Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2010

Raleigh dials 911 on tower

Winning public support for a new police, fire, emergency and 911 call headquarters should be an easy pitch.

But in Raleigh, it's not.

That's why Mayor Charles Meeker and City Manager Russell Allen met Monday with newspaper editors and writers, talking up the 17-story, $140 million Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center.

"This is about public safety," Meeker said. "It's a facility that our police chief and fire chief tell us we need to secure our mid-size city. And we can save money if we do it right now. The negative, of course, is we have to pay for it."

With a property tax increase. During a recession.

That's hard for many Raleigh taxpayers to swallow, especially those who have lost their jobs and homes.

Meeker and Allen realize it's a tough sell, so they're emphasizing the benefits: $30 million in long-term debt savings, more space for essential public safety services, better emergency response coordination, improved information technology and tighter building security.

"I plan to talk more about it so people understand that this is a public safety issue, not just a tax issue," Meeker said.

It's interesting to compare Raleigh's Public Safety Center with Wake County's Justice Center, a courthouse and office building under construction a block and a half away.

The courthouse costs more ($214 million), but won't require a tax increase.

The county sought public input during its design.

And in two clicks, you can read about it on the county's Web site. (First "Facilities Design and Construction Projects," then "Justice Center.")

On Raleigh's Web page, a similar "Current Projects" tab lists 13 initiatives - but not the Public Safety Center.

Allen says Raleigh has publicized the project throughout its development. But it seems evident that city leaders haven't sold the public on it.

I think there's a psychological factor: project fatigue.

Allen proposes to undertake the Public Safety Center, the temporary relocation of police operations to two buildings, and $250 million in phased public works infrastructure projects over eight years.

That's on the heels of a $220 million Convention Center, a $15 million City Plaza, the $10 million reopening ofFayetteville Street, and now a $1million amphitheater.

What's most important? The city runs the risk of coming across like Wake County's previous school board, which heaped challenge after challenge on harried parents until voters said: enough.

"The difference is that when [our] projects were finished, they were very widely accepted," Meeker said.

True. But the county isn't raising property taxes during a withering recession, either.