Carl Ford (NC Senate 33 R-Rowan/Stanly) sends a regular email to any constituent who signs-up on his website. Ford is now on the N.C. Senate’s Select Committee on Property Tax Reform. It’s interesting that Senator Ford and the N.C. General Assembly are attempting to wrest local control from communities and municipalities in order to dictate how everyday North Carolinians experience and enjoy the assets of their own communities. The GOP-heavy N.C. Legislature has become the poster child for big government or — “the swamp” — if you will.
Their latest tactic: they’ve added two property tax constitutional amendments to our Nov. 3 ballot. These amendments give Raleigh bureaucrats, career politicians and multi-term office holders, such as Ford, the ability to dictate how town councils and county commissions serve their own constituents by limiting their ability to acquire the funds to pay for the services we all enjoy.
According to Disability Rights North Carolina, if these amendments are passed:
- Families and communities would see more fines, fees and reduced services for education, libraries, elections, public transportation and emergency medical services.
- Counties would lose significant funding and local leaders would struggle to fund the critical needs of the community.
- Local governments would lose $18 billion per year in state funding and would struggle to fund community needs.
- Schools’ budgets would shrink, cutting teacher pay and student services.
- Public health, safety and emergency services would be cut due to funding shortages.
- Renters would not benefit from property tax cuts.
- Commerical real estate developers, many of whom live out of state, would receive a large financial benefit.
The two property tax amendments will hurt regular citizens while making the rich even richer. They benefit profitable corporations and the richest 1 percent while putting our quality of life at risk.
Do you like local control? Or do you want Raleigh mandating how our community takes care of its citizens? Please research the Constitutional Amendments before casting your 2026 ballot. Helpful web resources include:
- my.lwv.org/north-carolina-state
- disabilityrightsnc.org/resources/2026-nc-constitutional-amendments
- publicschoolsfirstnc.org/engage/voter-information/constitutional-amendments/
This GOP-sponsored effort will force more big government into our lives and is not in the best interest of Rowan County and all of the municipalities herein. Please vote “No” to the N.C. Constitutional Amendments at the bottom of your 2026 ballot.
