Chapel Hill Mayor: More Cash ‘or it’s going to get ugly’
Posted March 31st, 2009 at 9:56 AM by Donna MartinezWhat has Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy so upset? The funding of libraries. Foy is irked that folks outside of his little haven are actually — get ready for the outrage — using the Chapel Hill libraries. He’s now threating to charge the common folk up to $150 for a library card unless other local governments fork over more library cash.
So does this mean the county can charge Chapel Hill residents for biking on northern Orange’s scenic roads? Can Carrboro charge Chapel Hill residents for using a facility? Up to $150 perhaps?
March 31st, 2009 at 11:08 am
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Mayor Foy is bucking received New Urbanist dogma here. Recall that investing public spaces and attractions is supposed to “pay for itself” by drawing in visitors from elsewhere who then partake of ancillary spending, which accrues to the bottom-line of the local jurisdiction via hospitality taxes.
In other words, Foy is saying that SOME visitors to a community might actually be a net cost. Really. Remember that for future use.
March 31st, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Don’t forget that this is the same community that clamped down on the annual taxpayer-funded Halloween party because non-residents were coming and taking advantage of it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:46 am
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