To the voters of North Carolina:

As local officials, we experience firsthand the effects of decisions made by politicians in

Raleigh. We all know public school teachers that work two jobs or have seen barren classrooms
or students without textbooks because the legislature will not invest in teacher pay or basic
supplies for our students.

We are also aware of the potentially damaging impact of the legislature’s proposed six
constitutional amendments on the ballot this November. The tax amendment and several others
would have major impacts on the local level.

We are at a critical juncture in the future of North Carolina. We need to make transformative
investments in education to reach our full economic potential. But the proposed amendment to
lower the cap on income taxes has the potential to shift even more money from education to tax
breaks for the wealthy.

North Carolina has already fallen behind in meeting the needs of its citizens. The limits on
current state revenue has put pressure on local budgets and has required local officials to either
cut vital services or raise property taxes. Property tax rates have been raised in 74 of 100
counties since 2012. Capping the tax rate will also limit North Carolina's ability to respond to
future unforeseen needs, such as responding to a natural disaster like Hurricane Florence or
another recession.

The Photo ID amendment, which could have a devastating impact on seniors, active-duty
military, low-income and college student populations’ ability to vote, will come with additional
costs to taxpayers who fund our elections’ boards at the local level.

The proposed amendment will cost an estimated $12 million to state and local governments.
Instead of erecting barriers to voting, this money could be spent investing in education, funding
1,400 pre-kindergarten slots to prepare our children for school.

The amendment to guarantee partisan gridlock on the state elections board, could have a chilling
effect on early voting plans created—and funded—at the local level.
And questions remain about the local costs to implement the victims’ rights amendment and the
effect on private property rights and local ordinances of the hunting and fishing amendment.

Unfortunately, the state legislature did not answer most of these questions by failing to enact
enabling legislation for all but one amendment before the election. These constitutional
amendments were written by politicians to sound good, but without any of the fine print. We are
afraid that fine print will eventually be a bad deal for local governments and North Carolina
families.
Not surprisingly, only one of the six constitutional amendments on the ballot have received an
official fiscal note in the 2018 legislative process to assess the costs. However, we know the
costs will be real, they will be felt by lower- and middle-class families, and they will hurt our
communities at a time when we need to rid our state of barriers to opportunity.

Our state’s rural counties will be hit hardest by limits imposed on state revenue. Currently, many
of North Carolina's rural counties receive 15-20 percent of its budget from state revenue, which
funds things like public safety, public health, and parks and recreation.

As representatives of local governments across North Carolina we urge our fellow citizens to
vote against all six constitutional amendments.

Signed,

Durham City Council

Steve Schewel, Mayor

Vernetta Alston
Javiera Caballero
DeDreana Freeman
Jillian Johnson
Mark-Anthony Middleton
Charlie Reece

Durham County Board of Commissioners

Wendy Jacobs, Chair

James Hill, Vice Chair
Heidi Carter
Brenda Howerton
Ellen Reckhow

Durham County Board of Education

Mike Lee, Chair

Steve Unruhe, Vice Chair
Natalie Beyer
Xavier Cason
Bettina Umstead
Minnie Forte-Brown
Matt Sears