Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010

Raleigh inside and out

With all the attention Raleigh draws to its spending on downtown projects, it's easy to suppose that North Raleigh suffers municipal neglect.

And it's fair to compare spending inside vs. outside the Beltline, as our Ray Martin did two weeks ago. He found reality is more complex than many OTBers believe - while not the portrait city leaders paint.

"Outside The Beltline Claims Lion's Share Of Capital Improvement Funds," a Jan. 14 city news release said. "...nearly 70 percent of the projects were located outside the Beltline."

Mayor Charles Meeker has repeated that line in public remarks, but it's misleading.

The city's analysis of its spending the past four years excluded costly downtown "general improvement" projects that serve the whole city, including the $220 million Convention Center, a $15 million City Plaza, the $10 million restoration of Fayetteville Street, and the $205 million Public Safety Center project.

Our analysis more simply compared the location of projects, while also noting the citywide purpose some serve.

We found, as you might suspect, that Raleigh spends most of its construction money inside the Beltline - much of it on big-ticket projects downtown that serve the whole city.

But those of us who live and pay taxes outside the Beltline are hardly getting robbed. In fact, most city projects that benefit particular neighborhoods lie outside Raleigh's highway moat, not inside it.

This stands to reason. Most new roads, water lines and parks are bound to be built in newly developed areas on Raleigh's edge, not at its core.

Community centers at Brier Creek and Barwell Road both cost almost as much as the Fayetteville Street redo. A Neuse River greenway is costing $13 million. Widening northern Falls of Neuse Road, which will overwhelmingly benefit North Raleighites, is running $28 million.

Besides, would you rather have the Convention Center next door? Or City Hall?

Raleigh's City Council composition helps promote balanced spending. The mayor and two at-large council members represent the whole city, while five district members serve their parts of town.

The way the district pie is sliced, four of five districts reach inside the Beltline. But all five include territory outside the Beltline - two predominantly and one entirely.

We can question the balance. But no one's getting gypped.