It is very clear that the property tax burden has become unsustainable. Many of the very people who have contributed to making Chapel Hill a special place are now being forced to consider leaving our town, counter to our cherished goal of preserving diversity at all levels.
We must stop the relentless rise of property taxes or Chapel Hill will become much less diverse a few years from now. In addition, the economic constraints we now face are placing the very social programs we cherish at risk as we struggle to fund the basic operating expenses of the Town.
My experience on the Town Council, combined with my professional history, uniquely qualifies me to guide the Town Council as we address our fiscal challenges. Since moving to Chapel Hill, I have successfully guided the financing of three entrepreneurial companies. In addition, I was responsible for restructuring the finances of a fourth company that resulted in saving 650 jobs. In order to achieve fiscal sustainability, we must both control the town’s expenditures and increase revenue.
Fiscal Discipline
As a first step, we must impose cost controls over the Town Budget. Currently, the Town Manager forecasts another 7.7-cent increase per $100 of appraised value in 2010 property taxes. Controlling our expenses is not going to be an easy task, since the Council added enormous fixed expenses to Town operations since 2000. Nonetheless, there are opportunities to reduce costs that we must pursue aggressively.
As your Mayor, I will make every effort to ensure no increases in our Town property taxes for the next two years. As a first step, I will ask the Council to direct the Town Manager to prepare budgets for the next two fiscal years that have a zero increase. I will simultaneously implement a top-to-bottom review of Town expenditures without waiting for the traditional Spring Budget Review. Based on my professional background and experience on the Town Council, I believe the goal of no increase in property taxes for the next two years is realistic.
Growing non-property tax revenue
The negligible amount of new retail space approved by our Town Council during the last eight years is one core element of our fiscal predicament. The stark fact is that if we cannot significantly increase our retail tax revenue, the town’s flexibility to provide the social programs and services to which we are all committed will become more and more difficult.
Chapel Hill will continue to grow, and a great deal of effort has gone into how to manage residential growth. Unfortunately, there has been little to no discussion in the last eight years about how to implement substantial growth of our retail space. Just as we must find ways to accommodate population growth in a manner that does not dilute what we love about Chapel Hill, we must do the same for retail.
In the past, there has been general opposition to adding significant amounts of retail space. Now, there is a much broader understanding of the need to retain our sales tax dollars in Chapel Hill. Retail centers also provide significant property tax revenues.
There are several locations where we can meaningfully intensify the density of retail space – but we must have the will to do so. As Mayor, one of my highest priorities will be increasing retail space in Chapel Hill in a manner that preserves the character of the Town.
