Raleigh City Council

Some things last, and some things don’t. Beyonce’s 2008 single “Single Ladies” is an enduring song. “Shut Up and Let Me Go” by The Ting Tings is not.

This week, the Raleigh City Council adopted a Universal Living Wage policy.  They’re not the first city in the North Carolina to do so, and they’ll likely not be the…

RALEIGH – The Raleigh City Council wants to raise impact fees on construction by 72 percent. But the city’s consultants failed to account for positive impacts of new construction, a…

At a public hearing on April 4 the Raleigh city council will receive public input on a proposed across-the-board 72 percent increase in the city’s impact fee schedule (from $682 to $1,172 for single-family homes).1 Unfortunately, the consultant’s report that serves as the basis for an increase is flawed. In fact, Raleigh has collected impact fees for nearly twenty years without ever considering sound economic research. As the word “impact” implies, new housing generates both increased demand for public services and increased tax revenues. Surprisingly, the city council has not demanded that city staff and highly paid consultants produce reports that provide balanced and complete economic analysis. It is not too late; the council should not change the impact fee until proper economic analysis is conducted.