tax-increase budget, because the overall impact to property owners is mitigated by the 2.44-cent tax cut approved by the county. That’s small consolation to homeowners who got mugged by the county’s revaluation, but likely as close to a rate-neutral budget as the city council could come given its Democrat majority.
By contrast, five councilmembers who supported the original budget (Democrats John Autry, David Howard, Patsy Kinsey, LaWana Mayfield and James Mitchell) have concocted a scheme that salvages the streetcar as part of a larger capital plan ($797 million) funded by a 3.16-cents tax hike.
If the coalition of two Republicans and four Democrats who support the smaller capital plan without a streetcar can stay on track, they’d have enough votes to pass their budget on Monday.
Foxx, though, has threatened to veto any budget that, in his words and from his perspective, “falls short of the goals this city needs to have.” The mayor, in fact, has already planned for a council meeting on Tuesday if he vetoes the budget, which would take seven council votes to override.
The city needs to approve a budget by June 30; without one in place, the city manager would have to implement an emergency interim plan to limp through July and the start of a new fiscal year.
Once upon a time, Foxx said he wouldn’t raise property taxes to pay for a streetcar. The budget proposal to cap any city tax hike at a level to be mitigated by the county’s cut comes as close as this council likely will ever get to honoring at least the spirit of Foxx’s pledge. If it’s approved, Foxx should give up his Ahabian quest for a streetcar and let the budget stand without a veto.
Council 6 Plan (Democrats Barnes, Cannon, Fallon, Pickering; Republicans Dulin, Cooksey) 2.44-cent tax increase; cuts $269 million from capital plan
Projects on the chopping block:
Streetcar extension ($119 million)
Cross Charlotte Multi-Use Trail ($35 million)
Sweden Road maintenance yard replacement ($21.8 million)
Public-private redevelopment ($20 million)
Affordable housing ($20 million)
I-85 North Bridge ($15 million)
S. Dixie/Berryhill infrastructure ($13 million)
South division police station ($9 million)
Park South Drive extension ($8.3 million)
Northeast equipment Maintenance facility ($8.25 million)
Council 5 Plan (Democrats Autry, Howard, Kinsey, Mayfield, Mitchell) 3.16-cent tax increase; cuts $129 million from capital plan
Projects on the chopping block:
Idlewild Rd./Monroe Rd. intersection ($4 million)
Sidewalk and Bikeway improvements ($2 million)
Sidewalks and Pedestrian Safety ($15 million)
Traffic Control and Bridges ($14 million)
Sweden Road maintenance yard replacement ($21.8 million)
Northeast equipment maintenance facility ($8.25 million)
Comprehensive Neighborhood Improvement Program ($20 million)
Affordable Housing ($15 million)
I-85 North Bridge ($15 million)
UNCC Informatics and Innovation Partnership ($10 million)
Land purchase for fire stations ($4 million)
* h/t: Commissioner Bill James for rooting out the uptown paper’s article from 2009
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