Mayor Meeker’s said some unkind things about developers (especially when it comes to higher impact fees) in the past, but, now, the Mayor’s about to try his hand at the development business himself. He’s gotten the green light from the City Council to proceed with his plan to spend $40 million (most of it from higher taxes and new bonds) so the City can buy and develop the Dix Hospital site.

Of course the question to ask is why does the Mayor want the City (and taxpayers) in the development business? Don’t we have builders in Raleigh who’ll do the project, without costing taxpayers a cent? Doesn’t the city have plenty other needs it could spend $40 million to pay for, like schools and roads?

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