Research Reports: City & County Government

Beginning in 1996, the state implemented a comprehensive program of education testing called the ABCs of Public Education. It did not take long for state leaders to declare North Carolina a national leader in implementing state-level accountability measures. In 1999, then Governor James Hunt declared that, “we’re holding our schools accountable for results. Education Week Magazine says no state is doing more than North Carolina to put in place real and meaningful accountability measures.”

Over the past five years, Sanford’s city owned and operated golf course experienced operational losses of more than $1 million. With its course, the city engages in unfair competition with five private courses in the immediate area and 45 courses within a 30-mile radius of Sanford. Private golf courses contribute to the local government by paying city and county taxes. Unlike police and fire protection, golf is not an essential city service. If the course were sold, city taxpayers would gain the amount of the sale and avoid paying its average annual losses of $200,000 per year. Also, a privately operated golf course would contribute to the tax base of the city and county.

A careful review of experiences in Raleigh and Charlotte should warn other North Carolina cities that convention and civic center projects are a bad idea.

Since the late 1980s, housing prices in North Carolina have increased rapidly in some cities while in others prices have grown more slowly. Asheville and Wilmington, for example, are known for large increases in their housing prices over the last 15 years, while in Fayetteville and Hickory housing prices have grown much more slowly. Why is this?

County and municipal governments provide many key services while taking in billions in revenue. Their roles grow ever greater as state government shifts more taxing power to localities to make up for money kept by the state. Still, finding comparative data is hard. That's why this report provides information of how much local government costs in every city and county in NC.

The Asheville Civic Center is deteriorating and has lost nearly $1 million a year since 2000. The Asheville City Council convened a task force to find a solution. This report offers a solution not currently in the public discussion: sell the Civic Center to a private company.

Many cities and counties in North Carolina and throughout the nation have benefited from the ongoing revolution in solid waste management. Competition in the private sector has led to larger landfills that are better for the environment and less expensive. Only seven North Carolina counties have failed to take advantage of the market in landfill services. When the North Wake County landfill closes in 2007, the county should not replace it with a new county-owned facility. Instead, it should allow cities and towns to find the best value for their citizens in the landfill market.

City and county government cost on average $2,863 per capita in Wilmington during fiscal year 2004. This cost was 42 percent higher than Wilmington's per-capita spending in 1994. As real per-capita personal income increased just 13 percent over the 10-year study period, operations costs climbed 35 percent and capital spending nearly doubled over the decade. No large city in North Carolina had faster spending growth than Wilmington did.

County and municipal governments provide many key services while taking in billions in revenue. Their roles grow ever greater as state government shifts more taxing power to localities to make up for money kept by the state. Still, finding comparative data is hard. That's why this report provides information of how much local government costs in every city and county in NC.

Counties and towns are a critical level of government in North Carolina, providing or administering many critical services while taking in billions of dollars of revenue. This is especially true as the state government has increasingly shifted more taxing authority to localities to make up for money kept by the state. While the importance of county and municipal government is great, obtaining comparative data is difficult. To help address this, By the Numbers 2004 provides information on how much local government costs in every city and county in North Carolina.