In 2012, residents of Rocky Mount started hearing about plans for an event center. The city council was talking about a project that would spur downtown economic development and…
posted December 2, 2016 by Katherine Restrepo, Julie Tisdale
Local governments across North Carolina, like other employers, are wrestling with the question of how to provide quality health care to their employees in a cost-effective manner. This is…
Forsyth County residents will be voting next week on a set of bond issues totaling $430 million. The largest one is $350 million for local schools, but there are two…
On November 8, voters in Wake County will be presented with a ballot full of national, state, and local races. But they will also face a question that could cost them billions of dollars over the next decade.
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.
Between FY 2009 and FY 2014, 81 out of North Carolina’s 100 counties participated in economic development activities. Counties entered into 776 contracts worth nearly $284 million in incentives over the five-year period. Actual payments, however, totaled $144 million.
In July 2013, the City of Wilson filed a petition with the FCC regarding municipal broadband service. The FCC asked for public comment. This Spotlight comprises the comments by the John Locke Foundation, submitted to the FCC.
On February 26, 2015, the FCC voted in favor of Wilson’s petition.
The economic recession that hit full force in 2008 was declared officially over in June 2009 when the country experienced two quarters of very slow growth. But a troubled housing sector and a still-sluggish economy with high unemployment have contributed to the fiscal crises facing many cities and counties in North Carolina. As always, this edition of By the Numbers is must reading for government officials and taxpayers alike. It highlights what kinds of fiscal problems face local governments in an economy that grows only very slowly. With the facts given here, county commissioners and city council members can easily compare their area’s tax burden to similarly situated cities or counties. For taxpayers, BTN is a starting point for questions about taxes and spending, enabling them to hold their elected and appointed officials accountable.
