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.
posted January 11, 2009 by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Dr. Michael Sanera
The Avery County commissioners are asking county residents to approve a sale-tax increase on February 3. This report identifies over $10 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs; more than triple the amount that the proposed land-transfer tax increase is estimated to produce.
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.
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.
posted November 17, 2008 by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Dr. Michael Sanera
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.
posted October 19, 2008 by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Dr. Michael Sanera
The Caswell County commissioners are asking voters to approve a sales-tax increase on November 4. This report identifies almost $4.8 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs — almost 28 times the amount that the proposed tax increase would produce.
posted October 19, 2008 by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Dr. Michael Sanera
The Onslow County commissioners are asking voters to approve a sales-tax increase on November 4. This report identifies almost $36.7 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs — more than nine times the amount that the proposed tax increase would produce.
