The Hickory area legislators did a flip flop and voted against the 2006-2007 state budget. The schedule included $300,000 for an engineering center, $500,000 for the Hosiery Technology Center, and $500,000 for the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center on the Catawba Valley Community College campus.
Republican Senator Austin Allran made no comment during the Senate debate. He had voted for the Senate version of the budget although it had no funds for the engineering center. He even touted his commitment from Senate President Pro-Tem Marc Basnight in a Hickory newspaper. Perhaps he was angry that the appropriation for the engineering center was reduced from $1.7 million added in the House version to $300,000 in the final conference report. Even so, Hickory was lucky. Projects in the districts of powerful Democrats were eliminated altogether, including $12 million for a design center at Winston-Salem State University in Appropriation Chair Linda Garrou’s district, and $4 million for an aviation research center in the district of Basnight. House proposals for a $7.5 million viticulture center at Surry Community College and $1 million for a fire truck and fire equipment at UNC-Pembroke all were eliminated.
Some 20 moderate or progressive Republicans in the House joined all Democrats in voting for the budget. But none were from the Hickory area. Catawba, Alexander, Caldwell and Lincoln County legislators—all Republicans—joined ranks with the most conservative followers of GOP ideologue millionaire Art Pope to vote against the $18.2 billion state budget. Included were Rep. Mark Hollo of Alexander who represents Hickory and Rep. Mark Hilton who pushed for the engineering center appropriation. In the Senate, Allran and Sen. Jimmy Jacumin joined most of their GOP colleagues to oppose the budget, which offered $180 million in tax relief.
CHURCH TIME: So how did the funds for the engineering center survive when other projects across the state folded? Thank Rep. Walter Church of Valdese, a close ally of Speaker Jim Black. Church had sent the Speaker a detailed request for the engineering center, asking for $1.2 million. He voted for the budget, agreeing with fellow representatives that “half a loaf is better than no loaf.”
PORK DEFINED: When is an appropriation defined as “pork”? It seems to be in the eye of the beholder. When special projects are tucked away in special provisions sections of the budget, it is called “pork.” But when it is laid out as a special line item for all to see, it is an appropriation, according to most. All Hickory appropriations were line items for education.
WHAT THEY OPPOSED: Legislators who voted against the state budget voted against $180 million in tax cuts. The sales tax went down a quarter of a cent and income taxes were reduced from 8.25 per cent to 8 per cent. State employees and teachers finally got significant raises—5.5 percent—and $27.4 million was earmarked to help counties keep Medicaid costs at 2005-06 levels. Another $75 millions go to mental health reforms and “tough on crime” advocates got money for dozens of new judges, prosecutors and court personnel.
They also said “no” to almost $10 billion for education—universities, community colleges and public schools—plus millions more for in-home assistance for elderly and disabled persons, and repayment of money to the state’s rainy day fund which almost was depleted by hurricanes and lawsuits.
PROFILE IN COURAGE: Sen. John Garwood is a longtime Wilkes County Republican. He has worked for his party diligently over the years. But Garwood was defeated by the Art Pope-led right who were furious over his failure to oppose the state lottery. Among his last votes was one in support of the 2006-07 budget. “There were too many good things in there for me to oppose it,” Garwood said.
