Oct. 6, 2015 Three Democrats and one Republican were in the room as the Forum heard from candidates seeking at-large Charlotte City Council seats in the Nov. 3 election. There were short opening statements, then lots of questions. John Powell joined the speakers after the presentations were ... Continue Reading →
City Council At-Large: Week One
Aug. 18, 2015 Seven of the candidates involved in a Sept. 15 Democratic primary for four Charlotte City Council at-large seats addressed the Forum today. The remaining candidates have been invited to attend the Aug. 25 Forum. Below are seven videos, two from the 3-minute presentations, the ... Continue Reading →
The plan for transit: Vision is in place, but money is not
July 21, 2015 The session was about more than bus routes, streetcars and rail lines. Four Charlotte city officials, two staff and two elected members of City Council, laid out both the people-moving systems in place, the plans in place to keep them growing, and the uncertainties of funding the ... Continue Reading →
Morning after budget vote, an update
June 9, 2015 On the morning after a split vote to approve Charlotte's budget for next fiscal year, three City Council members laid out some of the reasons why they split on approving the final budget proposal. David Howard and Vi Lyles voted for the budget. Michael Barnes voted against it. Each ... Continue Reading →
Charlotte’s city budget: A primer
May 5, 2015 City staffer Kim Eagle walked the Forum through Manager Ron Carlee's budget proposal on Tuesday. Three City Council members chimed in along the way. The message seemed to be: Shared pain in a year when revenue expectations are down and some costs are rising. Loading garbage ... Continue Reading →
Garbage fee vs property tax: Most people will pay less
April 21, 2015 At-large Charlotte City Council member Vi Lyles rose at the end of the Forum today to explain how council members are looking at a proposal to eliminate the garbage collection fee and raise property taxes by the same amount: For people who own homes valued at less than $330,000 or ... Continue Reading →
The outlook for 2015
Jan. 6, 2015 In an impromptu presentation, elected officials serving at the local and state levels offered comments about the issues they expect to be dealing with this year. Predictably, many of the issues revolved around money. But there was also talk about jobs, the homeless, education, the ... Continue Reading →
Bonds, sales tax questions on ballot
Representatives of groups favoring passage of city bonds and the county's sales tax increase proposal addresed the Forum Tuesday. Among the items passed out to Forum participants were a flier on the city bond issues; an oversized Arts & Science Council broadside on the Cultural Vision Plan ... Continue Reading →
Lyles comments on Hagan Senate race
Vi Alexander Lyles rose near the end of the Forum to comment on the importance of the Senate race in North Carolina in November. ... Continue Reading →
Vi Alexander Lyles on Gentrification
At today's Forum, a member of the audience asserted that African-Americans were losing their communities, that governments spent money in black neighborhoods only after whites started to move in, and that neighborhoods where poor blacks continued to live were in worse shape than 50 years ... Continue Reading →