One might think North Carolina municipal leaders should feel pretty relaxed about state legislative issues as the 2013 session approaches. The new governor will be the former seven-term mayor of the state’s largest city, and the House speaker represents the same urban area.
But the state’s mayors are rightly concerned about the new political reality in Raleigh. With complete Republican control of the legislative and executive branches, they worry that annexation laws and urban-growth policies will be changed and that state budget cuts will lead to increased costs being tacked onto city budgets.
There’s some basis for these concerns. During the 2011-12 sessions, the Republican legislature had testy relations with the N.C. League of Municipalities, the organization that represents the state’s cities and towns. City leaders said that the legislature injected state policy into purely local decisions, and there are constant concerns that GOP lawmakers will further weaken annexation laws that keep this state’s urban centers financially healthy.
Lawmakers must keep in mind, next year, that North Carolina is no longer the rural state some of them may think it is. More than half of the state’s population lives in urban areas, and it’s those areas that are growing the fastest. Voters in those cities and suburbs elect their local officials on the basis of local issues, and voters expect those officials to have the call when it comes to running local affairs. They don’t expect the legislature to decide how, for example, Winston-Salem, operates its municipal services.
Republicans have long complained about the unfunded mandates that Congress and the General Assembly have pushed down on subordinate government bodies. Now that they are in charge, they can practice what they have long preached.
Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, speaking for a group of mayors, says she’s received assurances from Speaker Thom Tillis that the legislature will not balance the budget on the backs of cities. Gov.-elect Pat McCrory certainly shows no indication of doing such, either.
If North Carolina is to prosper, it needs vibrant cities. Let’s hope legislators understand that.
by Journal Editorial Board
(Winston-Salem Journal)
Posted: Wednesday, December 26, 2012 12:00 am
