Enough is enough with developers
To the Editor:
Over the last few years I have read with incredulity article after article about how our town alderman and county commissioners have been handing millions of dollars to large corporations in the form of property tax breaks while raising those same taxes on average homeowners. There is no doubt we need affordable housing, but providing incentives to big developers by overtaxing us homeowners is not needed.
The Sunnyside/Raccoon Road development in Waynesville will make plenty of profits by selling small houses on one-sixth acre lots for up to $400,000. Who thinks $400,000 is affordable? The old Bi-Lo property development will be just fine without taking the money in my pocket. The same goes for the hotel on Hyatt Creek. Haywood County’s tax rate is .535 per $100. Compare that to Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County, which is .3481 per $100.
With the approval of each of these projects there have been some sound bites from our leaders about how we need more affordable housing. Our leaders then decided to increase the burden on your average homeowner by increasing tax revenue. My taxes are escrowed and with the increase voted in my monthly mortgage payment has gone up by $178.03 (Merry Christmas). Is that what Mayor Gary Caldwell considers affordable? The landlords are looking at the same situation and will have no choice but to increase the rents.
Bottom line is it is fun to spend other people’s money and our alderman and commissioners are not going to stop spending unless we vote them out.
Jon Nowakowski
Waynesville
