Charlotte NAACP Plans Protest To Save Failing, Segregated Schools: STUPID!

Charlotte NAACP Members & CMS Critics Vow To Fight On; March Planned Saturday

As a low-key group of about 100 gathered at Vance High to discuss proposed school changes Thursday, an NAACP leader vowed to fight Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' school-closing plan with "litigation, legislation, agitation and organization."

Kojo Nantambu, president of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was charged with disorderly conduct Tuesday at a forum that drew an estimated 600 people, many of them angry about plans to close westside schools serving minority and low-income children.

"There was no chaos. There was no disorder. What you saw was massive discontent," Nantambu said at a Thursday news conference with about 30 people representing several community, faith and school-parent groups. An uptown march is planned Saturday to protest the closings, which would happen in 2011-12 if the school board approves the plans Nov.9.

The targeted schools have empty classrooms and/or low test scores. Superintendent Peter Gorman and school board Chair Eric Davis say the school shakeup, which will bring some change to about 70 schools, is needed to boost academics while cutting costs in a looming budget crunch.

"We need to get together and tell the school board that we will not stand for what they're doing to our minority children," said Hector Vaca of Action NC, a group that advocates for low-income neighborhoods.

Thursday's forum at Vance, the third of six, focused on less drastic changes, such as turning Cochrane Middle into a 6-12 school and moving Villa Heights Elementary, a magnet for gifted students, into Lincoln Heights Elementary.

Most came to talk about the Villa Heights/Lincoln Heights plan. They questioned whether it is fair to neighborhood students who would be displaced from Lincoln Heights, and whether Villa Heights' academic success would be preserved.

Paul Reali, president of the Villa Heights PTA, offered a message to Lincoln Heights families: "We didn't ask for this. We have been happy where we are. We didn't ask for your building."

The Vance forum ended 30 minutes early, after all speakers had finished.

Speakers at the news conference, held at Little Rock AME Zion Church uptown, chastised Gorman and the school board for concentrating the proposed school closings in impoverished minority areas.

They also voiced anger that Tuesday's forum denied westside residents a chance to weigh in on the changes.

The forum allowed one hour for small-group discussion of specific plans and an hour for "open mike" comments.

Because the crowd was so big, speaking time was cut from three minutes to one, and Davis ended the session shortly after 8 p.m., even though 19 people who had signed up hadn't had a chance to speak.

Davis said Thursday the board will hold a special forum before its Oct. 26 meeting to allow those 19 people their say.

Two people, Nantambu and a West Mecklenburg High teacher who refused to leave the room, were arrested as police tried to clear the meeting chamber at the Government Center after Tuesday's forum. Nantambu led a chant of "We want more time!"

Minister Yusef Muhammad of the Nation of Islam called on Gorman to apologize to Nantambu, adding, "I think all of us should be willing to go to jail if we are going to stand and defend our children."

Gorman said he does not plan to apologize. From what he saw, he said, CMS police Chief Bud Cesena and his staff handled crowd-control appropriately on Tuesday.

He said he and the board remain dedicated to hearing what people have to say at the forums: "We hope the community will continue to come out."

Mary McCray, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators, and school board member Joyce Waddell attended the NAACP news conference but didn't speak.

Waddell said afterward she shares the group's concern that schools serving minority neighborhoods are bearing the brunt of the changes and believes the arrests damaged trust in CMS.

It would have been better to just escort the two out of the room, she said.

"I think once you tell people one thing, you've got to stick to it, especially when you have a large, emotional crowd," Waddell said.







Hundreds Fight For Segregated Westside Schools; Teacher & Charlotte NAACP Leader Arrested


Parents turned out by the hundreds Tuesday night to fight for Charlotte's Westside schools, saying the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools closing plan threatens the city's most fragile students and neighborhoods.

"They're not targeting the schools that have these giant PTAs.
They're targeting our children because we are who we are," said Tasha Houston, parent of a student at J.T. Williams Middle.

Kojo Nantambu, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was handcuffed and charged with disorderly conduct when he led a chant of "We want more time!" as the public forum ended at 8 p.m.

CMS teacher Hans Plotseneder was then charged with trespassing when he refused CMS police orders to clear the room.

The proposed 2011-12 school shakeup includes the latest step in CMS's quest to improve results in neighborhood schools where most students are Poor, Black and Performing below grade level.

It calls for closing three such middle schools - Wilson, Spaugh and Williams, in west and central Charlotte - that serve about 1,500 students. Eight nearby elementary schools would convert to prekindergarten through eighth grade.

More than 300 people came to the Government Center to challenge the CMS plans, which also include closing University Park and Irwin Avenue elementary schools. Speakers said schools slated to close are mainstays of communities that will see crime and economic instability rise if the buildings stand empty next year.

"We're losing jobs. We're losing our homes. Now we're going to lose our schools?" said Niksa Balbosa. "It's time to stop losing. We need to stand up and fight for what's ours."

CMS is studying changes to about 70 schools in a bid to save money and boost academic achievement. The board expects to vote Nov. 9 on 2011-12 changes that could include closings, mergers and changes in programs and enrollment.

One of the most dramatic changes is the proposed shift from middle schools to pre-K-8 schools in some low-income neighborhoods. Superintendent Peter Gorman and his staff say the new structure will prevent the academic slump many students suffer when they move up to middle schools.

"I know that kids leave Ashley Park on grade level, and by grade seven they're not on grade level," CMS planner Dennis LaCaria told one discussion group. "The data says that."

"Why don't we make all schools K-8?" a woman asked.

"That's probably where we're headed. This is the vanguard," LaCaria said, adding that it's harder to merge large suburban schools.

A Johns Hopkins University study that Gorman gave the school board recently raises doubts about the effectiveness of such conversions, especially when most of the students are impoverished and minorities. That is the case for all the CMS schools involved.

Except for Berryhill Elementary, on Mecklenburg's western border, all of the elementary schools that would add grades 6-8 had poverty levels over 90 percent and pass rates below 60 percent last year and are in the midst of efforts to improve student achievement. Three - Byers, Druid Hill and Reid Park - had pass rates below 50 percent, failed to show adequate progress and are on the state's low-performing list.

The high poverty levels mean the schools get extra federal money, Gorman told parents who questioned the plan at a community meeting earlier in the day. And he noted that the potential savings from closing the three middle schools are roughly equal to salaries for a high-school staff.

Ericka Ellis-Stewart, who has children in CMS magnets, questioned whether it's worth it: "In sacrificing these kids for the money, are we really going to see the gains?"

Middle-school students in the new pre-K-8 schools might have fewer "electives," or optional classes, than students in larger middle schools, officials have said. The latest plan calls for them to ride buses to traditional middle schools to take part in sports and other after-school activities.

Several parents of Williams students said their kids are being penalized for adult failures.

"If the middle-schooler ends up going backwards to elementary, it's like an emotional demotion," said Alison Boulding.






Debra Goldman Holds Forum On Wake County Schools


With uniformed officers at every exit, Wake County school board member Debra Goldman held a forum on the divisive issue of student assignment at Cary Town Hall on Tuesday night.

The meeting was orderly and quick, absent the heated emotions that have become staples at recent full board meetings on the topic.

Some attendees thanked Goldman for breaking with the board majority last week and voting to pull the plug on a plan to put a community-based assignment policy into effect by creating a series of school assignment zones. The plan would have dropped socio-economic diversity as a criterion for student assignment.

“I just want to thank you very much for standing up in a very difficult situation and doing what you did,” attendee Mary Ann Meagher said.

Others at the meeting voted for Goldman last election and expressed feeling of betrayal by her recent departure from the board’s majority.

“Your double talk and empty promises serve no one but yourself,” parent Allison Backhouse said. “I think I speak for many when I ask, ‘What’s next?’”

Goldman said she still supports a neighborhood school model for Wake County, but said she changed her mind because too many people were being left out of the decision making process.

Goldman stressed to those in the crowd that whether they agree or disagree with her decisions, she valued their thoughts.

“It’s really important to hear the opinions and get the feedback from as many people as possible,” she said.


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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, NAACP, WCNC, WRAL, Google Maps

Harry Jones' Bonus Eliminated, County Builds $2M Park For His Church

Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Leaders Eliminates Harry Jones' Bonus


Charlotte-Mecklenburg County commissioners agreed Tuesday to change the way they pay County Manager Harry Jones, including eliminating performance bonuses from future compensation packages.

Under his previous contract, Jones had been eligible for a performance bonus of up to 30 percent of his base pay.

He has been criticized often in the past year for a $38,400 bonus that commissioners approved last year amid budget cuts to county services and other agencies.

In lieu of a bonus - which commissioners also have called "at-risk" pay the past two years - Jones' base salary could change each year based on the "prevailing market rate" for his position.

For the year that begins July 1, Jones' base pay will increase to $242,500 from the $215,655 he received this year.

But his total compensation will go down about 6.6percent compared to the current year, dropping to $283,011. Commissioner Dumont Clarke said the decline "would exceed the reductions of most other county employees."

In addition, Clarke said Jones also will receive no match to his 401(k) plan, mirroring a hit taken by other county employees.

Several commissioners noted that Jones had requested that his compensation be reduced this year. Dan Murrey said the change was "by no means an indication of our assessment of (Jones') performance."

He said it was ironic that the manager had seen no change in his salary the past two years, but is now taking a $20,000 cut in his compensation "in probably the toughest year you've had to do your job."






Charlotte Leaders Pay $2M For Park At Harry Jones' Church (Vote Buying Scheme)


Folks if this isn't an example of a Charlotte, NC Vote Buying Scheme (Black voters) I don't know what is.

Check out the detailed article from WCNC below.

What a shame!

Remember this example of Public Corruption when you visit the polls in 2011 and 2012. Vote Jennifer Roberts out of office!




Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Leaders Spend $2M In Tax Money For Park On Harry Jones' Church Land (Vote Buying Scheme)


At a time when Mecklenburg County is forced to cut almost 200 jobs from its Park and Recreation Department, the county budget sets aside $60,000 to plan a park that it cannot afford to build.

The NewsChannel 36 I-Team found Mecklenburg County set aside $2 million in a one-of-a-kind deal to build the park on property owned by a church, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Beatties Ford Road.

Few debate that the county could use more ball fields along Beatties Ford Road. But some fiscal conservatives have questioned how the church won the one-of-a-kind deal and why it is still funded in a time of sharp cutbacks.

Former Charlotte City Councilman Don Reid is one.

"I don't know how we can invest taxpayer money on a piece of property owned by a church," said Reid, who calls the process used to award the park "a good ole boy network again."

But Reid's so-called "good ole boy" network included an up-and-coming woman -- Mary E. Wilson.

Since the summer of 2008 Wilson has served as the director of Mecklenburg County's Department of Social Services. And the I-Team has raised questions about Wilson mixing state funds with her church -- Friendship Missionary Baptist.

In December 2008, Wilson spent $20,000 of public funds on caterers, entertainment and door prizes for a holiday party for all 1,200 DSS staff held at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. When questioned, a DSS spokeswoman said the county did not pay for the use of the church facility. She said it had been paid for by an anonymous donor.

But before her county job, Wilson earned more than $86,000 a year as the executive director of Friendship's Community Development Corporation.

And as executive director in 2006 she helped the church pitch its park plan to the county's Park and Recreation Commission. But in the summer of 2006, Wilson joined the very same Park and Rec Commission.

"Connect the dots," said Reid. "Friendship Baptist Church. Mary Wilson. Mary Wilson goes to the park board and the board then decides to fund the church's project."

Wilson abstained from voting on the Friendship Sportsplex and did not participate in discussion at the board meeting where the board approved the park. Experts in state conflict of interest law at the UNC School of Government tell the I-Team that Wilson apparently did not violate any rule or law.

"Personally, I wouldn't allow that to happen," said Park Director Jim Garges, who joined the department after the Friendship Park had passed the board but before it passed the County Commission. "There wasn't anything she (Wilson) did or anything I was aware of I would consider a conflict of interest."

But e-mails obtained by the I-Team show Wilson advocated for the park in March 2008 when it was pending before the County Commission.

When Park Commissioner Brad Pearce e-mailed staff that he was frustrated with the lack of information about the Friendship park, a project which he supported, it was Wilson who responded in less than an hour.

"Let's be reasonable and work together," Wilson wrote. "I am sensing a less than positive partnership tone."

While they may have had their differences on the way the park was handled, Pearce now says he believes Wilson handled her conflict of interest appropriately.

"Certainly no one at the church ever contacted me and asked for special treatment," Pearce said.

The I-Team tried to reach Wilson last week and this week through a county spokesman and by leaving a message on her cell phone. She did not return repeated calls.

But in a church with thousands of members, Wilson was not the only one with political clout.

County General Manager Bobbie Shields, who oversees the Park and Recreation Department, is also a member of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church.

But County Manager Harry Jones tells the I-Team that Shields turned over all control of the park awards to another general manager, John McGillicuddy. And Garges and Pearce both say Shields had no impact on the decision to locate the park at the church.

"Bobbie Shields had no influence over that decision," said Pearce.

"And, if anything, particularly with Bobbie, he went the other way -- 'Don't show me. Don't tell me. I don't want to know anything about it,'" said Garges.

(Some viewers have written that Harry Jones is also a member of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church but Jones told the I-Team he is not a member of the church.)

Under the terms of the lease agreement between Mecklenburg County and Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, the county leases the land for 40 years for the sum of $1, with the county retaining the right to renew the lease for another 40 years. The county agrees to build ball fields on the property. And the church gets first dibs on selling any concessions at no cost, keeping all the proceeds.

Most county parks sit on county land. Here and there Mecklenburg County has a boat ramp on Duke Energy property. The county once placed a track on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University. But for the most part, county planners envision putting parks on public land.

And when voters OK'd a public bond issue for parks in 2004, the Park and Recreation Commission anticipated allocating $8 million for joint public-private partnerships, but that the parks would be placed on county land.

In the case of two of the three winning projects, for the towns of Huntersville and Matthews, the parks went on public land. But in the case of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, the county entered into a unique lease.

Garges says Friendship was chosen because it had land available for a park and "If anybody else wants a park, give us a call."

But the county doesn't even have the money to build the Friendship Park, let alone take on new parks.

In a time of budget cutbacks, cutting about four out of every 10 park and rec employees, the new county budget contains a capital expense of $60,000 for this year and next to plan for the Friendship park, even though the county does not have the money to build it.


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Sources: WCNC, Google Maps

Charlotte Schools' Administrators Firing Teachers In Front Of Students (Budget Cuts)

Teacher: CMS Gave Her Lay-off Notice In Front Of Class


A teacher at West Charlotte High School was upset Thursday after she said she received a layoff notice in front of her students.

Tabitha Miller, a Spanish instructor, told NewsChannel 36 she was handed a letter by principal Shelton Jeffries and asked to sign an a document acknowledging her dismissal at the end of the school year.

"I’m not bitter about losing my job," Miller said. "I’m just very upset about the way in which it was done."

Jeffries could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Cynthia Robbins Shah-Khan, said she had no information on how the layoffs were handled at West Charlotte and could not comment.

About 360 instructors in CMS were expected to receive layoff notices Thursday, Robbins Shah-Khan said.

Miller, who has taught in CMS for 3 years, said she mistakenly registered for the wrong class when completing her teaching certification by a June 30 deadline.

She said she anticipates completing the requirements for her license by July 2, but said district representatives were not able to grant a waiver.

"I don’t think they treat us like people who have feelings and families," Miller said.

The layoff notices come as the school district faces up to a $78 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year. As many as 1,000 employees could be trimmed from the payroll.

Students at West Charlotte High School told NewsChannel 36 they witnessed at least two teachers receive layoff notices in their classroom with students present.

Sophomore Xavier Wilkes said, while he did not witness the delivery of the notices, he was disturbed to learn how Miller and at least one other teacher were informed of their job status.

"I didn’t think it was very professional," said Wilkes. "I thought they could have pulled them to the side or told them after school. They could have done it in another way."







500 CMS Teachers Getting Lay-Off Warnings


About 500 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teachers will get preliminary layoff notices Wednesday, hours after the school board voted 6-3 to approve a 2010-11 budget that braces for big cuts.

The board voted to ask the county for a $15.5 million boost while planning for a cut of up to $20.7 million. With state cuts, the total could come to $78 million.

The board made only small changes to the $1 billion-plus budget that has been discussed for weeks. They voted 7-2 to eliminate CMS-TV, with about $350,000 going to save about seven teacher jobs.

To avoid forcing three popular magnet schools into later hours, the board instead decided to save $1.3 million by making students pick up the fees for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

Superintendent Peter Gorman and board members say the $332.8 million request, up from this year’s $317.4 million, is what the district needs to hold steady as costs and enrollment rise. They also realize the county doesn’t have that kind of money without making dire cuts to other vital services.

“The county commission’s going to send it back to us. We understand that,” board member Joe White said.

That’s why the plan includes five alternative scenarios eliminating up to $78 million in county and state money, with options that include laying off hundreds of employees. The board had earlier cleared Gorman to cut about 600 teachers, but Chief Operating Officer Hugh Hattabaugh said before Tuesday’s meeting that the numbers “look a little better than we anticipated.”

He said 170 teachers will lose their jobs because of low job ratings and/or lack of proper licenses. Another 20 in that category would have gotten layoff notices but have already resigned, he said.

Also getting preliminary notices are 240 teachers who are working on short-term contracts and 99 whose skills don’t match any available jobs. The 99 could still be placed if jobs open up. Layoffs are not final until a board vote, scheduled for June.

The number of teacher jobs eliminated by retirements has not been tallied, Hattabaugh said.

Cutting teachers will mean bigger classes, with high schools losing some of their specialized offerings that draw low enrollment.

Most members said Gorman did a good job of shaping a bleak budget to protect kids and classrooms as much as possible.

“I deeply regret the pain this has caused,” board Chair Eric Davis said, speaking to employees who will lose jobs. But he urged everyone to “commit ourselves anew to our students’ future.”

Board members Kaye McGarry, Richard McElrath and Joyce Waddell voted against the budget. They were on the losing end of votes to try to force Gorman to revamp his shakeup of administrative offices, with up to $3.6 million redirected to save teacher jobs.

McElrath and Waddell argued that grouping CMS’s highest-poverty schools under two “central” offices stigmatizes and segregates those schools. But other members said it’s student assignment, not administrative arrangements, that concentrate low-income and minority students in some schools.

McGarry said CMS remains “top-heavy.”

A much-protested plan to revoke neighborhood bus stops for 11 magnet schools survived Tuesday’s vote, leaving families worrying about losing students whose parents can’t get them to shuttle stops that may not be within walking distance of their homes.

“What will you do to protect access to these schools?” asked Odette Valder, a Northwest School of the Arts parent.

Three of those magnets – Smith Language Academy, Piedmont and Davidson IB middle schools – got a reprieve from proposed changes in their hours. Pushing their schedules later in the day would have let CMS tack their bus runs onto buses serving other schools, saving about $1 million.

Davis Military/Leadership Academy, a combined middle-high, will still move to a schedule that’s two hours later than this year’s, from 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. That saves about $600,000 on bus costs.

The revised budget, introduced Tuesday, requires students to pay for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, a cost now covered by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The state will continue to pay the fees for students who qualify for low-income lunch aid, but CMS can cut almost $1.4 million from the 2010-11 budget by requiring other students to pay.

Each AP exam costs $86. An IB diploma exam costs $135 plus $92 per subject. Many students take exams in several subjects.

The latest revision also frees about $500,000, which can be used to save about 10 teacher jobs, Gorman said.

The N.C. legislature convenes Wednesday to start crafting a 2010-11 budget, and county commissioners will vote on theirs in June. CMS won’t know exactly how much it must cut until those decisions are made.


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Sources: WCNC, Google Maps

Charlotte City Council Trying To Sneak A Streetcar Tax Hike...(Design Line Intl)

It happened in Baltimore where disgraced Mayor Shelia Dixon hiked taxes on city parking lots by 18 percent in order to provide "Free" bus service via buses from Mayor Anthony Foxx’s DesignLine International bus-builder. This is what Charlotte has to look forward to — tax hikes, waste, and corruption.

Vote For Charlotte Streetcar, Vote For a Tax Hike
Meck Deck Blog



Last year I warned all of you gullible, straight ticket voting, Charlotte Observer fooled, blind citizens that (new) Mayor Anthony Foxx and the Charlotte City Council were going to sneak another Property Tax Hike on us in the name of "Modern Transportation".

How else do you think the City is going to pay for this wasteful, East/West Charlotte, Democrat voting buying "Streetcar Named Desire" scam in a looming Recession?

If this project cost almost $500M and the Feds will only give Charlotte about $25M, where did you dummies think that other $475M was going to come from?

That's right another Property Tax Hike!

Like I said before don't listen to Foxx's words, watch his actions.

Foxes are extremely sly, cunning animals.









Charlotte City Smart Growth, Economic Development Funds May Be Tapped For Streetcar


The city has the money to take a first step in building its proposed streetcar project. It should use it.

Tonight the Charlotte City Council is to decide whether to apply for a $25 million federal grant for a $37 million project that would build 1.5 miles of its proposed 10-mile streetcar line. The city would have to find $12 million for its share.

City staff suggested pulling the $12 million from among four different pools of city money. The council's Transportation Committee recommends using three of those pools: $2.5 million in unspent streetcar planning money, a $4 million "Smart Growth" revolving fund and $5.5 million from $10.5 million set aside in debt capacity for economic development projects. Because the streetcar is a council priority, and because the money appears to be available, it's likely the council will opt to apply for the grant.

Whether the city will win the federal grant, of course, isn't known. City staff said they're optimistic, however.

The council must also decide whether to apply for another federal grant for a $15 million project to add hybrid electric "Sprinter" buses and increase the frequency along Central Avenue and Beatties Ford Road routes. Similar buses are already being used to run to the airport from the uptown Transportation Center. This would mean a rider could get on a "Sprinter" on Central and ride clear to the airport. The Charlotte Area Transit System already has the money needed to pay its share of the project. As we said last week, that should be a no-brainer.

The streetcar question is trickier and more political. The full route would eventually run from Beatties Ford Road at Interstate 85 through uptown and out Central Avenue to Eastland Mall. The section under consideration goes from Presbyterian Hospital to the Transportation Center uptown. Tracks and some of the wiring have already been installed between the hospital and Kings Drive, and the city already owns three faux-historic streetcars.

Last year the council's Republicans voted against the streetcar planning money, objecting to spending money on a project with no revenue source. And last week, council member Warren Cooksey pointed out that the $12 million might be better spent on other needs such as sidewalks and bike lanes.

Democrats, many of whom represent neighborhoods where the streetcar would run, are more enthusiastic about its potential to lure development. Mayor Anthony Foxx has said repeatedly the streetcar would likely be built in small segments - as other cities such as Portland, Ore., have done.

Some people don't think the streetcar is a good idea to start with. Some people think any transit spending is wasteful. We disagree.

The need for good public transit will only grow stronger as the city grows, traffic worsens, gas prices rise and the city struggles to escape its auto-generated ozone pollution problem.

Now, it appears, the city might get $25 million in unexpected federal money. It would be smart to take advantage of it.






Anthony Foxx: No Property Tax Hike For Charlotte Streetcar


Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx said Thursday he wouldn't raise property taxes to pay for a streetcar, despite his vote to move ahead with the project and suggestions from city staff that a hike may be needed.

"We aren't proposing or considering any increase in property taxes, and now would be a terrible time to think of that," he told the Observer. "I will not raise property taxes for the streetcar."

The streetcar and property tax issues came up when Foxx and Republican John Lassiter spoke to a luncheon of the Charlotte Regional Mortgage Lenders Association at the Myers Park Country Club.

Lassiter has also opposed property tax increases.

The rivals, both at-large city council members, were on opposite sides last month when council Democrats overrode Mayor Pat McCrory's veto of $4.5 million to start design work on the line.

The project, which would run from Johnson C. Smith University through uptown to Eastland Mall, would cost over $450 million. It's unclear where the money would come from.

"I could not promise to build something I didn't know how to pay for," Lassiter told the mortgage group.

Foxx defended his vote. He said the line would bring economic development to neighborhoods that need it. One study showed new development could generate $112million in new property taxes over 20 years.

"The future of our city is dependent on making every part ... a great place to live in," he told the group.

On Monday the city staff outlined ways to pay for the line to the council's Transportation Committee, which Foxx chairs. One option called for creating a special taxing district along the line and enacting a 4-cent tax hike for every $100 of taxable value. Another called for a citywide tax increase of 2 cents.

The city's current tax rate is 45.86cents.

"By supporting the streetcar, I'm not committing myself to a property tax increase," Foxx said later.

During the meeting, he defended his vote for a 2006 city budget that raised property taxes 9 percent - the first increase in at least a decade. Lassiter voted against the budget.

Foxx said the tax hike helped pay for the 70 new officers the police chief requested, more than in the no-new-tax budget supported by Lassiter and McCrory. It also brought in money for new roads and neighborhood improvements.

He suggested that without the tax hike, Charlotte's crime rate might not have gone down. Police say it's down 20percent from a year ago.

"You can't out a price on (a) family's sense of safety, put a value on the life saved because we had the additional police officers," he told the group.

Lassiter has criticized "unnecessary and unmanaged government spending" that he says had nothing to do with police, roads or neighborhoods.

Thursday he alluded to this year's General Assembly actions that raised the state sales tax by a penny and enacted surcharges of 2 percent or 3percent on some taxpayers. He told the mortgage lenders that he'll keep taxes down.

"We're in a high-taxed city in a high-taxed state," he said. "We've got to right the ship."







Finding That Charlotte Streetcar Money


Just finished an interview with Charlotte budget director Ruffin Hall (NOT Ruffin Poole, just in case you're confused by the Ruffins), to find where in the budget this $12 million was hiding. What $12 million? See yesterday's post. Or read on.

Of course, it isn't really hiding. The city staff is pointing to a variety of city funds (listed in the city budget) that still have money in them, funds set aside for just this sort of thing: a project that arises unexpectedly for which elected officials would like to find money.

In this instance, the city is considering whether to set aside $12 million, which it would spend if it gets a $25 million federal grant. The $37 million total would build a 1.5-mile first segment of a proposed 10-mile streetcar line. The City Council is to vote Monday on whether to apply for that grant (plus another one that would add hybrid electric buses). If the city can't find/isn't willing to spend the $12 million there's no point in applying for the grant. Here's a quick rundown of the $12 million:

First, it is capital expense money.

That's a separate, $803 million budget apart from the overall $1 billion operating budget that pays for things such as police officers and garbage collection. (You may or may not like the idea of spending the $12 million but it isn't money that could be used to hire more police.) Remember, too, the airport and the water/sewer departments, while counted in the budget, are self-sustaining "enterprise funds." (Also here's the perennial reminder: The city doesn't pay for schools, parks and recreation, welfare, mental health facilities or a variety of other needs paid by the county or state.)

- $2.5 million in streetcar planning funds. Last summer, in a controversial vote, the City Council allocated $8 million for streetcar planning and engineering. The contract came in for less, and $2.5 million is available. You can find it on page 166 of the city budget. Here's a link. This comes from a pot of money called PAYGO (pay as you go). This budget year the city put roughly $96 million into this fund, which is spent for things like transit maintenance, street improvements, roof replacements, etc.

- $10.5 million in reserve for economic development initiatives. This isn't PAYGO money. It's money set aside to repay debt the city might choose to take on. The council's transportation committee members Thursday said they'd use $5.5 million of this fund. Look on page 163 of the budget.

- $ 7 million in business corridor revitalization funds. These, too are PAYGO funds, as yet unspent. The committee didn't want to do this.

- $4 million in Smart Growth fund. That brings us to a multimillion "Smart Growth" fund, which the committee recommends using as part of the needed $12 million. Many folks wonder: The city just has $4 million sitting around that we didn't know about? I asked Hall. It turns out the money isn't just sitting around in some secret account. It's been used to help with transit-oriented development along South Boulevard.

Hall said it's a revolving fund (i.e., the city replenishes it with money the fund itself generates) that the council hasn't put money into for years. Because it doesn't get money allocated to it, it's not a line item on the budget. It would be on the city's financial statement, he said. Here's a link to that. I ran out of time to do more than a search for "Smart Growth" which turned up nothing. (Other writing deadlines loom larger and larger as I type this.)

Hall said the Smart Growth fund was used, for instance, when the city spent money for its proposed Scaleybark transit oriented development project. When the city sold the land to a developer (the project is stuck in the recession and is delayed), the money went back into this fund. I have a call in to Economic Development director Tom Flynn, in whose department Hall said, the fund sits. Hall didn't know whether taking $4 million would drain the fund.

Update: Flynn just called. He says that when Scaleybark Partners, the developer, repays the city in February the Smart Growth fund will have $4 million in it. It was set up as a revolving fund 9 or 10 years ago, he said, to be used for projects of that sort.

Bottom line: Money is fungible. A smart city manager will always keep things flexible enough so he or she can find funds for projects the elected officials want - or for things that arise unexpectedly midyear. I want managers who can do that. At the same time, I think the public (and elected officials) are owed more transparency about how much money is sitting, awaiting expenditure. It's smart to have some reserve money. It's also smart, if you're a council member, to know just what your reserve money is and where it lives in your budget.








Proposal Puts Charlotte Streetcar On Track In 3 Years



A proposed streetcar line could be operating in three years under a plan presented Thursday to city leaders.

City council's transportation committee voted 3-2 to recommend applying for a $24.9 million federal grant to help fund the construction of a 1.5-mile rail line from the Transportation Center on Trade Street to Presbyterian Hospital in Elizabeth.

The full council is expected to vote on the proposed grant application at their meeting on Monday.

Charlotte would contribute $12 million toward the estimated $37 million cost of extending the existing train tracks on Elizabeth Avenue and the installation of electrical cables needed to power the system.

Passengers would be carried by three trolleys already in Charlotte.

Money already allocated for a streetcar engineering study and funds set aside for economic development projects could cover the city's portion of the cost, according to information presented to committee members Thursday afternoon.

The transit project would be the first segment of a planned 10-mile streetcar line from Beatties Ford Road, near I-85, to Eastland Mall.

About 950 daily riders are projected for the line between the Transportation Center and Elizabeth. The estimated annual cost for operating the trolleys is $1.5 million.

Construction of the initial 1.5-mile segment would involve the closing of streets, a thought that concerns business owners on Elizabeth Avenue.

A half-mile of the street was shut down for nearly two years as rail lines were installed and utility lines were upgraded. The road reopened in August, but not before several storefronts were shuttered.

"It was a pure nightmare," said Maria Amvrazis, co-owner of Athenian Corner Grill, a restaurant which opened after construction was completed. "All of the businesses here were crying."

Amvrazis said she wanted a promise from city leaders that the work on a streetcar line would not injure her business.

"Reassure us that there will not be any crazy closings like it was," she said.






CATS Requests More Tax Dollars For Charlotte Streetcar


CATS said the streetcar line planned between Beatties Ford Road and Eastland Mall would cost about $372 million. It would open in two parts. The first part would open in 2018 and the rest would open in 2023.

Many people along the proposed line are pressuring officials to build it sooner. As a result, city leaders are looking at ways to pay for it sooner. They asked CATS to look into other other funding options to build the line now, like new taxes for people who own property along the line or even projects that aren't built yet along the stretch.

Charlotte council member Nancy Carter said, "It's crucial for us. It's moving people. This is public transit."

People voted for the half-cent sales tax for projects like this and, transit officials said, that'll cover part of the tab, but not all of it.



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Sources: Meck Deck Blog, John Locke Foundation, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, Baltimore Sun, Charmeck.org, Google Maps