Charlotte mayoral candidate Scott Stone is sending out a fundraising letter filled with inaccuracies.
Stone, a Republican who hopes to face Mayor Anthony Foxx in November, sent a letter to some Charlotte property owners whose home values went up in this year's revaluation. It plays on people's emotions and drags Foxx into a fight that has little to do with him. And it does so with multiple untruths. Let us count the mistakes in his one-page letter:
-- Stone says: "Your property has been reassessed above market value so that the county and Anthony Foxx can get more taxes out of you."
The truth: Your property has been reassessed because state law requires reassessments at least every eight years. Foxx does not get more taxes out of you, because the city on Monday passed a revenue-neutral budget.
-- Stone says: "In the worst recession in our city's history..."
The truth: Guess Stone forgot about that little bump in the road called the Great Depression.
-- Stone says: "Your value went up [amount]. That is a [number] percent increase!"
The truth: In the letter we saw, the percentage increase was wrong by about 20 points.
-- Stone says commissioners' chairman Jennifer Roberts refused to re-do the revaluation as he proposed. "She used the excuse that it was outside North Carolina law. So I went to Raleigh and got the Speaker of the House ... to agree to change the law. And yet, the revaluation will not change."
The truth: That silly Jennifer Roberts, using that flimsy excuse of it being against the law. What is she thinking? The revaluation will not change because it is still against the law, whatever the House speaker may have told Stone.
-- Stone says: "Next year, [your] household will pay around [amount] more in local property taxes."
The truth: In the letter we saw, Stone overstates the amount of the tax-bill increase.
-- Stone says: "What is Anthony Foxx doing? He encouraged the county to raise your taxes and has said nothing about the revaluation. Anthony Foxx is OK with you paying [amount] next year - because the city is getting its piece of your increase."
The truth: Foxx did not encourage the county to raise your taxes. What he said about revaluation was that the city should cut its tax rate to revenue neutral to cushion any blow that residents might feel from any county tax increase. The city is not getting a piece of your increase; it set its tax rate to bring in about the same amount of property tax revenue as it did last year.
-- Stone says: "Together, we will win this election!"
The truth: Well, you be the judge.
-- Posted by the Observer editorial board
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16 comments:
Thanks Observer Editors. Now if you would like to do a story on a few other things that get by in this city on a daily basis by a lot of the other elected officials that I have tried to get you focus on, that would be great.
This post itself contains a bunch of half-truths. Furthermore, it is written in the first person, yet signed by an anonymous "board".
The letter says "your revaluation was made for more than market value because", yet the article chooses to call that a lie but answers with why the revaluation was made, not why it was made for more than market value, for instance.
Slimy partisanship on the part of a slimy bunch of cowards that will call someone a liar but won't sign their names.
You see, Observer cronies, when you pay more in taxes this year than last year, that is called a tax increase.
Let me put in into perspective that you might understand. When you all go to work tomorrow, there are less people there than last year, that is call a decrease. When you look at the subscription numbers compared to last year, that is called a decrease. When you look at your stock price compared to just last month, that is called a 30% decrease.
Hey ummmm.."editorial board"?
Perhaps you should spend more time pressing for city/county consolidation.
Afterall, there is very little county left and lately, Mayor Fixxit has been dipping his toe into county business; comments about CMS yet puts his daughter into private school, getting involved in the library fiasco and resource officers for CMS.
Ya'll do realize that a recession and depression aren't the same thing, don't ya?
Oh, and you realize that the S&P/Case Shiller home price index shows that area home prices are currently falling farther than they did during the entire Great Depression, don't ya?
Hopefully one or two others can see through your smug attempt to discredit someone who dare run opposed to an area democrat.
Haha! I love how the OEB tries to disprove Scott's statements with obvious half truths. Might be good to just take this post down guys. Or you can just leave it up, its not really a mystery to anyone that your viewpoints are driven by a liberal ideology.
I guess as long as you say something as a board, no one can be held responsible.
Maybe your circulation numbers would quit falling if you tried to REPORT on the news instead of trying to create it.
Jason and Conam-Took me about 5 seconds to find the names of the editorial board on the website...not exactly a big secret.
Staff Member Title/Area Phone
Taylor Batten Editor of Editorial Pages (704) 358-5934
Jack Betts Associate Editor/Raleigh (919) 836-2884
Fannie Flono Associate Editor (704) 358-5079
Mary Newsom Associate Editor (704) 358-5049
Even your fellow liberal media cohorts admits that the current housing crisis has surpassed it's great depression level, which for most sane people, would indicate that something is wrong when their home is being assessed above market value. Ever heard of that little bump in the road called smug liberal whiners that make news to suit their political agenda?
See today's Huffington Post article.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECESSION AND DEPRESSION
RECESSION: When your neighbor loses his job
DEPRESSION: When you lose your job.
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
Maybe Foxx does not get more from me but the county and city is getting $1,200.00 more per year from me and many others in my old neighborhood with homes in it that were built in the mid 60's and most of the people that live in the homes are seniors on fixed income. The entire revaluation program was a fix and the county knows it. Revenue Neutral, HAH! Thieves, possibly. Redistribution of wealth, certainly. The Observer and other local news agencies are too chicken to tell the truth about what is going on in our local government. My home and most others are now below the 2003 revaluation, however, so many have been valued at $40,000.00 to $96,000.00 over their market value. The writer of this article is of no value to the community!
Maybe Foxx does not get more from me but the county and city is getting $1,200.00 more per year from me and many others in my old neighborhood with homes in it that were built in the mid 60's and most of the people that live in the homes are seniors on fixed income. The entire revaluation program was a fix and the county knows it. Revenue Neutral, HAH! Thieves, possibly. Redistribution of wealth, certainly. The Observer and other local news agencies are too chicken to tell the truth about what is going on in our local government. My home and most others are now below the 2003 revaluation, however, so many have been valued at $40,000.00 to $96,000.00 over their market value. The writer of this article is of no value to the community!
Just trying to drive my point home by repeating it, same as the observer does all time. I guess the believe if we hear the lies enough times, we will believe them. To the Observer writers, NO,No, No, No!
Hey, just though of something. How many of you actually live in Charlotte/Mecklenburg?
Not surprisingly, the apologists attack the messenger and ignore the fact that Stone has lied throughout the document.
Why does he feel it necessary to lie and distort? Why can't he present a platform based on truth and proven facts?
Personally, I do not think Stone did a thorough job of researching, but not all his comments were inaccurate.
Do I like Foxx, NO WAY! He is just another hypocrite. But if Stone wants my vote I would suggest he start with better researching, stop with the rhetoric and start acting like he cares enough about this job to invest a little more into it.
He may also want to get rid of that "stone" cold pic he uses. It is not flattering and I DO want change here in Charlotte Mecklenburg ....but not if he is just another Pat McCrory
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