By Alex Keown Daily Times Staff Writer

A legal challenge to a voter-approved state constitutional amendment that allows tax increment financing for economic development could hurt investment opportunities in Wilson County, county leaders say.

Earlier this month, a legal watchdog group filed a challenge to Amendment One, which was passed in 2004. The lawsuit challenges the language used in the 2004 Amendment One ballot initiative to describe the economic-development tool. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on behalf of four plaintiffs by the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law. The plaintiffs allege the actual language of the amendment wasn’t included on the ballot, which resulted in a "misleading and confusing ballot question to the voters."

The amendment grants local governments the authority to issue bonds to pay for public improvements without a voter referendum. The new law has sat nearly idle since its passage in November 2004. Sarah Lang, spokesperson for the N.C. Department of the Treasurer, said only one project has been approved for TIF funds. In March, the Local Government Commission approved the use of $12.9 million in TIF bonds by the Roanoke Rapids City Council to finance the purchase of an entertainment project connected to the 750-acre Carolina Crossroads Music and Entertainment district. (more…)