Property Tax for Durham could rise

The property tax for Durham could rise by one cent for the 2015-2016 budget. The increase would be for new firefighters and police which to me seems like a worthy cause. The departments do need to show a need and also how the new officers would be utilized. The current property tax for Durham is 59.12 cents per $100 valuation. The one cent increase would mean a $35 increase for a house valued at $250,000 for instance. Of course this comes at a time when the state legislature is reducing the amount of money it is giving to cities potentially causing even higher tax rates. Hopefully things will settle down quickly as the budget for Durham is due in May and has to be balanced. Glad I am not the Mayor.

Mortgage Debt Relief in Raleigh and Duham

Why does the legislature keep tacking bad amendments to good bills. This bill will affect Short Sale sellers in the Raleigh and Durham area as well as the rest of the state if passed. Please read the bill and send a Call TO Action to your state senator. When the seller's bank accepts less than what is owed to them, then that is viewed as being "income" to the seller. Please note that while the Federal Government has decided not to tax people on this "income", now NC has decided that it WILL tax the sellers on the shortfall like it is income. Your sellers need to know that. p.s. They stuck this provision in NC's new gas tax bill. Here is the article: No mortgage relief in bill Senate Bill 20 is more than just a gas tax bill. It has the potential to affect thousands of people filing their income taxes this year. That's because it contained technical provisions, known as internal revenue code updates, that help match North Carolina's tax laws to the federal government's. This set of IRC updates is being made in response to federal tax changes passed in 2014. For example, the bill mirrors the federal tax code in a way that will let teachers keep a $250 tax deduction for buying school supplies. However, North Carolina has decided to charge taxes on some items that would have gone untaxed due to changes to federal laws. The most controversial change along these lines has to do with mortgage debt that is forgiven. When someone who is in a financial pinch has the amount they owe on their home forgiven through a debt relief program, that can be counted as income. The federal government decided not to tax this amount, but the state will under the Senate Bill 20. This change was controversial when the measure passed through the Senate because it levies a big tax bill on those trying to work their way out of debt. When House lawmakers first passed this bill, they excluded the mortgage forgiveness from taxes. The compromise measure takes the Senate position.

Raleigh To Pick Up Storm Debris

Raleigh collection trucks will continue to pick up debris from the last few ice storms for the next couple of weeks. They will also contract with CrowderGulf for extra collection people and equipment. The heavy snowfall and freezing weather has kept city collection trucks off the streets as well as caused the heavy damage to trees in the region. The warm weather during the snowfall made the snow wet and heavy which bent and broke tree branches. The city I just moved from, Virginia Beach does the same type work but others in the region don't. I haven't heard anything from Durham or Cary yet so I don't know how those cities are handling the situation.

We moved to Durham from Virginia Beach and our yard was full of Cardinals. I am guessing they are tree huggers because our yard backed up to a line of trees. This is the first Cardinal we seen in our yard in four months and he was a beauty.

Cary Food

We recently moved to Durham from Virginia Beach. From reading the The News and Observer we maybe should have moved to Cary. It seems many new and varied restaurants are opening there. If you like Mexican, try the new Mexican restaurant called Totopos. It offers a taste of Mexican street foods of Mexico City. There is plenty of atmosphere with a life like mannequin dressed in Lucha libre ( Mexican wrestling regalia sitting just outside the door. Inside there are colorful displays of lucha libre masks as well as brightly painted wooden children's toys. The chef is Miguel Cuevas of Gonza Tacos y Tequila fame. Come take a look and taste. The place is at 1389 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary. In addition there is a new Ethiopian restauruant, Awaz'e, in the Reedy Creek Plaza shopping center. The name of the restaurant comes from an authentic Ethiopian spice blend that is woven into many of the meat and vegetarian dishes. The owners of the Kabab & Grill are opening a restaurant in Cary also. That will be at 914 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary. Hope to see you there.

The Triangle Area May Loose Control Of Regulating Home Designs

I find it incredible that the North Carolina legislature wants to take control of how the cities regulate home designs. There are several bills being that would affect Raleigh, Cary, Durham and Wake Forest as well as the rest of the state. These bills would strike down residential guidelines that tell developers how homes must look. Another bill ends extraterritorial jurisdiction (an area outside of cit limits where city leaders control planning and zoning matters). The Metro Mayors Coalition is lobbying against the bills, House Bill 36 and House Bill 51. Contact your local Representative and let them know you don't want developers having control over subdivisions.

Walnut Terrace in Raleigh, NC

I have recently moved here from the Norfolk area and was pleased to see a redevelopment being done in Raleigh without the benefit of federal funding. It is very surprising that Walnut Terrace has been developed strictly with local funds. The costs of redevelopments like Walnut Terrace are staggering and this one costs around fifty million. There are 292 townhouses, houses and apartments that were built. Half of those will be reserved for low income families and the rest will be rented at fair market value. I have not been to the area but plan to make a trip to Walnut Terrace to check it out. I think Raleigh should be commended for its forward thinking on Walnut Terrace.