Lassiter Approves Of Fair Property Taxes...Foxx Wants To Raise Them

Lassiter: Roll back property tax increase


Republican John Lassiter on Tuesday called for rolling back at least part of the property tax increase that the City Council passed in 2006, amplifying a difference with Democrat Anthony Foxx a week before Charlotte's mayoral election.

Responding to a question at a Rotary Club luncheon, Lassiter proposed rolling back the 9 percent hike as a way to cut city spending.

An at-large council member, he has consistently underscored his opposition to the 2006 tax increase, which was passed by Foxx and other Democrats over Republican objections. But Lassiter hadn't called for a rollback.

"What he basically just told you is he wants to take away the first roads that we've built since 2002," Foxx said before the Rotary audience.

The three-year-old debate over the 2006 budget has come back as a sort of Rorschach test for voters in the mayoral race.

The tax hike, passed over Republican Mayor Pat McCrory's veto, was the city's first in at least a decade. It raised millions more for police officers, road building and other projects than the Republicans' no-tax-hike alternative would have.

Lassiter has said it was an opportunity to hold the line on spending while keeping taxes low.

Foxx has said it was a chance to hire badly needed police officers and make overdue investments in roads and other services.

The tax hike, for example, allowed the city to hire 70 new police officers Chief Darrel Stephens had requested. The Republican alternative would have hired 35.

In his remarks Tuesday, Lassiter did not elaborate on a rollback. Asked about it later, he said he wouldn't necessarily try to roll back the entire tax hike but would try to curb city spending.

"The benefit is that you make us more competitive," he said. "We've got to ... find ways to cut our costs."

Asked to respond to the rollback proposal, Foxx called the 2006 GOP budget alternative "irresponsible." He said it would have hired "a fraction" of the needed police officers and jeopardized the city's AAA bond rating.

If elected, Lassiter would have a hard time pushing through any tax rollback. Democrats, who now outnumber Republicans 7-4 on council, are expected to keep their majority.

At the Rotary luncheon, both candidates supported public transit but continued to disagree over a decision to spend $4.5 million on a streetcar study, which Democrats approved over McCrory's veto.

They also differed on whether Charlotte needs a full-time mayor. Foxx said it does. He said even with a council-manager form of government, demands on the mayor have grown. He has said he would not seek a full-time salary.

Lassiter said he likes the part-time nature of the job, which allows a mayor to balance a professional and personal life. Plus, he said, full-time mayors are more often exposed to corruption.

"Increasingly," he said, "full-time mayors are going to jail."

After listening to the candidates speak, former Republican Mayor Richard Vinroot stood up and paid tribute to their campaigns.

"I can't remember a higher level of discussion," he said. "I'm so sorry that both of you can't be mayor."



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Google Maps