Local Elections DO MATTER for Quality Growth Planning

Many of the quality of life issues that affect us on a daily basis, like schools, transportation, and drinking water, are decided at the local level. This year, elections for City and Town councils, and the Wake Board of Eduction will give voters an opporutnity to select candidates who will best plan for growth in our communities. Given the current economic slowdown, do we in the Triangle still need to be concerned about the growing population and development that comes with it? Most definitely! Despite the recession, our region's economy has remained strong, even growing in some areas. This good fortune means people will continue to come to the Triangle in search of jobs and good schools, and elected officials still must figure out how to plan and pay for all those people. Our increasingly urban community will best be served by elected officials who have the wisdom to take a long-term view in growth management planning. In this year's municipal elections, voters need to scrutinize the candidates through a growth-focused lens. Voters should challenge candidates about their plans to pay for schools, ensure long-term water supply, and build transit. Voters should look at who is funding the candidates' campaigns, to ensure special interests are not working to the detriment of quality, sustainable growth. Elections for Raleigh City Council, Cary Town Council, and the Wake Board of Education are on Tuesday October 6. Elections for Angier, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon are on Tuesday November 3. See the Wake County Board of Elections for more information. Here's what voters should be asking the candidates: How will you propose to pay for schools? Property taxes aren't keeping up with the growing need for more schools and a 21st century K-12 education. Wake County already spends far less annually than the national average per pupil, and now some school programs can't be funded because there's simply not enough money. We need to find new and better ways to pay for schools, and take a hard look at how much new development pays for itself. Do you support stronger water conservation, efficiency, and protection measures to keep our drinking water clean and abundant? A growing population poses two challenges: we need to conserve more water to serve more people, and we need to ensure water is clean and safe. The fact is we have limited supplies of fresh water, so we need to use water wisely. Increased development means more stormwater runoff, and that means more pollution in Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and the future Little River Reservoir. We must protect these assets with proper planning, stormwater controls, and innovative water policies. Will you work to plan and fund a regional transit system for the Triangle? If we fail to increase transportation choices now, our economy, environment, and quality of life will suffer from worse traffic, more air pollution, and more sprawl when the population doubles in the next two decades. A plan for a regional system of expanded bus service, rail, and circulators has been proposed, and we should support this plan. Higher gas prices have increased demand for transit, but to remain competitive, employers will need better options to get employees to work. The state and local government should act now to support transit. Are you accepting campaign funds from the realtor and homebuilder PACs? These powerful special interests heavily influence policy decisions at the local and state levels. The NC Association of Realtors (NCAR) is the largest contributor to state legislative races in North Carolina. NCAR has threatened legislators who support allowing counties to vote on a real estate transfer tax as a means to pay for schools, transportation or other growth needs. Do you believe growth should pay its fair share of the costs of development? With a declining economy, our tax base will decrease. New sources of revenue - such as transfer fees on real estate transactions and increased impact fees on new development - are essential for paying the costs of new infrastructure needed for growth. Those that benefit financially from development itself currently do not pay their fair share of the costs of schools, roads, parks and water infrastructure needed to support that growth. Existing taxpayers continue to subsidize sprawl. If we fail to ask the hard questions of our political candidates, we will end up with short-sighted growth plans and an eroding quality of life - meaning longer commute times, more air pollution, kids in school trailers and worse water quality. Realtor and homebuilder PACs and lobbies have often controlled growth planning and policies, and that won't change until the voters decide to elect leaders with a new vision for the 21st century.