Briefs from the September 2009 CountyLines

Kiser among three joining Caldwell County staff

Stan Kiser will move into the Caldwell County Manager's Office on Oct. 1 and become one of three key new employees to join the county's ranks in September and October.

Kiser will remain as Yadkin County manager through the end of September. He has served in that role since Sept. 29, 2008. He previously held the Lincoln County manager position. Kiser succeeds Bobby White, a longtime manager who retired at the end of 2006 before stepping in as interim county manager in December 2007.

Harry Whalen and LouAnne Kincaid joined Caldwell's staff in September as economic development executive director and public information officer, respectively.

Whalen has served in the Michigan Department of Economic Development since December 2001 and previously worked in North Carolina as economic development director for Fayetteville (1998-2001) and Salisbury-Rowan (1984-98).

Kincaid has served as media relations specialist for Catawba Valley Community College since 2000. She also held various roles – including reporter and anchor – for television stations in Charlotte and Hickory in the 1990s.

Cooperative Extention, public health officials team to produce free guide to community gardening

A new guide to community gardening provides communities with tools to increase access to fresh produce, strengthen neighborhood groups and increase physical activity through gardening.

The gardening primer, "Growing Communities through Gardens," was published by Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina and the N.C. Community Garden Partners, a coalition of agencies seeking to promote community gardening. It is available as a free download at nccommunitygarden.ncsu.edu or www.EatSmartMoveMoreNC.com.

The primer provides information on how to find or develop a garden and how to prepare, preserve and store produce.

Dr. Lucy Bradley, extension specialist in urban horticulture at N.C. State University and one of the primer's authors, said that there is growing interest in developing community gardens. Reasons for increased interest in community gardens include improving food security, increasing access to local foods and renewed consumer interest in raising one's own food, she said.

Harnett adopts 2009-10 budget with lower tax rate

Harnett County approved its 2009-10 fiscal year budget in mid-August, becoming the final North Carolina county to do so. The county previously adopted an interim budget while waiting to see how the state budget would impact county finances.

Harnett commissioners were able to lower the tax rate by 1 cent to 72.5 cents per $100 assessed value. The budget included an annual landfill fee increase of $6, and boosted a monthly water service rate by 50 cents and a monthly sewer rate by 30 cents.

All told in 2009-10, 72 counties were able to maintain the same tax rate while eight others managed to cut taxes for 2009-10. For a listing of all county tax rates, visit www.ncacc.org/taxrates10.html.

Commissioners announce runs at General Assembly seats

Paul Johnson, who has served on the Surry County Board of Commissioners for the past 13 years, announced Aug. 25 that he will seek North Carolina's 30th Senate District seat representing Stokes, Surry, Yadkin and Alleghany counties. The seat is currently held by six-term Sen. Don East, who served as a Surry County commissioner from 1984-92. The two Republicans will be on the May 4 Primary Election ballot.

F.D. Rivenbark of Pender County has announced that he will seek a House seat that is currently held by Rep. Carolyn Justice, who is also a former Pender County commissioner. Rivenbark is a Democrat. Justice, a Republican, is currently finishing her fourth term in the N.C. House of Representatives.

Frue succeeds longtime Buncombe Attorney Connolly

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners appointed Michael Frue as county attorney on Sept. 1. Frue succeeds Joe Connolly, who announced his intent to retire earlier this year after serving 20 years as county attorney. Connolly will continue on a contract basis through December to assure a smooth case transition.

Frue joined the county in 2000 as the County's Tax Office attorney handling tax foreclosures, Board of Equalization and Review, and N.C. Property Tax Commission matters. In 2005, he was named associate county attorney.

"I am fully confident in the abilities of Mike Frue to serve as our county attorney," said Chairman David Gantt. "I believe under his leadership Mr. Frue will advise and lead us in a highly capable and professional manner."

Longtime Washington County Clerk to the Board to retire

Lois Askew announced her retirement Sept. 8 as Washington County clerk to the board and assistant to the county manager, a capacity in which she served for 28 years. She has served with the county for more than 34 years.

County Manager David Peoples said Askew has been a loyal, dedicated and outstanding public servant.

"Lois' work performance has been exceptional and world class," he said. "The county is losing a very valuable employee and asset. It will be extremely difficult to replace Lois both as an employee and as a friend to all citizens of the county. We wish her a long, healthy and happy retirement. She has certainly earned it."

Her last day with the county will be Nov. 30.

Harnett to hold referendum on quarter-cent sales tax in November

Harnett County voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to give the Board of Commissioners their blessing on a quarter-cent local option sales tax increase. If the measure is approved and the sales tax is adopted by the Board of Commissioners, the county's sales tax rate would be 8 percent.

The request originated from the Harnett County Board of Education, which said it would use the roughly $1 million in additional revenue to pay the debt service on a new elementary school in the western half of the county.

The General Assembly granted counties authority to adopt a quarter-cent sales tax or 0.4 percent land transfer tax via referendum in 2007. Since November 2007, eight counties – Alexander, Catawba, Cumberland, Haywood, Martin, Pitt, Sampson and Surry – have gained voter approval and enacted the quarter-cent sales tax.

Catawba's 1924 courthouse forced out of retirement

A courtroom crunch has Catawba County looking to its historic courthouse for relief.

The courtroom in the 1924 facility, located in downtown Newton and retired from court service in 1980, will be used for civil cases (non-jury) beginning in mid- to late-October.

The district courthouse in Hickory was built in 1978 and houses two courtrooms. The Catawba County Justice Center in Newton was built in 1980 with four courtrooms, plus a meeting space was converted to hear domestic cases. Still it's not enough: In July 2008, there was a backlog of 6,728 cases waiting to be heard.

Iredell promotes two

Cynthia Eades has been named Iredell County human resources director following the retirement of Carolyn Harris. Eades began serving as assistant human resources director in June after serving four years as a personnel analyst.

County Manager Joel Mashburn also announced Aug. 21 that Ronny Thompson would succeed Lloyd Ramsey as fire marshal on an interim basis. Ramsey retired Sept. 1.

Thompson has served as chief deputy fire marshal since 2002. He retired as the City of Statesville's fire marshal in 2001.

Wake breaks ground on animal center expansion

Wake County officials broke ground on an expansion of the county's Animal Care, Control and Adoption Center on Sept. 9. The shelter expansion will allow the county to fulfill its agreement to house animals from the City of Raleigh and towns of Garner and Cary.

When Raleigh begins delivering animals to the shelter on July 1, 2010, there will be consolidated sheltering countywide. The center opened in 1996 and was designed to include 140 dog kennels and 100 cat kennels for all county areas outside of Raleigh, Garner and Cary.

The 6,700-square-foot expansion will increase the shelter's total capacity to 218 dog kennels and 175 cat kennels, or approximately 18,000 animals annually.

CNN reports jobs are in Union

Union County was featured in August in a report on CNNMoney.com titled "Where the jobs are" that highlighted the 25 counties across the nation that experienced the greatest percentage of job growth from 2000-08. Union placed 10th on the list with a quoted job growth rate of 57.5 percent.

The writeup cites the county's proximity to the City of Charlotte, plus a planned 5,000-acre industrial park in the rural eastern half of the county, as reasons for continued growth.

SOG makes economic bulletins available online

Two School of Government bulletins written by Karl Smith and released this summer examine the national economic crisis and its impact on North Carolina's job market and state and local finances.

"The Economy and Employment in North Carolina: Is the Worst Over?" discusses evidence that the financial sector is healing and that the state's job market is nearing a recovery, and examines the larger economic factors affecting growth in North Carolina.

"The Effect of the Global Economic Crisis on State and Local Tax Revenues" explains why the global economic crisis has been so severe and identifies the short-term and long-term consequences of the crisis on state and local finances.

Both bulletins are available online at no cost. To download the PDFs, click here.

Environmental grant writing workshop scheduled for Oct. 27-28

"Funding Environmental Improvements in Your Community: Funding Agencies and Grant Writing Basics," a free two-day workshop to be held Oct. 27-28 at the NOAA/NCNERR Auditorium in Beaufort (Carteret County), offers an introduction to various funding agencies that provide assistance to local communities to make environmental improvements that control stormwater runoff, improve local water quality and restore watersheds.

Participants will also learn what these agencies look for in a grant application and how to find other sources of funding. The second day of the session will be devoted to refining participants' grant writing skills.

To complete the required registration, click here.

New publication targeted toward board chairs

The first book in a new School of Government publication series titled Local Government Board Builders focuses on the requirements for and tools used by lead governing officers: mayors of city councils and chairs of county boards of commissioners. "Leading Your Governing Board: A Guide for Mayors and County Board Chairs" emphasizes how leadership roles should work, including tips for setting agendas and maintaining forward motion and participation in meetings. Intangible essentials, such as keeping a fair and impartial manner and respecting professional roles, are also clarified.

The book is available for purchase for $20. To order, click here.

SHORTS

Caswell: Ricky Williams has retired after serving 30 years as the county's agricultural extension agent. … Edgecombe: Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Commissioner Viola Harris to the N.C. Local Government Commission in mid-August. … Gaston: Former Assistant County Manager Tom McCarthy, whose career includes a six-year stint as the City of Fayetteville's police chief, died Sept. 7 at the age of 62. … Sampson: Social Services Director Sarah Bradshaw was installed as the 2009-10 president of the N.C. Association of County Directors of Social Services in July. … Surry: Michael Britt Scott, a 20-year Navy veteran, will assume duties as veterans' service officer on Oct. 1. ... Warren: Arnetta Yancey resigned as deputy clerk to the board in mid-August to accept an upper management position with the Warren County Senior Center. … Wayne: Former Finance Director E. Norman Ricks III died Sept. 6 at the age of 58.