Our Informer

Rep. Joe Hackney, as expected, was elected Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives during opening day ceremonies last Wednesday. It was an event that was in sharp contrast to the elections of Rep. Jim Black in four previous sessions—marked with rancor and partisanship.

Republicans, who are outnumbered this session 68-52, put up a symbolic candidate in Minority Leader Paul Stam of Wake County. He was supported by Rep. Mark Hilton and Mitchell Setzer of Catawba County.

Hackney won along party lines with the votes of Ray Warren of Hickory and Alexander County, and Walter Church of Valdese.

Hackney’s acceptance speech called for civility and predicted that Majority Leader Hugh Hollimon and Minority Leader Paul Stam will work together to promote civil debate and decorum. He quoted a pastor as saying, “My mother always said that good manners will get you where education won’t….my mother also would agree with that.”

WARM WELCOME FOR WARREN: Democratic leaders were giving Rep. Ray Warren a warm welcome. As the first Democrat to represent Hickory in more than two decades, Warren is poised to pull the region out of its black hole from the Raleigh viewpoint.

Constantly opposed by GOP lawmakers from this area, Democrats almost wrote off the Northwest. Republicans put their emphasis in rewarding areas of North Carolina where the Republicans were making new inroads. So this area was not a priority for either party. Warren can change that.

Several of Warren’s supporters from the Alexander business community were in the gallery to see him take the oath of office beside his wife.

HOUSE PRIORITIES: House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, a veteran from Davidson County, says two priorities will be addressed by the Democratic leadership: relieving counties of the Medicaid burden and giving local governments more flexibility in raising money. A third priority could be authorizing a bond issue for schools construction.

The legislature in recent years has given two counties, including Mecklenburg, the authority to levy a local sales tax. Catawba County would like to levy a 1-cent sales tax to avoid a nine cents property tax rate increase. “If we give it (authority) to two counties we ought to give it to all others,” Holliman said.

FOLLOW THE VOTE: Two Republican senators joined all Democrats in the Senate to vote for Sen. Marc Basnight in his election for an unprecedented eighth term as President Pro Tem. One of them was Sen. Fletcher Hartsell of Cabarrus County, a proponent of the transfer of water from the Catawba River to help service the growth of Concord and Kannapolis.

The IBT issue will be on the agenda for the 2007 General Assembly. Hartsell has worked with Democrats during his six terms in the legislature.

DEADLINES: The House and Senate have adopted deadlines for the introduction of bills. Local bills must be introduced by March 20 in the House and February 27 in the Senate. In the Senate, the deadline for public bills (i.e. IBT) is March 13; in the House April 10.

The House will draft the state budget this year and appropriations and finance bills must be introduced by May 1. The crossover deadline for bills is May 17.

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Google Inc. is bringing a “server farm” to Caldwell County. With it comes $600 million in plant investments and 210 jobs with an average annual wage of $48,300. That’s about $20,000 over the annual wage in Caldwell.

The Google operation is a milestone in a distressed area that has lost thousands of furniture and textile jobs. The 3,400 unemployed people in Caldwell would need specialized training to compete for the jobs Google would offer.

Incentives to lure the internet company could exceed $100 million from state and county funds. The county has agreed to forgo personal and property taxes for 30 years, according to sources.

The entire Hickory Metro will benefit from the Google operation, observers say, because it would lure other employers to the region. As the commercial and retail center for the region, Hickory would enjoy millions of dollars coming into the economy.
Also, the engineering center in Hickory could become a major asset in the luring of similar type operations.

With a bipartisan delegation from Catawba County, the chances for full funding of the engineering center by the General Assembly is more likely. Democrat Rep. Ray Warren has said he will give full funding a top priority. The center is seeking $1.5 million annually from the state. Democratic budget leaders last year approved recurring appropriations of $500,000 for the Hosiery Technology Center at Catawba Valley Community College.

EARLY RIDER: New Democratic Rep. Ray Warren, whose district includes Hickory, should be ready to move upward quickly. He was an early supporter of Rep. Joe Hackney who is likely to become the next House Speaker. In the legislature, the key is “to get on board before the train leaves the station.” Warren was among those first on board for the Hackney train.

The Speaker appoints committees in the legislature. Warren’s clout will be reflected in his appointments.

EXCUSE REDEUX: Sen. Austin Allran recently told Chamber of Commerce members that he did not vote for the state budget because “it wasn’t balanced”, alleging that those who voted for the budget violated the state constitution. So will he file a lawsuit saying the 2006 budget is unconstitutional? Not likely.

People who do not follow state government are more likely to accept Allran’s explanation. But another more plausible conclusion is that his message plays well to under-educated constituents who don’t see the connection between taxes people pay and the services for healthcare, education, transportation, and law enforcement.

PROPERTY TAX HIKE?: Catawba County commissioners have concluded that a nine-cents increase on the property tax rate is on the horizon. An option is a one-cent sales tax increase. Either would raise $12 million to cover rising Medicaid costs and schools construction.

Only Rep. Ray Warren has agreed to support the sales tax option to bring relief to property taxpayers. Alexander County commissioners also have asked for the sales tax option which must be approved by the Legislature.

Warren has talked with legislators in other areas and some statewide program may be crafted to give local governments more options for revenue.

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All top leadership positions in state government are now consolidated east of Chapel Hill. The new House Speaker is Rep. Joe Hackney of Chapel Hill. Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight is from Dare. The governor and lieutenant governor are from the east. The chairs of powerful committees in the House will be dominated by eastern legislators.

Why is this? Is it something in the water?

Maybe it is a culture and an attitude. The conservative, leave-us-alone attitude goes back to the early settlers of Western North Carolina. As a result, North Carolina state government was dominated by leaders from the rural east where elections and power have been a passion. (Exceptions have been the Shelby Dynasty of the 1930s and Buncombe County).

But now look what is happening in the East. East Carolina University is now the third largest campus in the UNC system, with a medical school and soon-to-be dental school. Greenville and Pitt County are gaining jobs and research-oriented businesses on old tobacco fields.

Rocky Mount leaders are pushing for Wesleyan College to be converted into UNC-Rocky Mount. Rocky Mount is the hometown of Gov. Mike Easley and Attorney General Roy Cooper. Thanks to Sen. Basnight and Rep. Bill Owen, the Northeast is booming, with Elizabeth City soon to rival Hickory in size. Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, formerly of Newton, is the highest-ranking official from the Northwest.

In the meantime, the greater Hickory Metro must find its own way in the journey from the 20th century economy to the 21st. Where’s the leadership?

CALDWELL TO LEAD?: Caldwell County is among the six counties selected to participate in a statewide economic growth program designed to offset the loss of manufacturing jobs. The 21st Century Communities program, led by the N.C. Department of Commerce, is structured to foster economic growth in communities hit hard by manufacturing losses. Gov. Mike Easley made the announcement. Other counties in the program are Rockingham, Anson, Beaufort, Edgecombe, Graham and Harnett.

STRAW IS IN THE WATER: As expected, the Environmental Management Commission approved the transfer of 10 millions gallons of water from the Catawba River to Kannapolis and Concord which are outside the river basin. The Cabarrus County communities soon will be sipping water from the Catawba to fuel rapid growth in the region.

Once the straw is in, the issue will loom larger. The original request was to take 36 millions from the Catawba. Hickory and towns along the Catawba from McDowell to Mecklenburg Counties have fought the transfer and have threatened to carry the battle to the courts.

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