On Friday the 26th we made a significant move towards greater transparency in Waxhaw. The BOC unanimously agreed to publicly broadcast the “two-by-two” meetings that are held preparatory to the regular meetings. Click the video to see the discussion. Below are my comments on this topic from the regular Tuesday meeting: Thank you to all […]
Transparency
Dark Money in Waxhaw Politics
A 501(c)4 named “Stand NC, Inc” has funded expensive mailers, text messaging, and robocalls on behalf of the incumbents in Waxhaw’s municipal election this year. This type of non-profit is under no legal obligation to disclose the identity of its donors. There’s no way to “follow the money” back to any particular individual – especially […]
Waxhaw Parks & Rec
We love parks and green space, but what are the real needs of our community? The Town of Waxhaw is currently growing the Parks & Rec staff and budget by leaps and bounds in an effort to align with “benchmarks” from NRPA (a private nonprofit). Why the quotes around that word? Well, because the NRPA […]
Waxhaw Wall 101
Why do we call ourselves a “Wall”? Not to keep people out or close ourselves off, but to separate the different motivations that tend to drive public and private institutions. Private institutions are profit-motivated, and public (government) institutions should be service-motivated. The profit motive usefully drives people to work hard, but our public institutions need […]
Town Hall Debacle
When 150+ people showed up at the Waxhaw Town Hall Forum meeting to talk about the Adelina development, Mayor Pappas had the gall to tell them they had come to the wrong meeting, and that Adelina would not be discussed. This is typical of the disrespect that we the people get from the current administration.Make […]
The Vicious Waxhaw Circle
As local property taxes go up, long-time residents with land may not be able to afford them. Over time they end up selling their land and moving away. This paves the way for higher-density development and higher population. The increased population boosts town revenues, and elected officials tend to find a way to spend it […]