• John Locke Update

    Parks and Recreation

    posted November 8, 2015 by Sarah Curry
    View in your browser. Traditionally, city and county Parks and Recreation (P&R) departments provided the public with parks and user-fee-supported sports leagues — soccer, softball,…
  • John Locke Update

    Local Government Referenda

    posted November 2, 2015 by Sarah Curry
    View in your browser. Today is Election Day for many local governments across North Carolina.  While it is a big day, many of the races will…
  • John Locke Update

    Another check is needed for NC’s fiscal health

    posted October 25, 2015 by Sarah Curry
    View in your browser. As the state continues to increase spending, many citizens have begun to suspect that the effectiveness of that spending is diminishing.
  • John Locke Update

    State Budget and Spending Constraints

    posted October 18, 2015 by Sarah Curry
    View in your browser. The majority of the state’s operations are funded through the General Fund. There are, though, some major components of the state’s…
  • John Locke Update

    Cities participate in economic incentives too

    posted October 12, 2015 by Sarah Curry
    View in your browser. Many times we hear about the state of North Carolina entering into agreements with corporations to promote economic development, but did…
  • Research Report

    City Incentives in North Carolina: How Large Cities Are Using Taxpayer Dollars

    posted October 6, 2015 by Sarah Curry
    This study surveys North Carolina’s most populous cities and examines how each conducts economic development in its jurisdiction. Collectively, they entered into 238 economic development contracts worth more than $65 million over the five-year period. Actual payments, however, totaled $20.2 million.
  • Research Report

    North Carolina Budget FY 2015 – 17

    posted September 21, 2015 by Sarah Curry
    For fiscal year 2015-16, the General Fund budget will rise 3.1 percent to $21.7 billion, below the combined rates of population growth and inflation. The following year, the budget will have an overall increase of less than one-percent.