Taxes. Highways. Schools. The future of HB2.
Those are among the issues certain to pit the interests of urban and rural North Carolina as state lawmakers embark on their new session.
It’s woven into every piece of legislation.
Veteran lobbyist Connie Wilson
“It’s woven into every piece of legislation,” says Connie Wilson, a veteran lobbyist and former Charlotte lawmaker.
Like partisan politics, the urban-rural divide impacts public policy across the country. In North Carolina, where the General Assembly is dominated by rural and suburban lawmakers, it affected legislation that has impacted Charlotte and other cities. So much so that the Charlotte City Council devoted part of this week’s retreat in Raleigh to a lengthy discussion of what it billed as the “urban-rural connection.”
“We all have the same goal,” Charlotte Chamber executive Natalie English told an audience of council members and Mecklenburg County lawmakers. “At the end of the day, we want our region to be economically successful.”
Tensions between urban and rural areas have existed for decades, if not longer. But they’ve grown more pronounced.
One reason is political. North Carolina’s biggest cities, like those nationwide, are bastions of Democratic strength while Republican support comes from suburbs and rural counties. In November, Democrats picked up legislative seats in Mecklenburg and Wake County but saw their overall numbers virtually unchanged.
Another reason is a growing demographic gap.
Half the state’s growth between 2010 and 2015 occurred in Mecklenburg and Wake counties, according to James Johnson, a demographer at UNC Chapel Hill. Another 40 percent came in urban areas along Interstate 85 as well as in coastal New Hanover County. Contrast that with the 50 of the state’s 100 counties that have not only seen people leave but where deaths exceed births.
These counties are literally dying. So we have a pretty sharp divide. Our population is continuing to concentrate in urban areas.
UNC demographer James Johnson
“These counties are literally dying,” Johnson said. “So we have a pretty sharp divide. Our population is continuing to concentrate in urban areas.”
Redistributing tax money
Last session, lawmakers voted to redistribute sales tax revenue from urban to rural counties. Charlotte officials estimated that $45 million of tax revenues generated in Mecklenburg County will be redistributed this year from that and earlier measures.
This year urban advocates worry about further redistribution efforts. They also worry about changes in the way transportation funding is distributed.
“I am concerned about some of the changes being proposed to transportation and will in the long run harm the interests of my district,” said Rep. Bill Brawley, a Matthews Republican.
Republican Sen. Harry Brown of Jacksonville, who pushed last year’s sales tax redistribution, said he has no plans to do that again. “I hadn’t even thought about it honestly,” he said. “It’s not at the top of my list.”
Brown’s district includes rural Jones County. When he first introduced the tax legislation in 2015, people in Jones County did 71 percent of their retail spending elsewhere, according to UNC’s Center for Competitive Economies.
In light of the disparities, urban advocates emphasize the need to work together.
“I expect the focus of the General Assembly this session to be on how to build bridges between the two and help both succeed,” said Julie White, executive director of N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition.
“The leadership of the General Assembly has already started talking about how we enable both urban and rural economies to flourish and we look forward to working in partnership with them towards that end.”
Balance interests?
Others emphasized the inter-connectedness of the state. Paul Meyer, executive director of N.C. League of Municipalities, said many of the state’s rural counties are in metro regions and depend on nearby cities. He said 189,000 commuters pour into Mecklenburg every day from surrounding counties.
Some expect lawmakers to try to balance the competing interests with bond issues for transportation and infrastructure.
We don’t want urban versus rural. We want something that lifts urban and rural.
House Minority Leader Darren Jackson of Raleigh
“We don’t want urban versus rural,” said House Minority Leader Darren Jackson of Raleigh. “We want something that lifts urban and rural.”
Johnson, the UNC demographer, said all parts of North Carolina have to prosper for the state to prosper.
“We’re only as strong as our weakest link,” he said.
Jim Morrill: 704-358-5059, @jimmorrill
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