WATCHDOG REPORT

WATCHDOG REPORT- 3 DECEMBER 2013

Craven County Board Of Commissioners Meeting 2 December 2013.

Change  of Leadership

This was seemingly a cordial meeting to change the leadership of the Board. Commissioner Scott Dacey's term as Chairman was completed at this meeting, and, after a unanimous vote, the gavel was passed to Tom Mark of Fairfield Harbour. Commissioner Taylor was elected Vice-Chairman. There were well received accolades for Commissioner Dacey for his leadership and well received comments from Commissioner Mark as to how he intends to lead in the coming months. Scott graciously gave me his list of what he considers accomplishments during his tenure as Chairman. We at CCTA are pleased with most of these; a few aren't so pleasing. I'll comment on them by subject matter later.

Chairman Mark stated that he intended to support basically the same fiscal policy that has been followed during the past year. I believe a more conservative fiscal policy should be followed, a policy that reduces the extravagant way the federal government has thrown money at the local level, and often these programs are in areas that the Constitution of the United States does not give the federal government any jurisdiction at all, so the feds are usurping power pure and simple. Whether it's federal tax money, state tax money, or county tax money, as Commissioner Allen remarked last night, "It's all our money!" It was a good observation, but like all the other commissioners, Commissioner Allen unfortunately voted to approve the additional expenditures as long as they do not contain direct funding by county taxpayers.

Chairman Mark also plans to consider "the concerns of citizens first and foremost." I contend that if he really does that, he will lead the charge to do away with frivolous spending at all levels of government, reduce dependency on government support, and lower the burden on the taxpayers.

Lastly, Chairman Mark put great emphasis on economic development in the County. We contend that the best way to do that is to reduce the regulatory burden, tax burden, and fees charged for doing business in Craven County. That coupled with the approach Craven County's Economic Development Director, Tim Downs, plans to take (as reported earlier) can really do some good. However, if Commissioner Mark means to encourage the ill fated NC East Alliance, I think he is way off base. I hope we'll find that is not the case; time will tell.

Craven County Smart Start

Last night, at the first meeting presided over by Chairman Mark, the materials supporting the agenda items contained a copy of an amendment to a Memorandum of Understanding between Smart Start, Inc. and Craven County. This addendum acknowledged a funding increase from $259,196 to $518,392. Smart Start, Inc. is another one of those 501(c) 3 Private/Government organizations that have screwed up almost everything they have touched in North Carolina. Here is some information provided on Smart Start, Inc.'s website:

"Experiences during early childhood literally shape the structure of the brain. Because today's children are tomorrow's leaders, parents and workers, everyone has a stake in making sure that all children have the experiences they need to thrive. Smart Start brings together all the people involved in a young child's life-families, teachers, doctors, caregivers, social workers, and many others-to ensure every child has all they need for healthy growth and development."

Not a word of explanation did I hear about this program last night. The addendum raising funding was not mentioned. The reason for the increase was not mentioned. This could, of course, be an oversight, but the program smacks of Agenda 21, global collectivism, and an "it takes a village to raise a child" attitude. Our parents surely did not consult a village to tell us right from wrong. This kind of government interference tends to be detrimental to families.

DayCare Combined, Smart Start, and Low Energy Assistance Programs

In an agenda item that was discussed and voted on, these three programs (which are outside the appropriate scope of government) received a total of $199,223 in additional funding last night. I'd say Smart Start Inc. had a good night! This was what prompted Commissioner Allen's remark that, "It's all our money!"

BOTTOM LINE - Nearly a half million taxpayer dollars were committed without ten minutes worth of discussion. This is the kind of thing that's so frustrating.

On a happier note, Commissioner Tyson was commended for his key role in raising more than $2 million dollars to send wounded Marines home for the holidays!   We can all celebrate that! Thanks, Steve.

Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)

It was announced last night that the CDBG program had been discontinued by the North Carolina legislature. That sounds like great news. However, I only partially understood the remarks that were made on this subject, so I did some checking, and the information I found follows.

Community Development Block Grant - The budget removes the state's portion of federal Community Development Block Grant funding ($7.2M) for the scattered site housing program in favor of increasing CDBG funding for infrastructure. This will not affect the use of CDBG funds in entitlement cities and counties.

The General Assembly didn't go far enough, but it is still good news. Progress has been made. At one time, I thought we had accomplished this at the County level through the Commissioners, but I guess that was just not to be. Although some Commissioners expressed support for our position on this subject, it didn't last, and they went back to building houses for individuals which is a deplorable use of our tax money.

Craven County Employee Furlough Policy

CCTA won a victory here. We commented that the originally proposed policy gave too much power to the County Manager to lay off county employees for various non-disciplinary reasons. The change requires the County Manager take this action "in consultation with the Board of Commissioners." That is certainly an improvement.

Now let's look at Chairman Dacey's list of the past year's accomplishments. My comments are in blue.

Accountability to the Public

I do believe the Board has listened to the citizens and taken our concerns into account in Board decisions. They also have listened to special interest groups and tried really hard to keep everyone happy. We at CCTA would be happier if the Board strictly adhered to the practice of providing only services that are appropriate for government to provide, leaving charity to the private sector, reducing taxes and regulation, and shrinking the size of government.

Community Housing - Reform of Scattered Site Housing Program under the CDBG Program to implement responsible homeownership policies and requirements for grant recipients.

This was a totally inadequate, though no doubt well intentioned, attempt to placate us. However, the North Carolina legislature fixed it (at least to the extent of state tax money). The federal government needs to stop spending federal tax dollars in this manner, too. The Constitution does not give the federal government the power to build houses for individuals.

ABC Reforms - Strengthened the governance of the ABC Board by expanding its membership from 3-5; Increased return to the county's general fund by over $500k this year.

Yes, this was a very good step. Bravo. With any luck, there should be more annual income to the county from this source on an ongoing basis. If the government has to be involved in liquor sales, I hope it results in a smaller burden on taxpayers. (The truth is it's not a good idea for the government to do things which could be done by free enterprise, but if the decision to privatize liquor sales is to be made, it will have to be at state level. This is not something the county Board of Commissioners can change.)

Eastern Region - Worked with our local General Assembly delegation in support of legislation allowing the County to reclaim funds generated by Craven residents - Returning $1.5 million to Craven County for economic development efforts.

CCTA proposed the resolution to the Board that they passed to ask the General Assembly for this legislation. We appreciate the Board's action on it. CCTA also worked with our representatives to the General Assembly to gain their support for this legislation, and CCTA also appreciates their support.

NOW, I'm afraid the county staff will convince the Board of Commissioners to transfer this money (or a large portion of it) to NC East Alliance. NC East Alliance is the new name for NCRC which took that name after Global TransPark became a dirty word for wasting millions of taxpayer dollars. This new 501 (c) 3 corporation will also prove to be a boondoggle like most of the others have. Joining the NC East Alliance would be a classic case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire" even if it does have state blessings. I suspect the General Assembly hasn't gotten around to really evaluating them yet, but they need to. This type of organization is currently the most fashionable method of putting taxpayer money into private pockets and giving very little benefit to show for it.

Lowered Property Taxes - With the adoption of the FY2013-2014 Budget we reduced property taxes for the second year in a row, reducing the rate from 47.75 cents per $100 in property value. ) Over one-half cent in two years.)

This is a small step in the right direction. Thank you. On a typical home assessed at $150,000, the savings to the taxpayer is a whopping $11.25. MUCH better than a raise would have been, but can't we do better still?

Eliminated Positions - Eliminated and realigned nearly a dozen positions, consistent with funding availability from state and federal sources.

Well, as Commissioner Allen stated, "It's all our money." What was the overall effect? Was there any actual reduction in the payroll?

Refinanced Long-term Debt - Restructured $35 million in Certificates of Participation, saving taxpayers over $2 million in interest costs.

Yes, that was a very good thing! It's a good tactic used by several counties and discussed by the County Financial Managers Association. Thank you for making use of it!

Reappointment of Commissioners Districts - Restored the principal of one-person, one vote and brought all seven commissioners districts into alignment with about 15,000 residents in each district while fully respecting the Voting Rights Act.

The re-districting does seem to have been well done, especially if you consider the effort to keep a couple of Commissioner's residency in the District they were elected to represent.Long Term Management Priorities

Water Expansion - In an effort to meet state mandates relating to our water usage, completed plans, initiated purchase agreements and provided funding for a new water treatment facility.

This is a great project perfectly within local government purview. Thank you.

Eliminated Red Tape - Register of deed, planning, and the tax departments have migrated some services to Internet based systems, allowing developers and real estate professionals easier access to critical information.

This is a great service to all who can use this information. This is the type of thing government can legitimately do to assist economic development. Thank you.

911 Emergency Operations Center - Approved funding and contractors for the construction of this new center.

This is another great project that benefits all citizens and is a perfectly legitimate use of taxpayer money. Thank you.

Jury Protection - With the construction of the 911 Emergency Operations Center, we were able to accommodate the construction of a jury pool room at the courthouse.

No, the jurors are not going to shoot pool, dear reader. The jury will just gather in the "jury pool room" so that they will no longer have to mingle with defendants, witnesses, and the like. Kidding aside, this is altogether a good thing! Thank you.

Judicial Center - With the guidance of our former District Attorney, David McFadyen, finalized a plan for the long-term use of the Clarks facility. We will reduce costs and enhance safety through the use of video conferencing. Additionally, we will make the courtroom in Clarks available for trials lasting more than one week. Together these changes will protect the public and taxpayer.

This seems like a really good plan. I do question the use of the term "plan for the long-term use of the Clarks facility." In my experience, such plans do not last indefinitely by any means. It is a good solution for now, and may hold up longer than I expect. Good work.

Hospice - Approved an inter-local agreement between the County and the Hospital to bring in-patient hospice care to Craven County.

This is just a way to provide a revenue stream to an already affluent hospital that pays no rent to the owner of the hospital (the taxpayers). Such service is already available just down the road in Newport.

Agriculture - Approved a Farmland Development Plans as proposed by the Cooperative Extension.

The Cooperative Extension is a government agency. How do the farmers of Craven County feel about it? Does this add to their regulatory burden?

Solid Capital Construction Account - Using funds made available from debt refinancing and additional ABC funds, we have fully funded our capital construction account through FY 2017, allowing us to address necessary repairs at the Community College and Library, among other priorities.

Is this really good news to the taxpayers who need relief? A member of the ABC Board commented to me when the large check was prepared that he hoped the Board of Commissioners would use this revenue source to give relief to the taxpayers. DREAM ON!

Protection of our Economic Infrastructure

Base Protection Efforts

·  Beginning in 2011, secured funds to support lobbying efforts at state and federal levels

·  Worked to strengthen Allies for Cherry Point Tomorrow through recruitment of surrounding counties and local governments as members

·  Adopted a tall structures ordinance to protect training routes from encroachment of wind turbines and other tall structures

·  Worked with the Pentagon and our congressional delegation to promote the adoption of this ordinance - Reaffirming our status as a military friendly community.

An effort to help Marine Aviation locate an Outlying Landing Field (OLF) for Cherry Point would have done a lot more good. I think the local organizations that fought the OLF have done irreparable harm to our reputation as a "military friendly community." However, I have no problem with what the Board did do, and the tall structures ordinance to protect training ability was a really good idea. Thank you.  

Economic Development

·  Again, beginning in 2011, we began our efforts to redirect our economic development program by eliminating the county's ED Commission and Staff.

·  This past year an economic development consultant was hired (RKG) and a plan was finalized.

·  The County Board, working in conjunction with a number of our community's business leaders and the Community of 100, are working to develop a structure to effectively implement the recommendation provide by RKG.

This is just what I feared.   Getting rid of the ED Commission and staff was a really good thing. It should have ended there. The best thing government can do to help economic development is to reduce government intervention in business and reduce tax burden on business. Our State legislators realize this and are working hard in that direction. Our County government and especially the staff (ever seeking overall growth in staff for government and it's consultants) is working hard to get that $1.5 million into NC East Alliance (old NCER, older Global TransPark) to pay for staff work and administration. You can bet no private business or industry will pay more than a token amount toward that. These 501 (c) 3 corporations do nothing except consume enormous amounts of taxpayer dollars. The Board of Commissioners is not evil here, just drinking the Kool-Aid, but they still appear to be poised to do a really bad thing and WASTE TAXPAYERS' HARD EARNED MONEY.

Tryon Palace

·  Continue to advocate with the Governor and Members of the General Assembly to support this outstanding educational and cultural tool.

·  We are working to coordinate services to avoid duplication of efforts between the County's tourism efforts and the Palace.

The Tryon Palace needs to continue its efforts to become self sufficient. It is a wonderful place, but spending $millions in taxpayer support is unwarranted. It should operate bare bones, with volunteers and a fair price of admission.   Mount Vernon is self-sufficient, and so is Kenmore in Fredericksburg, Virginia. How do they do it? If Tryon Palace supporters can't figure that out, let it close and just be opened for special occasions with volunteers, but I see no reason it can't support itself.

As you can see, it is a mixed bag. There has been some movement toward a fiscally conservative governing body with ideas that match CCTA's mission statement, but there is a very long way to go to get there. We still are headed toward bigger government and ever more social dependency on government. This Board has just moved us there at a slower pace than the previous Board did.

We need bold action to return to a constitutional conservative republican form of government at all levels.

Respectfully Submitted,

Hal James, Watchdog Committee Chairman

Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association

New Bern, North Carolina

Commissioner Tom Mark Town Hall Meeting--Feb. 21st

February 21, 2013, 7:00-8:00pm 

Craven County Commissioner Tom Mark Town Hall Meeting

Little Swift Creek Fire Station, Aurora Rd., Ernul, NC.

Letter to Craven County Commissioners from CCTA Member, Raynor James

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Dear Commissioners Dacey, Mark, Taylor, Tyson, Allen, Sampson, & McCabe,


We have often thought differently from each other. Whether we agree or not, I'd like for you to understand my view of good government.

As you know, I'm a member of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association (CCTA), and we espouse smaller, less expensive government, freeing up free enterprise, personal freedom with personal responsibility, and adherence to the Constitution. Those aren't just ideas we talk about; they are deeply held convictions.

We want government that creates an environment in which all our citizens can realize their full potential, or not, as they choose. Everyone needs equal opportunity. There will never be equal results. Some of us choose to excel. Some of us would rather "hang out" and do as little as possible. Fine. Each choice leads to a natural outcome. Let it be so. Choices lead to consequences. What must be guaranteed is opportunity, and only opportunity. No more. No less.

It's pretty easy to see that approach as fair for all citizens who are able in body and mind, but what about those who cannot take care of themselves? Should government step in to look after them?


You gentlemen have clearly answered, "Yes," on multiple occasions. My answer is an emphatic, "No!"

As I've explained before, when government takes from one person to give to another, that is stealing. My rationale is that I don't have the right to take from one neighbor (under threat of force) in order to give to another (less fortunate) neighbor; no one in our country does. Therefore, we the people could not possibly have conveyed that right to our government. Hence, government does not have a legitimate right to behave in that way.

Are the unfortunate among us deserving of charity? Most certainly. Let the private sector handle it. For much of my life, it was handled that way, and it was handled well. Family is the natural first line of defense, followed by friends, churches, and philanthropic organizations.

I feel real anger when my elected representatives wrest hard earned money from taxpayers in order to give it to individuals or small groups of individual people. It is wrong. All taxpayer monies spent should have the potential to benefit all citizens.

Then there's the question of giving raises to our county employees when the people providing the funds are seeing the value of their assets go down (by about 40% nationwide), are loosing their jobs or are worried about it, are not getting COLAs if they are on fixed income retirements, and are seeing the incomes from their businesses declining at alarming rates. These people are the Craven County taxpayers you represent. They need and want to pay less taxes. Instead, you are asking them to pay the same, or more, in order to give county employees raises. Please remember whom you represent, and show some concern for our financial well being.


In the current economy, the only acceptable sign that county employees need raises would be if they were quitting in significant numbers, or if, when county jobs were advertised, not enough qualified applicants came forward to fill them. This is not the case, is it?


Quite frankly, I want representatives at all levels of government who, when faced with a proposal for spending taxpayers' money, will ask themselves first, "Is this an appropriate activity for government and an appropriate use of tax dollars?" I want representatives who, if the answer is, "No," will vote against the proposal no matter how worthwhile the project, and no matter what level the taxpayer funds are coming from. "If we don't spend it, someone else will," is a cop out. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. It's time to take a stand.

I believe we the people should make it our mission to find and support representatives who will stand with us and help us get back to good government so that all who want to can thrive in peace and freedom.


Most sincerely,
Raynor James

A Letter to Craven County Commissioner Scott Dacey

Scott,


I am Rick Hopkins with the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association. I spoke at the commissioners budget meeting. I am also a Trent Woods resident making you my representative. I also own a home in the New Bern making me a taxpayer in New Bern, Trent Woods and Craven County. I am also a licensed small business owner and collect and pay sales tax. While overall I respect your conservative stance, I feel that in some areas you are compromising where you should not. I think that using tax dollars to support non profit social welfare agencies is wrong and not a role of government.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against the community supporting these agencies, I am against the government doing it for us. As a deacon in my church and the former chairman of the deacon's board, I have worked within our church and community in support of these agencies. We have made them the beneficiaries of many of our fund raising projects. I urge you to review the role of government and to stand firm on the limits that our founding fathers placed on it within the constitution and other founding documents.

I know that the budget has already passed, but you now have a year to prepare your stance for the next go around. I have attached a link that may help and also urge you to read the book Five Thousand Year Leap. If I or the association can help you achieve the goals of our founders in providing the most unique form of government in the history of the world, by standing for and upholding the principles of our constitution then please feel free to ask.

http://www.christiandataresources.com/government.htm


Sincerely,
Rick Hopkins
CCTA Watchdog Committee

CCTA Watchdog Report on Public Hearing on the Craven County FY 2013 Budget

Editor's Note:  A special thanks to all the CCTA members that spoke at the public hearing and those that came out to show support.  We had 18 members in attendance!  ~ Lynn

June 5, 2012

You can find the budget on line at http://www.cravencounty.com/admin/documents/2012/FY2013_ProposedBudget_May-21-2012.pdf .


First, I want to thank the many CCTA members who attended the public hearing many of whom spoke about our values and what we think of the budget and how government is taking from some citizens to give to other citizens. I believe we are united in thinking that it is not a proper function of government. EVERY SINGLE SPEAKER DID AN EXCELLENT JOB!

Again, I was challenged on my belief that the county budget is actually still growing. My point is that the beginning budget for FY 2013 is larger than the beginning budget of FY 2012 and is likely to continue to grow as the Board administers the budget during the year. I believe it will eventually surpass the FY 2012 budget. Time will tell who is right about that, and I will continue to monitor and report to you.

I also want to repeat that the budget for salaries and benefits for the 600 or so county employees will go up by 1.3% in FY 2013 in spite of the Reduction in Force (RIF). Taxpayers are suffering, and this move should not have been taken at this time. As to the staff additions, with one exception, I still have not seen any data supporting the assertions that they serve vital functions that we could not do without.

In spite of our petitions and pleas, the Commissioners have continued the practice of giving taxpayer money to philanthropic organizations. We maintain that the government has not been granted the power to do this by us citizens. We don't have the power to take from a neighbor under threat of force in order to give to these organizations no matter how much good work they do. It would still be stealing which is immoral and in no way legal.


The argument that has been voiced by Commissioners is that if they did not contribute to these organizations, the work they do would have to be taken up by the county, and that would eventually cost the taxpayers more. While I believe the commissioners are sincere, I believe they are mistaken. If there were a vacuum, families, friends, neighbors, churches and the philanthropic organizations would provide these services. The commissioners themselves appear to think that is true in the case of Religious Community Services (RCS). This is a group formed by churches, but very poorly supported by them. There is no doubt that they do good work in providing a homeless shelter. That's not the point. Supporting them is just not a proper function of government.

One thing I will concede is that this situation of our government's taking care of citizens (some of whom cannot care for themselves and some of whom have been taught by government bureaucracy to be dependent) evolved over time. To cut it off "cold turkey" could very well cause hardship to people who do not deserve it. Therefore, it's probably better to work incrementally toward the goal of no government involvement in charity so that families and charitable organizations can prepare themselves to take up the slack. Still, we need to be vigilant to insure that the spigot really is being shut off. Government needs to stop forcibly taking from one citizen in order to give to another. Stealing is stealing!


The same rational should apply to the other groups to whom the commissioners gave money. These include Promise Place, Merci Clinic, Red Cross, and The Coastal Women's Shelter.


Even more objectionable to us is that the county will continue it's own philanthropic activities. It cannot be said often enough that taking from taxpayers and spending the money, not for the general good of citizens at large, but to benefit a select few citizens is wrong. Falling into this category are most of the activities of the Department of Social Services, The Adult Clinic, CARTS, and the like. Again, government needs to back out of these entirely.

The HWY 70 and HWY 17 lobbying groups are also poor investments of taxpayer money. I continue to believe that NC DOT does exactly as they would if these groups did not exist.

The budget that appears to be headed for approval still includes money for "Governmental Entities" other than counties and municipalities. These include the Down East RPO ($9,061), The School of Government ($9,241), The Council of Governments - COG ($16,940), the Association of County Commissioners ($10,370), The Association of Black Officials ($100), and The Association of County Clerks ($245). That last one is probably OK. The rest of them just try to lead us down the Agenda 21 road toward global socialism, one world government, and complete population control and subjugation.

The Board has convinced me personally that the Structured Day Reporting organization does perform a service as part of the juvenile court system that provides a cost saving to the alternative of expensive incarceration, and therefore it deserves taxpayer support. It isn't just a boondoggle for teens, but something they must do if they are to avoid incarceration, and apparently a high percentage of them are not repeat offenders.


The Board should not initiate programs in the school system and provide money for them. The State of North Carolina used half it's revenue for education last year. In addition, 41% of Craven County's budget goes to education. WITH ALL THAT MONEY, OUR SCHOOLS ARE STILL FAILING! More money is not the answer. Look for solutions elsewere.

NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS!

The off-the-wall request by the city of Havelock for $440,019 was given a quick thumbs down by the Board. Hoo-ray!

The move by the county to dissolve the Economic Development Commission and have their function administered by county staff under the watchful eye of the commissioners is a very good one. It will save the taxpayers a great deal of money IF THE COUNTY DOES NOT UNDERTAKE EXPENSIVE, TAXPAYER SUPPORTED PROJECTS TO ATTRACT BIG BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY TO CRAVEN COUNTY. THESE PROJECTS HAVE PROVEN DISASTROUS IN OTHER PLACES. The best thing government can do at any level is to get out of the way of business by reducing regulation and taxation; the second step is to communicate that information to businesses; the third step is to STAY out of the way.


Another good development is the dissolution of the Military Growth Task Force. This was another group that ate up a lot of taxpayer money and produced absolutely nothing. (I'm not sure the commissioners had anything to do with that, but it is great news that I want to share).

The reduction of staff at the Department of Social Services is another very good move (again, not sure it wasn't the State that did that).

Joe Albanese, a member of CCTA who happens to also volunteer at the Sheriff's Office, did some checking for us on the necessity to hire a deputy to administer the ankle bracelet release program. He reports that this program will definitely save taxpayer money. He also believes that the Sheriff's Office has such an active work schedule already, that these duties cannot be assumed by someone already in the employ of the Sheriff's office. Therefore, I put this action in the category of good news.

Another good development was the decision to require fire departments to manage within the fire tax revenue generated for their fire districts. There have been requests from fire departments for matching funds for their grant requests from the general tax revenue of the county. So far, requests denied.


The County Clerk, Gwen Bryan, is also the chairperson of the Craven County 300 Celebration. In this role, Gwen has done an excellent job for the taxpayers by continuing to conduct a yearlong celebration with great community participation at very little cost to the taxpayer. She deserves our appreciation for this.


That is all the good news I can think of coming from the budget process BUT THERE HAS BEEN PROGRESS TOWARD MORE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.

The decision to pay more for legal services and have the county attorney's firm on retainer might turn out to be a good move. Only time will tell. I'm surprised though that only one law firm is considered capable of performing this function for the county.


I CERTAINLY HOPE THE IDEA OF DSS's APPLYING FOR RECOGNITION AS A FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER HAS BEEN PROPERLY PUT TO BED! THIS WOULD BE A TERRIBLE EXPANSION OF GOVERNMENT WHERE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO FUNCTION. IT WOULD ALSO BE MASSIVELY MORE COSTLY TO THE TAXPAYERS!

There appears to have been no decision made about withdrawing from the Regional Library System. This is another idea I support, so I hope it will be done.


As to what to do with the surplus taxpayer money left over from the FY 2012 budget, the decision (tentative until 13 June 12) is to lower the tax rate to a whole number (47 cents per $100 dollars of property assessment). It took $265,000 to do that. The remainder would be put into the general fund for FY 2013, and decisions about what to do with it would be made as time goes on.


Those of you who were at the public hearing know that I got hammered for criticizing Commissioner McCabe for requesting pay increases and travel allowance increases for Board members. Commissioner Mark said he had good reason and a right to request these changes to the budget. I agree, and I also think I have good reason and a right to object.

Respectfully submitted:
Hal James, Chairman,
CCTA Watchdog Committee

CCTA Watchdog Report on the Second Craven County Budget Workshop

May 30, 2012

The second almost full day session of work on the budget was held on Tuesday May 29, 2012. As I did on the first session, I will give you my take on the budget and various subjects discussed that I feel all of our members will be interested in. There will be another session on Monday 4 June 12 at 1:00 pm in the County Administrative Building at the corner of Broad and Craven Streets. I hope some of you will attend. After this meeting, the public hearing will be held on the budget in the same room at 7:00 pm. If you find something in this report you would like to address with the Board of Commissioners, PLEASE BE THERE!

You can find the budget on line at http://www.cravencounty.com/admin/documents/2012/FY2013_ProposedBudget_May-21-2012.pdf.

Before the meeting, I was challenged on my belief that the county budget is actually growing in comparison with last years. My point is that if the budget grows by the same amount in the coming year as it did in the past year, the growth rate will be about 5%. The Commissioners then proceeded to validate my concerns by gathering a consensus that $25,000 should be added to the budget for The Coastal Women's shelter, $10,000 for RCS' Homeless Shelter (a reduction to half of last year's as a message that RCS should look for other funding for their shelter), and Hwy 70 and Hwy 17 lobbying groups each got $25,000 added to the budget (a $5,000 cut for Hwy 17), and Merci Clinic got $10,000. The Red Cross got $4,000. The Commissioners requested that the directors of Promise Place and Structured Day Reporting come before them with more details about their requests. They also wanted more information about the City of New Bern's request for $24,000 to hire an advertising agency to develop a "brand" to promote our area. They want the county to pay to hire North Star, a company based in Nashville that does this sort of work. It seems to me that New Bern is on a big spending spree and should leave the county out of it. The Commissioners asked for more information.


The Commissioners are trying to reduce the budget for Special Appropriations, but they look at a request from an agency or organization and discuss the good work they do and say that if they don't get taxpayer support, the county would have to take over the work, or citizens would have to do without it. I believe they should first consider that charity is not a legitimate function of government. Should the service provided by this organization be paid for by the government or by the concerned citizens directly? Take the RCS Homeless Shelter mentioned above as an example. 26 churches originally started this program. There are over 300 churches in Craven County and some of the original member churches no longer contribute. RCS stands for Religious Christian Services. More churches have built onto their church buildings than participate in this very worthy charity. That's because in the past it has been easier to convince 7 commissioners to give them taxpayer money than to get off their duffs and get church goers to support them. That appears to have changed with the current commissioners. A BRAC lobbing group asked for $7,500 without indicating how it was to be spent and, so far, have received nothing. Swiss Bear has also, so far, received nothing. The town of Havelock made an off the wall request for $440,019 (No, that is not a typo!). They got nothing.


If commissioners do believe that an organization performs a legitimate function of government, they should then look at the specifics of the request like the organization's budget and what specifically they intend to do with the taxpayer money. Most of these requests are not accompanied by such supporting documentation. The organization merely gives the Commissioners a wish list and quotes what good work they do. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH! County staff is beginning to learn that as the Commissioners are more and more insisting on detailed information before granting their requests. The organizations getting money in the Special Appropriations part of the county budget need to learn that as well. As noted above, the commissioners have made a good start on this.


At the first budget study session , the first discussion of the day was what to do with the current (2012) surplus. Since no decision was made, I am repeating the options presented by the finance officer:

1. Let it flow into the fund balance. Money would be available for unforeseen needs in the future.
2. Appropriate in next year's budget.
3. Lower the tax rate.
4. Put it in the Capital Reserve fund for future capital improvements without having to borrow.
5. A combination of two or more of the above.

Some commissioners still point to the removal of 12 county staff positions as evidence that county government is getting smaller, not larger. So I repeat, Some 12 or so employees have been let go due to a "Reduction in Force (RIF)." However, it was noted that the total allocation for salaries and benefits in the recommended budget is 1.3% ABOVE THE CURRENT BUDGET! The RIF and the increase helps pay for the 3% COLA the other employees are getting. They may be smaller in number, but they are more expensive! And, to me, there is still too little documentation, facts and figures, to justify the new employees requested by the county manager.


The proposed budget includes an increase of $20,000 for legal services. The commissioners have asked the county attorney to come before them to discuss his proposals and possibly to negotiate with him. That is a good step, but why not really open up the possibility of savings by putting our a request for bids?

There was no discussion of the provision in the new budget to increase in the rescue squads' base budgets from $170,000 each to $185,000 each. What new need is to be met by that? It seems to me that it is the same mentality that just expects the price of government to continue to grow. No justification for this increase has been offered or requested.

The Director of Social Services came before the board with yet another idea for greatly expanding county government. He started his presentation by stating that there are 15,635 Medicaid patients in Craven County and an estimated 15,000 citizens who don't carry insurance. His contention seemed to be that those people are not being seen by doctors in the area now, so there are over 30,000 people in the county who aren't able to get medical care from the private providers. He proposed that the county DSS apply for "Federally Qualified Health Center" status. Allowing them to provide service to nearly one third of the Craven County population. Here is what I have found out about these FQHCs:

"The FQHC benefit under Medicare was added effective October 1, 1991, when Section 1861aa of the Social Security Act (the Act) was amended by Section 4161 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. FQHCs are "safety net" providers such as community health centers, public housing centers, outpatient health programs funded by the Indian Health Service, and programs serving migrants and the homeless. The main purpose of the FQHC Program is to enhance the provision of primary care services in underserved urban and rural communities." Taken from a .gov outreach website.


The Director of Social Services asked the board for $45,000 to hire a consultant to guide DSS through the process of qualifying as an FQHC. He held out the threat that if DSS doesn't do it, someone else might and get all that government support. The Director stated that the FQHC might have a multiple million dollar budget and could be set up in 6 months.

This was a new idea presented to the Board of Commissioners and they asked for time to study the proposal and get more information and details and find out from Merci Clinic what they think of the proposal. There are other people to consider like those in private medical practice. I think the Director believes the FQHC would provide a valuable service that would not hurt private practice, but I'm not so sure. I DO KNOW THAT I THINK THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD GET OUT OF HEALTH CARE AND NOT EXPAND THEIR PRESENCE THERE!

BY THE WAY, STILL THINK THE SIZE OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT IS GETTING SMALLER?

Well, a big surprise to me was the retiring (resignation?) of Mr. Davis, the Director of the Economic Development Commission. The Commission was apparently formed under the "Committee of 100" and the only control the county commissioners had over it was in the area of their budget. I have heard dissatisfaction expressed about this in the past, and I had some sympathy for the commissioners on that because they had to commit taxpayer money to the organization without a voice in how it managed it's affairs. It was very expensive and showed very little tangible results. The county will take over the operations of the Economic Development Commission and bring it under county staff control with the over-site of the elected Board of Commissioners. This seems a better arrangement to me. There might even be a reduction in taxpayer funding required.


The Commissioners are still struggling with a proposal to withdraw from the Regional Library System. I'd like to see that. I want a more autonomous county government without all these regional government setups (RPOs and the like). Regional groups are open invitation to implement Agenda 21.

Then came the request from Cove City Fire Department for $30,000 matching funds they would like to have for gear the firemen wear to a fire. This request was made by Commissioner Taylor, who conferred with the firemen by phone during the meeting. The threat was that if the Board did not grant the request, the rating of the department might drop and citizens in that area of the county would have to pay higher fire insurance premiums. Several commissioners were reluctant to grant this request because the fire commissioners had been informed that they would have to budget within the fire tax funds provided by the citizens of their fire districts. If Cove City fire department received general fund taxpayer money, all other fire departments would want additional funding as well. I agree with this assessment. Either have fire taxes, and live within them or do away with them and provide county wide funding. Not a mixture of the two. I see no fairness in that. It got kind of comic when someone suggested that maybe they could get a grant from someone to get the matching funds for their grant request. WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO? Commissioner Taylor said he would get back with the Board on this issue.


Commissioner Tyson was kind enough to read my last report and take it seriously. About the assigning of the county garage to the Water Department, Commissioner Tyson stated that Rusty Hayes is the Director of the County Water System and, as such, is better able to supervise the county mechanics. I guess, the water system operation and maintenance being more mechanical in scope than directing a bus operation. I'm still not so sure. Oddly enough, I once owned and operated a large bus company. I would have hated to have the fleet maintenance manager report to someone else. I guess time will tell. I do appreciate Commissioner Steve Tyson commenting on it.

I've got one more beef then I will sign off for now. Commissioner McCabe (a really nice gentleman, in all other ways) proposed several government cost increasing measures. Fortunately, his requests weren't granted by the board although sometimes supported by Commissioner Sampson, and sometimes not. He asked for:

1. A 6 % pay increase for county employees instead of the 3% raise.

2. A 3 % increase in Commissioners pay.
3. A $1300 increase in Commissioners travel allowance annually.
4. He stated that if an organization asked for more funding, give it to them.

I wonder if the citizens of his district really want him to continually try to redistribute the wealth in the county and get as much as possible for himself. IS THIS WHAT THE PEOPLE OF HARLOWE AND HAVELOCK WANT?

Respectfully submitted:
Hal James

Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association
Issues and Watchdog Committee Chairman

Commisoner Scott Dacey--Listening Session

Craven County Commissioner Scott Dacey for District 4
Representing Trent Woods, River Bend and New Bern

Will host a 'listening session' Monday, February 27, 2012 from 4:00-5:00 pm

Craven County Administration Building, 406 Craven Street,
2nd Floor, New Bern

Come make your voice heard!  Commissioner will be waiting to listen!

NC County Gov’t Defies Court Decision Banning Christian Prayers at Board Meetings

God bless Rowan County!  Shame-Shame, Craven County Commissioners!

Read here:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nc-county-govt-defies-court-decision-banning-christian-prayers-at-board-meetings/

Matthew 10:33 that whoever shall deny Jesus before men, him will Jesus also deny before our Father in heaven, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sun Journal Letter to the Editor: Fiscal Oversight, by CCTA Past Chairman, Raynor James

February 19, 2012

Scott Dacey’s letter (Sunday, Feb. 19) raising questions that he and other Board of Commissioner members have asked regarding the running of our Sheriff’s Department, and contrarian opinions expressed by Michael Waldman and Leland Grice drew my attention. Both Messrs. Waldman and Grice seem to think our Commissioners are out of line to question the operation of the Sheriff’s Department. That puzzles me.


Should our commissioners dole out our hard earned taxpayer money to buy cars, computers, salaries, any lawsuit awards that might be needed, and various other expenses requested by the sheriff without a clear understanding of how our money is being spent and why it is needed? As a taxpayer, I thank the Board of Commissioners for trying to see that the taxes I pay are not squandered. The more they do it, the better I shall like it.

Hiring practices and high accident rates can expose Craven County to an increased potential for lawsuits. Good driver training for deputies can make the difference between life and death for them and for our citizens. Shouldn’t we be sure we’re handling these things effectively? Why wouldn’t we expect accident reports to match post-accident investigations?

And isn’t it appropriate to ask where the $9,300 that’s missing from the prisoner’s commissary account is? Maybe, as Michael Waldman suggested, it’s explained away by a computer software glitch. Fine. If that’s the explanation, say so, correct the problem, and let’s move on.

Stonewalling and name-calling is childish behavior unbecoming to a trusted public servant. Answering the questions the commissioners have asked, or taking corrective action (if it is needed), and then answering the questions fully and cheerfully would be the response of a “big picture, devoted public servant” of the sort that Michael Waldman and Leland Grice seem to think our sheriff is. I hope they are right. I hope our sheriff is able to overcome his initial irritation, realize that he is not the only elected representative of the people who needs to make decisions involving taxpayers’ money spent by his department, and step forward to clearly demonstrate that his department is shipshape.

Raynor James, New Bern

Letter from Commissioner Dacey is below!

Letter:  Board vs. Sheriff
Houdini strikes again. If you watch very closely, you will see the age-old practice of misdirection and political sleight of hand is under way and our paper of record, the Sun Journal, has fallen for the trick once again. I am hopeful the citizens of Craven County will not be so naïve as to believe that partisanship, rather than a desire to protect our community, is our primary goal when members of the County Board make inquiries of the management practices of anyone working for the taxpayers of Craven County, including Sheriff Jerry Monette.


In the aftermath of the Feb. 6 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, the Sun Journal conducted an interview with Sheriff Monette in an effort to get his response to concerns Commissioner Jeff Taylor and I raised about the sheriff’s management practices, including the use of county property and failure to properly account for prisoner funds. Rather than demonstrate to the Sun Journal a revised vehicle use policy had been completed or that the missing funds from the commissary account had been identified, the sheriff chose to respond by saying he thinks politics motivated our discussion at the meeting. Classic misdirection.

Last Sunday, the editor of the Sun Journal took the bait. Rather than press the sheriff for evidence that he or those within his department exercised any form of fiduciary oversight for the funds deposited into the accounts of those spending time in our jail, he chose to make this about partisan politics. After all, making sure that “we all just get along” is so much more important than making certain some of the hard questions are asked and that honest answers are forthcoming.

If the Sun Journal is truly concerned with providing a public service to this community, then start asking some tough questions – the questions both Republicans and Democrats serving on the county board are asking of our sheriff. Why have there been so few minority deputies on patrol throughout our county? Have the men and women serving as deputies been provided adequate driver training? When sheriff’s staff is involved in auto collisions, why don’t accident reports conform to post-accident investigations? Why did the sheriff fail to reconcile the prisoner’s commissary account on a regular basis and where is the missing $9,300?

I am certain there are answers for each of these questions, but none of those answers should be based upon whether it is a Republican or a Democrat asking the questions. The important thing is that the questions get asked and answered. Those of us serving on the County Board remain committed to doing just that.

Scott Dacey, Craven County commissioner, Trent Woods

http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/strikes-104474-board-houdini.html

Craven County Board of Commissioners Meeting - February 20, 2012- 8:30 AM Issues of Interest to Us

CCTA ISSUES AND WATCHDOG COMMITTEE

February 19, 2012

Hello CCTA Members & Friends,


A number of issues will come up at the Craven County Board of Commissioners meeting tomorrow morning that are of particular interest to us as taxpayers:

1) A public hearing to allow the county to buy vacant lots in James City in order to contract with a non-profit group to build a new home for "qualified" homebuyers. This is better than the way it used to be done!

2) The Public Health Nursing Director will tell us how her department spends some of our tax dollars.

3) The Deputy Social Services Director will tell us about a plan to spend more tax dollars to renovate a county building (509 Broad Street) to house a "Family Resource Center." "The center will be a place where children can build a positive relationship with their parents and other family members by having a conflict-free place to visit." WOW!! I got a place like that right in my home growing up! I guess I was just lucky.

4) The trash hauling contract is apparently up for renewal. I thought we taxpayers just saved around $250,000 by changing the contractor for that service. Anyway it is back on the table.


5) Another $4,000 or so refunded or credited to taxpayers because of billing errors, etc. Totals over $200,000 this year.

I guess we would not have any problem with most of the rest of the agenda items. If you can find the time, please attend.

Hal James
Issues and Watchdog Committee Chair


CCTA monitors and reports on key issues to you, the taxpayer. Informative programs begin each monthly meeting. We sponsor Tea Parties, educational seminars, and candidate forums. CCTA espouses lower taxes, smaller government, adherence to the Constitution, a strong free enterprise system, and personal freedoms with personal responsibility.

REPORT: Craven County Commissioners Meeting, February 6, 2012

Dear CCTA Members and Friends,


The last meeting of the Craven County Board of Commissioners was held on 6 Feb 12 at the River Bend Town Hall. I believe it was attended by the most people I have ever seen at a CC BOC meeting except the one at Havelock where the football team was introduced. Team members and family and fans made a big crowd. Anyway, I am proud to say that many CCTA members were at the River Bend meeting to protect the principles we believe in.

The meeting got off to a strange start in that the traditional invocation was missing. It was a while before we found out why. The reason is that the ACLU had just won a big victory over Forsyth County and the taxpayers of that county ended up picking up the tab for the ACLU's legal fees of $200,000. The County Attorney, Jimmy Hicks, said he had already been informed by the ACLU of possible lawsuits against two other counties he represents (not Craven). Our Board of Commissioners do not want to risk being involved in such a lawsuit, thus the lack of an invocation.

I feel angry at the ACLU and disappointed in our Board of Commissioners that they have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution and yet allow a bunch of lawyers to facilitate this infringement on our 1st amendment rights by prohibiting the free exercise of our religion. I realize that among those lawyers are Supreme Court judges. I believe that the Congress should impeach any federal official who flouts the Constitution. Apparently, Forsyth County Commissioners have decided to continue to have prayers that are to God only (not to Jesus). I don't like that either, but, in my mind, it is a better solution than completely eliminating the invocation. At the very least there could be a moment of silent prayer.

A Mr. Michael McMillan gave a good account of activities of the Religious Community Services organization that he heads. They do a great deal of very worth while work, there is no disputing that. At the end of his presentation, Commissioner Dacey reminded him that he and his organization had been forewarned that the county may not be able to continue it's financial support in light of the belt tightening needed for fiscal prudence in these tough time. Commissioner Dacey asked what measures they were taking to obtain private financing to replace the taxpayer funding. The answer he got was that they raise money privately and had done some belt tightening themselves, but had not given up on taxpayer support. I believe I speak for most CCTA members when I say that the government should get out of charity work. It is not right to take what one citizen has earned and give it to another. When will we ever have enough elected representatives with the courage to live by that to affect a change?


The Commissioners also adopted a Child Abuse Prevention Month Proclamation. It was obviously written by a strong advocate of spending as much taxpayer money as possible on this program. You would think from reading it that child abuse can not possibly be prevented except by a large financial commitment from the community as a whole. For instance "child maltreatment occurs when parents find themselves in stressful situations without community resources and unable to cope." I dare say that kids get slapped around without the offender even thinking about seeking community resources. And the proclamation itself asks several community groups and organization to increase their participation in our (the Board of Commissioner's) efforts to prevent child maltreatment. I think the word "our" should have been struck and hoped a commissioner would suggest that, but none did.

The Tax Administrator, Mr. Ronnie Antry asked the Board to credit back almost $12,000 of taxpayer money. One item was $3,259 to one taxpayer for personal property taxes on a boat. Mr. Antry said they had assessed the boat too high. Commissioner Dacey asked if they thought it was the Queen Mary. The tax man sure wants to hit us hard. He seems determined that if he errs it will be on the side of too high.

A public hearing has been set for the James City Community Development Block Grant program again. This time at the next meeting which is at 8:30 AM on Monday, 20 February 12. I thought most public hearings were set for the evening meetings when more people can attend. Anyway, some good changes have been made in this program. Taxpayers will no longer pick up the tab and just hand someone the keys to a new house. Instead, taxpayer money will buy lots in the James City area, and a group of citizens such as Habitat for Humanity will build a house on it. The anticipated owner will have to either help build the house or have volunteers who do. Then there will be an affordable mortgage on the house. Most taxpayer money will be expended on the infrastructure such as drainage, public water and sewer, streets, lighting, etc. All appropriate functions of government. Personally, I wish the federal government would just get out of that business and leave local communities alone, but this is a step toward eliminating the total rip off of the taxpayer by this program.

The Department of Social Services found another $252,708 of State taxpayer money lying around, and the Board voted to spend it in Craven County as it has been offered up to us. Aren't we lucky? And, oh yeah, Health Family Planning got another $25,000 to spend on Contraception to include birth control pills, depo-provera (a birth control shot). I wonder how many kids get this stuff so they can have sex without fear of pregnancy. I'm glad I was born 50 years before kids had the freedom to screw their lives up like this. Aren't we taxpayer lucky to be able to pay for this?


Last, but not least, was the appropriate calling of the Sheriff on the carpet (in absence) for the terrible safety record of his department, poor accident investigation, and his refusal to do anything about it. It seems Commissioner Taylor is leading the charge on this with some help from Commissioner Dacey and others. There seems to have been seven wrecks involving deputies lately causing one death and the destruction of at least two vehicles belonging to the taxpayer and the Sheriff says "well, they drive a lot of miles and stuff happens." Well, that is not good enough. I was there when the Sheriff did appear before the Board and gave a toe tap around instead of really presenting a driver training program. Now he is just defying the Board. I hope he sees the light when the Board reviews his budget in the coming months. It also came to light that the Sheriff's department is short about $10,000 of funds in an account set up so that prisoners could make purchases at the prison canteen. Prisoners put money into the account and spend it somehow at the canteen. The account is now empty and, as I said, should have about $10,000 in it. Someone obviously absconded with the funds. It is being investigated.

I'm sure I missed a few transgressions, but I guess that will do for now.

Hal James
Watchdog and Issues Chairman
CCTA