| Upcoming Events |
August 27, 2008
State of Our Community Luncheon
Tuesday, October 28th Annual Elected Officials Reception
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| Election 2008 |
The following candidates won the Primary election on May 6 and do not have opposition in the General election:
N.C. Senate
District 26:Phil Berger
District 28:Katie Dorsett
District 33:Stan Bingham
District 57: Pricey Harrison
District 60: Earl Jones
District 61: Laura Wiley
District 62: John Blust
District 5: Billy Yow
District 7: Mike Winstead
District 8: Skip Alston
District 1: Carlvena Foster
District 5: Paul Daniels
District 7: Kris Cooke
District 9: Amos Quick
Jeff Thigpen
Election day is Nov. 4th. The following races will be decided then. Don't lose your voice, VOTE!
Click here for a list of candidates in the Nov. 4th Election. |
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Thank You ! |
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We would like to send out a special thank you to all the attendees of our June 5th Raleigh Trip. Your efforts in advocating for the 2008 Legislative Agenda are a great help and your presence has a great impact on the Legislators.
Also, an extra special thank you to this year's sponsors:
GMA
Southeast Fuels
Banner Pharmacaps
Greensboro Coliseum
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| Did you know... |
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The Workforce Investment Act created by the Federal government is meant to assist your company by providing grant opportunities to improve your employees skills. The Guilford County/Greensboro/High Point Workforce Development Board are the managers of this funding and have several programs to assist you with training your current employees. If you need money to help train your current employees or you have a position you can't keep filled, they have a solution. Contact Kyle Wolf, Business Services Representative at 336.373.3032 or by email at kyle.wolf@greensboro-nc.gov. Make sure to ask him about WorkKeys, a skills assessment tool which can only help your company further its goals. |
| Greensboro Partnership Major Events Calendar |
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In an effort to assist you in your planning for the rest of this year, we have compiled a list of the upcoming major events. Please click here to obtain:
Greensboro Partnership Major Events Calendar | |
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| Welcome |
Thank you for your continued interest in Governmental Affairs. Enclosed is an update on the many activities we have been involved with over the past few weeks. The 2008 session of the General Assembly is moving rapidly and the budget activities of the City Council and County Commissioners continue to charge ahead. Below is only a highlight of the efforts underway by policy makers. I hope you find this information worthwhile, and as always, please feel free to contact me if there is an issue of particular importance you would like to discuss.
Denise N. Turner
Vice President, Governmental Affairs
Greensboro Partnership
dturner@greensboro.org |
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2008 Legislative Agenda |
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The North Carolina General Assembly house passed its version of the budget on June 5, their recommendations are currently being considered by the Senate. Below is the status of state funding priorities the Greensboro Partnership is supporting this session:
Ø NC A&T/UNCG Joint Nanotechnology School - the request is for $2,939,000 and the House proposed $2,000,000 in recurring funding.
Ø Joint NCA&T/UNCG Data Center - this request is for $4,300,000 for planning and design, the House proposed $1,800,000 in non-recurring funding.
Ø International Civil Rights Center and Museum - the request is for $3,000,000, the House proposed $245,000 in non-recurring funds.
Ø High Point Furniture Market - the request is for $2,600,000, the House cut currently recieved recurring funds from $875,000 to $866,000; the House also authorized $600,000 in non-recurring funds for marketing.
The Senate is now considering the budget and we will work diligently to achieve the full-funding necessary for the projects to succeed. The short session is moving very quickly and no extended session is expected this year. We will provide additional updates as the budget comes to completion.
For more information about the 2008 Legislative Agenda click here.
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| Other State Legislation of Interest |
| HB 2367 Involuntary Annexation Moratorium - This bill will place a moratorium on all city-initiated annexations, including pending annexations, until June 30, 2009. The House Finance committee voted 25 to 4 in favor of the bill. It is now being heard in the House Judiciary II committee.
HB2444/SB1916 Greensboro Recall Amendments -This bill will amend the charter of Greensboro to clarify the initiative, referendum, and recall petition process. This bill has passed the first reading and been referred to the House Committee on Local Government and the Senate Committee on State & Local Government.
Teacher's Pay in the Budget - the house recommended $390 million in raises for teachers and state employees. This represents a 3% increase for teachers and a 2.75% or $1,100, whichever is higher, increase for state employees.
Transportation (2009)
Currently, North Carolina is in a transportation crisis and needs approximately $122 billion to accomplish all of the necessary pending road projects. Policy leaders will have to develop alternative funding mechanisms to meet the growing needs of our state. The 21st Century Transportation Committee brought forth the following recommendations to the NCGA in May: Eliminate Highway Trust Fund Transfer, provide NC Turnpike Gap Funding, allow Local Option Financing, and put forth a $2 billion Statewide Transportation Bond. We expect this to be a major item of discussion in 2009.
Jordan Lake Stormwater Rules - these rules were passed by the EMC in May in a stricter form than originally proposed. Due to the overwhelming objections, they will now be heard by the Rules Review Commission on June 19th and with ten objections will be given over to the NCGA in 2009 for consideration. We are continuing to oppose these rules due to their damaging economic effect on Greensboro, Guilford County and the Piedmont Triad region.
House Budget Highlights
$21.3 billion budget proposal in total
$25 million for 18-mile Triangle Expressway
$550 million for construction at prisons and public universities
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| Guilford County |
The County Commissioners held a public hearing on the budget June 5. Pat Danahy, President and CEO of the Partnership addressed the Commissioners on the importance of education to our community (click here to read his statement). The Commissioners also heard from numerous other advocates from the non-profit community seeking to restore funding for programs cut in the FY07 budget or to support funding for county agencies.
County Manager David McNeill recommended a $587.9 million budget proposal to Commissioners. This proposal includes a property tax increase of 5.46 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. This means someone owning a $200,000 home would pay $109 more in county property taxes next year. $69 of this tax would go to pay for Bond Debt Service created by recent bonds passed in May.
An item of note, if the ¼ Cent Sales Tax passed in May, it would have generated $11,775,000 in revenue for FY08-09.
Bonds/Referendum
If the County Commissioners want to put a bond or referendum on the Fall ballot they will have to do this by July 22. Commissioners are expected to consider placing the ¼ Cent Sales Tax on the ballot at upcoming meetings.
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| City of Greensboro |
The City Council held work sessions recently to discuss the City's FY08 budget. In their original instructions to City Manager, Mitchell Johnson, they directed him to "hold the line on the budget" at $423 million, meaning they did not want to have any property tax increases this year. This directive was in the context of an estimated $7 million increase in expenses.
Council improved cutting funding to some existing programs to "hold the line", click here to see the proposed budget:Greensboro Proposed 2008-2009 Budget . Council maintained funding for $2 million in resurfacing projects and $400,000 for landscaping by allowing staff to use funds from the City's Reserves to pay for these projects this year.
Bonds
The City will have at least one bond on the ballot in the Fall, mostly likely a $134 million Transportation Bond. Other bond items that may be included are:
$45m War Memorial Coliseum
$20m Parks and Recreation
$1m Housing
Council will finalize which items will appear on the Fall ballot at its meeting on Tuesday, June 17. A public hearing on the Fall bonds is scheduled for Tuesday, July 15. | |
