I’m at that age where I repeat myself. For more than a year and a half, I’ve been nagging Town Council members to fix the Ephesus-Fordham form-based code so that we can repay the $10 million loan we took out for improvements to the area. Bear in mind, we put up Town Hall as collateral. […]
All posts in category Budget
What, me worry?
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 15, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/08/15/what-me-worry/
Cultural Arts comes off the bench
With the burgeoning list of needs for our town — sidewalks, buses, housing options for people who work in some of the lower-paid jobs in town — spending taxpayer money on art seemed a low priority to me. Then I sat next to Jeffrey York, the town’s public and cultural arts administrator, at the advisory […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 25, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/07/25/cultural-arts-comes-off-the-bench/
Make time for budget talks
We need to talk — council members with one another and with key staff. By the end of June, we hope to pass a budget for Fiscal Year 2017, which starts July 1, and we still haven’t had those all-important discussions about the best way to spend taxpayers’ financial resources. Guaranteed we won’t agree on […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 6, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/06/06/make-time-for-budget-talks/
Making the most of Ephesus-Fordham
Last week, someone using the name Jon Miller wrote to Town Council, concerned that proposed changes to the Ephesus-Fordham form-based code would weaken it. I responded that the modifications would strengthen it — taxpayers have a $10 million loan to repay from increased net tax revenue, and the four projects planned or underway won’t generate […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 14, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/03/14/making-the-most-of-ephesus-fordham/
Money, money, money
How to spend money wreaks havoc on many a marriage. As Town Council, with its four new members, begins the budgeting process this year, I wonder how our new council relationships will fare. The town’s financial director, Ken Pennoyer, will give a presentation at Monday night’s meeting that involves shifting some unexpected leftover money to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 8, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/02/08/money-money-money-2/
Ask, and get real answers
Someone needs to tell the town’s Planning Department staff that Chapel Hill already has an ordinance that governs bed-and-breakfasts. Oh, wait. Someone already has. Several someones, in fact — the former director of planning, the town attorney and multiple people in the community, including Chapel Hill Watch — going back more than 15 years. And […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 5, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/10/05/what-problem-is-solved/
Own up to tax hike
Get ready for a tax hike, a one-two punch of county and town both wanting more from taxpayers. Talk of money hung heavy in the air last week, with the county commissioners continuing discussion (kudos to board chair Earl McKee for dissuading his colleagues from rubberstamping approval) of a $125 million bond in 2016, and […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 9, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/03/09/not-in-my-checkbook/
CHALT makes connections
After my children left home, my husband and I thought of downsizing to Hillsborough, where taxes are a little bit lower. But the historic homes were too big, the small homes in a gentrifying section of town needed too much work, and the new homes in the subdivisions north of town left us uninspired. Knowing […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 26, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/01/26/chalt-makes-connections/
Safety or spin?
In early September, eight members of the town’s communications team won national awards for two public relations pieces they produced. The City-County Communications & Marketing Association bestowed Silver Circle Awards for the “Mayors Innovation Project Video” in the category of Promotional Videos and the “CaPA How-To Guides” in the Internal Printed Publications category. The video […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 15, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/09/15/safety-or-spin/
Housing hypocrisy
I couldn’t help but wince when council members began their remarks at the May 19 Town Council meeting after nearly a dozen community members made impassioned pleas for money to support affordable housing. One organization played a 9-minute video of interviews with people who had benefited from affordable housing programs in Chapel Hill, perhaps assuming […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 26, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/26/housing-hypocrisy/