Streetcar

City Manager Ron Carlee

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

At just a few weeks into his tenure as city manager, Ron Carlee has no shortage of city issues to occupy him. There's the airport governance study and his take on the results… and then there's the city budget, which he just presented last week. The streetcar has been making news for some time, but this week, city council made time to discuss its future during their meeting. We'll talk with Ron Carlee about the most important city issues he's dealing with as he hits the ground running, when Charlotte Talks.

Carlee Is The Streetcar's New Champion

Julie Rose — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:58:53 +0000

The future of the streetcar in Charlotte depends on the city's ability to get more federal funding, says City Manager Ron Carlee. To be precise, Carlee proposes Charlotte pursue a grant for half the $126 million price tag to undertake the next 2.5 mile stretch of streetcar extending to the east and west of Uptown.

The city council's reaction to the proposal was tepid.

Carlee To Recommend Streetcar Plan

Julie Rose — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:44:00 +0000

Once again, the Charlotte City Council is talking streetcars. It's a topic that has dominated even those meetings when it wasn't on the council's agenda. Monday night it actually is.

Property Tax Hike Included In Carlee's Budget Proposal

Ben Bradford — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:26:32 +0000

Charlotte City Manager Ron Carlee wants council to approve a property tax increase to help fund a Capital Improvement Plan.

Otherwise, the budget he proposed Monday night looks pretty much like last year's budget. It totals just just under $2 billion, or 1.5 percent above this past year. That increase accounts for an estimated rise in costs and a slight pay raise for city employees, but otherwise keeps spending the same as last year. Here’s the full breakdown:

Manager Carlee To Present First City Budget

Julie Rose — Sun, 05 May 2013 22:02:00 +0000

New city manager Ron Carlee makes his first big mark on Charlotte Monday night when he presents his 2014 budget and capital investment plan – or CIP - to city council. But speaking at WFAE's recent public conversation, Carlee made clear this budget won't really be his own.

"I came in on the city council's last (bugdet) workshop, which meant that four days later the budget goes into production," explained Carlee. "So there's not going to be much of my stamp on this CIP – it will be very similar to what has been out there previously."

One Charlotte, Or Many? A WFAE Public Conversations Preview

Julie Rose — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:00:06 +0000

It's time again for the city of Charlotte to draw up its annual budget – including a renewed push to raise property taxes for capital projects. Last year's capital investment program proved so large – and divisive – that the council and mayor couldn't agree on any plan. They still can't. And in the interim, those divisions have proven to run deeper than city council politics. They've shown up across Charlotte and they're the topic of a special WFAE public forum Thursday at 7 p.m. at Spirit Square.

Streetcar Debate Sidelined As Council Focuses On Rest of City Budget

Julie Rose — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:31:47 +0000

The Charlotte City Council learned Wednesday the price of its inaction on a capital investment plan. What they could have done last year by increasing the property tax rate 3.6 cents will now require an increase of more than 4 cents – and that doesn't even include the controversial streetcar.

Charlotte 'An Incredible Surprise' To New City Manager Carlee

Julie Rose — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:17:07 +0000

Charlotte's new city manager went on WFAE's Charlotte Talks Wednesday to get more specific about his views on issues the city faces – including transit and airport management.

New City Manager Ready To Deal With Challenges Simultaneously

Julie Rose — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:50:38 +0000

It's day two on the job for Charlotte City Manager Ron Carlee who was sworn in Monday night. But Carlee says he's actually been working for several weeks to get his arms around the many hot button issues facing the city right now.

Charlotte City Council Still Stalled Over Streetcar

Julie Rose — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:19:02 +0000

After nearly a year of deliberations, the Charlotte City Council met Wednesday to outline a compromise plan for raising property taxes to fund capital improvement projects. But they're still hung up over the sticking point that derailed the nearly $1 billion program last year: the streetcar.