Town budget: Too much, or not enough?
The most telling moment of Town Manager Leamon Brice’s overview of the budget last Tuesday came when he described the Town board’s reaction to his initial budget, which contained 
a four-cent (per $100 valuation) increase in property taxes. “That’s too much!” he was told. (See May 14, 2008, “Manager’s proposal: Bonds for big needs”)
Given the constraints imposed upon him by our elected officials, Leamon did a great job, as usual. But, it would have been enlightening to see a budget dictated by a different reaction. A reaction perhaps of “that’s not enough!” By that, I don’t mean not enough taxation, although a bold, imaginative, progressive budget probably would require some additional investment on the part of the citizenry.
What I do mean is that this budget woefully underfunds several important priorities. Not just mine, but priorities that have been identified through the town survey of 2007.
Money for greenways? None. “That’s not enough!”
Money for open space preservation? None. “That’s not enough!”
Money for the Davidson Lands Conservancy, Ada Jenkins, the Davidson Housing Coalition, and affordable housing in general? Drastically cut from prior years. “That’s not enough!”
Politicians understandably have an aversion to asking their constituencies for more money. On a national level, there is fiscal imprudence and our elected officials are held in low regard. Thus, many people have an anti-government bent.
But, this is Davidson. We’re dealing with 9,000 people and a $7 million budget. In reality, a pretty small scope. With six geographically dispersed elected officials, it would be relatively easy - once a plan has been put together - to go amongst the community and sell the plan. I do believe that most people would support higher taxation if it is clearly shown where the money is going, and how it will benefit our community.
Which is where the bond referendum comes in. This is an idea which should be pursued. While it is ironic, given the refusal to put the cable purchase to the people, that the town is now considering a referendum, I’m glad that they are. Hopefully a visionary plan will be put together, and our elected officials will aggressively sell it to the taxpayers. If so, I’m confident we’ll approve it, and we can get on with the business of improving our community.
Rodney Graham is a resident of the St. Alban’s neighborhood and a local homebuilder.
Filed under: Davidson opinions, Davidson town board
How would higher taxes, either from the bond package or from a simple increase in services, affect lower income Davidson residents?
This is the one question I haven’t seen addressed in the budget discussion over the past few weeks (though I readily admit that I could have missed it). With all of the concern in recent years about wage workers and entry-level salary workers fleeing Davidson for Mooresville, Statesville, and Huntersville due to Davidson’s high cost of living … so what happens now that the cost of the commute keeps rising? If Davidson becomes too expensive due to higher taxes, and commuting to Davidson becomes too expensive due to gas prices, where does an essential part of our workforce come from?
I think it’s fair to say that though Davidson has the highest taxes in Mecklenburg County (and much of the Carolinas), we make up for it with having the highest quality of life. But does socio-economic diversity have to be one of the costs? Maybe I’ve missed this discussion somewhere, but it doesn’t seem to be at the forefront.