You might have noticed Charlotte's City County government loves to spend your money.
Current projects include expanding the Airport with a billion dollar project, building a baseball park uptown, projects to modernize and expand our water and sewer system and spend another million in new gadgets for our police department. Trolley lines and light rail and spruce up the Chicken Box on Independence Boulevard.
To pay for all this and more Charlotte's City Manager wants to raise your property taxes by 10%.
And now comes news that our Charlotte Mecklenburg Utility Department (CMUD) wants to raise your water rates again, this time by 6%. Yes that is correct again as in the 5th year is a row. Which just for laughs makes for a total of nearly 63% over a period during which the inflation increased by total of less than 10%.
In other words, if your water bill was $20.00 in 2007 it, adjusted for inflation should have increased to no more than $21.96 this year. So why is your bill nearly double? Well that would be CMUD smoke and mirrors complex rate scheme.
Cedar's take: Underlying all of this government waste is a real perplexing problem, and that is that Charlotte Area and the Catawaba River Basin which has spawned its growth has reached the point of maximum utilization. Sure it is fine if the rain keeps falling, but even the slightest drought will have dramatic consequences. The city and the region can not continue the growth.
Regardless of the money spent, and the rate increases, mother nature is about to say enough is enough.
More on CMUD's rate increase from Pundit House here and the Charlotte Observer here.
6 comments:
But wait, the City is getting all this money from DNC. DNC will save us. Like Obama brought us Hope and Change. I am still Hoping for CHANGE. Thank you, have a nice day. :-)
You are using the extremely flawed and manipulated CPI as your measurement of inflation. 25% of the "inflation" figure is a wild-ass-guess called "owner's equivalent rent". What's happened to real estate prices the past few years? Yup, gone down. A lot. The consider that CPI excludes energy and food, and ta-da, low "official" inflation while real prices go up 50%. When's the last time you saw 99-cents-a-pound grapes?
Garth is correct the CPI as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is not a "real world" gauge of the cost of living.
But as a bench mark, since it measures wages it is a good yard stick to show affordability.
The public's ability to absorbe a 50% increase in water rate is challenged by the lack of supporting wage increases. Then add in the fact that energy prices and accordingly food prices have skyrocketed means any increase in water bills will hit all taxpayers hard.
Anything you read in the local rage is to help set the stage for Obama. Like real estate rises 3.5% last month. B.S. According to Zillow, not the most accurate, my property went down 3.5%.
It is sad how corrupt the news media is and how dumb some are to beleive everything that is written.
Actually I have seen my water increase 400% since I lived here and that is no joke. Beginning of the mid 90's. It's like someone else is also hooked up to my meter.
Cedar, I missed the item where we're paying to fix up a Chicken Box on Independence Blvd? how much and WHY? do you have a link or story reference?
Ok great so my property taxes are going to increase. Well when is enough going to be enough. I was fortunate enough to be able to save my home and save enough money to remodel it and now i have to pay 10% more to live in it. WOW good thing I found a handyman in Charlotte that gave me a pretty good bid.
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