Chuck Hughes, Salisbury, N.C.
♦ Lobbyists for passing the state’s $2 billion bond (I believe it may have been a $2.8 billion offering at one time) in March, charitably state that, “No tax increases would be necessary given the state’s strong revenue growth and ample debt service capacity.” Hopefully, NC tax payers will understand that tax money will ultimately pay the bond debt and the required dividend payments over the next 20-25 years.
My concern with the bond, of which two-thirds is directed to the needs of higher-education, is not the debt the state will incur (although looking at the recession we may soon be facing, we have reason to be concerned), or the worthy projects it supports. It is the fact that state incurred debt ultimately translates to debt for each of NC’s 100 counties AND their residents.
While school districts depend on the county to finance their major capital projects, county governments often depend on bonds to fund these projects; projects such as Rowan/Salisbury’s desperate need to replace 90 year-old schools while attempting to keep 40 year-old schools running in order to provide basic comfort and safety for their 20,000 plus wards. State-bond-debt indirectly limits the ability of counties to pass their needed bonds.
Although no formal request for a $100,000,000 school bond dedicated to building three or four new schools has been presented to our County Commissioners, informal conversations suggests a school bond issue will be trumped by a county bond issue for water and sewage expansion, unless grant money from the state becomes available.
Although I appreciate other county needs, without a school initiative bond, R/SSS’s limited capital funding will not be adequate to start any new school project for the next 10 to 15 years.
VOTE NO ON THE CONNECT NC BOND IN MARCH
