Local

Harrisburg voters to decide on controversial $25M bond package

HARRISBURG, N.C. — Residents in Harrisburg are being asked to vote for a tax hike that is far larger than the town's number of people.

The upside to the enormous, $25 million bond package means the town of 15,000 people would get better parks and better roads.

The downside? The steep tax hike.

"We're taxed to death already," voter Bill Cheek said.

The first bond proposal for Parks and Recreation would cost $21 million.

The second bond would fund $4 million in transportation projects.

The payment period is 20 years, so another $5 million in interest needs to be factored in.

When the total $25 million bond package is broken down, a person who owns a $250,000 home would pay an extra $200 a year in taxes, equaling an extra $4,000 over 20 years.

"That's a lot of money to be looking at yearly, but on the other hand we need the parks," Cheek said.

Town Manager Haynes Brigman said Harrisburg is growing so fast, it can't keep up with the demand for better park facilities. The Parks and Recreation bond would renovate and expand the town's parks and trails and athletic fields. It would also pave the way for new facilities, such as an amphitheater.

The bonds would also cover millions in improvements for busy roads, such as Highway 49.

Critics have asked: Why not let the state cover the cost of building sidewalks and resurfacing roads, since the North Carolina Department of Transportation manages some of the lanes included in the project?

Brigman said the transportation bond is needed to get road projects approved now. Otherwise, it could take eight to twelve years for the state to step in.

"I do think it's needed," neighbor Joshua Corun said.

He worries that without a tax hike, Harrisburg will keep outgrowing its roads and public facilities.

"Four thousand dollars over 20 years? That's less than what people spend on their cellphones over 20 years," Corun said.

Voters will decide on the controversial issue when they head to the polls for the Nov. 7 election.

Brigman said, in part, "Residents must decide if intersection safety improvements, newly paved roads, expanded and connected sidewalks, safe passages to schools, new greenways and trails, community center, splash pad, amphitheater, multipurpose fields, youth center, senior center, and community meeting space are worth the added taxes they would pay."

Even if voters approve the bonds, there still isn't a guarantee the projects will be completed.

At the start of 2017, Mecklenburg County still didn't have the funding for 13 of the 75 park projects that were approved in a bond package in 2008.

The rest of those projects finally secured funding this summer.

For more information about the bonds, visit the town's website.

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