One of the bright spots of the recently adjourned legislative session is a $2 billion infrastructure bond referendum that will go before North Carolina voters in the March presidential primary next year.
The timing of the legislation makes sense for a lot of reasons. If the bond passes, it will not require a tax increase. Interest rates remain near historic lows, meaning debt service will be a relatively small expense. And the low cost of petroleum will help hold down the expense of many of the projects related to the bond.
But most important of all, North Carolina needs maintenance. We need look only across our southern border for a lesson in what happens when states try to take care of needs on the cheap.
More than 20 dams in South Carolina breached during heavy rains earlier this month. Some of the blame for the awful devastation rests at the feet of public officials who held the budget on dam inspections and maintenance to just $260,000 annually. By contrast, North Carolina spends $2 million a year on dam inspections and maintenance.
As Gov. Pat McCrory noted when he signed the bill this week, the bond will provide much needed money for improvements at University of North Carolina campuses, community colleges, agricultural research, the National Guard and water and sewer systems in small towns.
Those aren’t Republican interests or Democratic interests. They’re needs that will help all of North Carolina.
As you go to the polls in March to choose a presidential candidate, make the future a priority. Support the bond.
