Perdue voices opposition to secondary roads shift

Governor Beverly Perdue continued her pledge to consult with local governments Jan. 20 when she convened a meeting with members of her Local Government Advisory Committee at the Albert Coates Local Government Center in Raleigh.

The NCACC's executive officers, led by President Mary Accor of Cleveland County, were joined by Commissioners Jennifer Roberts (Mecklenburg County), Ronnie Smith (Martin), Kay Cashion (Guilford) and Breeden Blackwell (Cumberland) in representing the county perspective at the meeting. The executive officers of the N.C. League of Municipalities and several other mayors were in attendance to provide the municipal perspective.

The major focus of the meeting was the state's transportation system. President Accor reiterated to Governor Perdue that counties are opposed to being forced to provide any funds to build or maintain the state's system of secondary roads. She noted that there had been discussion at the General Assembly about this cost shift as a way to relieve the state of some of its fiscal difficulties.

"We remain passionate and vocal in our opposition to shifting any road responsibilities to our counties," Accor said.

Perdue pointed out that her office did not propose shifting any costs to counties for road construction or maintenance, but she also said that counties that have the ability and desire to spend money on roads should have that ability.

"These movements toward local maintenance money did not come from our team," said Perdue. "They came from the General Assembly. I do believe that it is perhaps time for us … to devise different solutions. One size does not fit all. In urban areas, if there are needs that they want to pay for, whether it's on road construction projects or maintenance, then I actually do believe it is time that the Big Brother called Raleigh loosen the chains and allow innovation and local decision making.

"For counties that don't have the growth, the wealth or the liquidity to do their own, I do not believe the State of North Carolina can abandon them and say you are on your own. You can't just dump it on local governments that don't have the resources. That is certainly my perspective, and I hope it's the department's perspective. But I can't control everything the General Assembly does. I'm going to ask you all to put the same kind of pressure on your local delegation."

Jim Trogdon, chief operating officer for the N.C. Department of Transportation, discussed his department's efforts to meet the growing and diverse demands it faces. He reiterated that the DOT is attempting to improve its communications with local governments to better identify transportation needs and priorities.

"Since transportation is vital to the state's economic future, we must be successful, and we can only do so with strong partnerships with your organizations," he said. "We know the importance of collaborating with you."

Trogdon said the gas tax is not providing sufficient revenues to meet demand and that the DOT would like to examine other possible revenue streams. He acknowledged the state has a $65 billion funding deficit for the next 25 years.

"The old systems that have been used to fund transportation have been great up until this point, but we certainly realize they will not sustain us over the next 20 to 25 years," Trogdon said.

Besides transportation, Governor Perdue also discussed the current status of the state ABC system. A small handful of local ABC boards have come under fire in recent weeks, leading some observers to believe the system needs to be reformed.

Governor Perdue said she does not yet have the answer to deal with some of the problems that have been reported recently concerning the ABC system, and welcomes input from local officials. Governor Perdue did say she is considering hiring a consultant group to evaluate the ABC system.

"We are very quietly looking at companies that might be able to come in and evaluate the system," Perdue said. "I am having somebody look at the system. I understand that this is a state driven by local control. I also understand the state owns the product and the license for the product.

"I was very distressed to read about a $100,000 retirement (for a local ABC administrator). I find that to be very egregious. For a system to allow that … there is something wrong with the system. I believe that 98 percent of the local boards have high standards and ethics and integrity. I don't believe you should throw the whole thing out because of two or three instances."

Perdue did say she felt the salary and ethical issues that have plagued several local boards could be easily fixed and that her focus is on the long term. She said she wants to evaluate the overall system's effectiveness, and that giving the state more control or privatizing the system are options that should be considered.

"The overall question of what to do with shedding enterprises that the state needs to shed – I don't believe any of us, regardless of the political rhetoric around this issue, have the right answers," she said. "You don't just shed stuff. We need revenue in this state."