City & County Government

Even those commission members who would have wanted a proper definition of “meaningful services” had to oppose the weak definition provided to them by the legislative staff. The chair prohibited commission members from amending the definition. The recommendation was so weak that it would have allowed municipalities forcibly to annex areas without providing water and sewer service.

When adjusted for pension contributions, teacher experience, and cost of living, North Carolina’s adjusted average teacher compensation is $59,252, which is $4,086 higher than the U.S. adjusted average compensation and ranks 14th highest in the nation. In a comparison of Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states, North Carolina’s adjusted teacher compensation is $674 higher than the SREB average adjusted compensation.

Forced annexation is a kind of city-initiated annexation that allows municipalities unilaterally to force citizens living in unincorporated areas into the municipalities. North Carolina has an extreme annexation law even among states classified by recent studies as forced-annexation states.

In June 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court in a case called Davis v. Federal Elections Commission struck down a federal law that punished Congressional candidates for spending too much of their own money on their campaigns. Under that law, once personal spending exceeded a threshold level, the opposing candidate was given fundraising advantages.

Tax revenue in North Carolina is volatile because of the dependence on income and sales taxes. Proper budgeting would account for the rise and fall in tax revenues over time.

The City of Wilson’s $28 million investment in a fiber-optic cable system for Internet, phone and television could be obsolete even before it is paid for, leaving city taxpayers and electric utility users to pay the balance on the 25-year bonds.

Real reform of the state’s regressive annexation law does not mean getting rid of annexation generally or even city-initiated annexation. However, it should mean getting rid of the practice of forced annexation that allows municipalities to unilaterally force individuals in unincorporated areas to live within the municipalities.

During policy discussions, much is made of the greed of private individuals, but rarely is government greed mentioned. Government greed is the lust for power that consumes policymakers — the desire to do whatever it takes to stay in power and to give government more power. In the North Carolina legislature, government greed is alive and well. Ten policy examples discussed in this report reasonably attest to this lust for power.

Despite claims to the contrary, North Carolina’s new drought management bill does not expressly prohibit the regulation of water use from private wells. In fact, the bill likely authorizes regulation of water use from private wells.

North Carolina’s relatively high tax burden in the region has not improved the state’s schools, roads, health, or crime as much as would be expected. Per-capita personal income growth also lagged, though population grew faster in N.C. than in most other states.