Real Costs


Does ToC reveal only part of the true costs? Why?

Real Costs are the total and actual amount you pay for something. Our ToC Property Taxes are being used so you fund current and future debt!

Downtown Cary Park- The True Costs

Budgeted at $50 Million in the 2019 Bond, the ToC website on bonds still states this. Actual cost was at least $69 Million, and that does not include what we keep paying to run and maintain the park. The annual operational costs of $5.9 Million per year, it may actually be $6.9 Million per year.

Plus

The Offices for Downtown Cary Park staff will occupy the costly restoration of the Ivey-Ellington House on Academy Street. Citizens or visitors could go into the building during office hours, but it is not a feature for citizens to use, nor will it contribute to generating revenue for ToC. Another cost to add to the ongoing operations.

$560 Million Bond Projects and Planning phases, more omissions of truth?

The $560 Million 2024 bond states in the fine print that a 2/3 rule applies, that means that an extra $13 Million can be borrowed, without having to ask citizens for approval. Yes, this is legal, however should citizens have to dig to find out that the bond debt could be $573, plus debt service for that one bond? Every one of these projects and plans will require staff and ongoing maintenance costs, once completed, based on Downtown Park multiples of $5.9 M per facility per year, likely much more.

There are also a number of projects that ToC has also said are planned for future years, but no specifics have been revealed. ToC Council knows nothing about these says our Mayor.. Why are they not more curious and concerned about the total costs? Among these are the proposed Town Hall Redevelopment and the Transit Hub. Information is released to the press, but then it goes silent, what is going on behind the scenes?

ToC is not making the whole truth clear about the $560 Million Bond and how much property tax increases have been made since 2020, and will continue if we approve this bond!

It should be easy to calculate the property tax impacts, and some citizens have done the math. You could find the information if you dig hard enough or do your own math. In short, what Toc is providing is misleading and incomplete. There are easy to click links in this website. We can say No! We don’t agree to it, and don’t want our property taxes to be raised more!

The $560 Million Bond gives ToC a big pot of money to spend and raise property taxes!

The $560 Million Parks, Rec, & Facilities bond must be repaid by our property taxes with interest. Whether you own your home and pay property taxes directly or rent, you will be impacted by the large property tax increases. If you rent, those costs will be passed on to you in increased rent.

ToC is paying for ads on TV, streaming, and in social media. The $560 Million Bond is promoted on the ToC website and in shiny brochures and handouts to promote the 2 bonds. We, as citizens, pay for those and unfortunately the information is not complete nor accurate. I want to share the verified math done by different citizens independently. Our math is not refuted by ToC staff.

Vote No or more property taxes are coming!

Vote No! on the $560 Million Park, Rec, & Facilities bond because the real costs, including interest, by the time we repay the loan is nearly a Billion dollars! We deserve options, your no vote lets ToC know we want more fiscally sound budgets and choices!

Voting No! on the $560 Million Bond sends a clear message to our town government, our Mayor and council, Town Manager, and Staff that we need to stop increases in property taxes. Adding this debt load, and the operational costs of these projects are over the top and must be reined in. Borrowing to fund spending for decades into the future has made Cary property taxes unaffordable for today and the decades to come!

Here’s a quick overview of the real costs concerns:

  • A 26% increase from the current property tax rate.
  • $300M for a sports and rec center at South Hills-This is another costly project that we the citizens will pay to build, own, and operate, it is targeted to sports tourism, and not local use is not likely to be as many expect.  Yes, we need facilities, we need a detailed budget for a space that serves citizens affordably.
  • $150M for a Mills Park community center- West Cary needs a multi-generational space, but this has been  promised for years, and we need a real and detailed budget and work timeline to build it! The Mills Park community center doesn’t include a pool, which we were told would be included. It does included land for a future pool, which means more money will be needed. 
  • $60M pickle ball expansion at Cary Tennis- Yes this builds some new courts, but also demolishes very adequate facilities to build luxury lounge and bar.
  • $30M for 3 miles of greenway ($10M/mile) This over the top spending speaks for itself, why do so much, we need details and a budget.
  • $10M for a “plan” for a nature park- That much to plan? No budget, no completion timeline, and more future bonds to build, and property taxes to pay for those and operations.
  • $10M for a “plan” for an Asian Garden- That much to plan? No budget, no completion timeline, and more future bonds to build, and property taxes to pay for those and operations.

You can see some information we have collected at 2024 Cary Bond Referendum – Cost Impact to Cary Citizens.

Documents

Please click on Cary Neighbors for more details!!