City sets agenda for Raleigh

Mar 6, 2010 — High Point Enterprise

Pat Kimbrough

Mar. 6, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- HIGH POINT -- Despite a bleak budget picture, the High Point City Council has a long wish list it's giving state lawmakers.

This week, the council hammered out its legislative priorities for the N.C. General Assembly's short session in May. The council adopted 11 policy positions for the session, which is mainly to address budget issues. City officials said they don't expect lawmakers to take up complex or controversial issues this spring, since this is an election year. However, substantive issues that aren't related to the budget may arise.

"The state budget is in trouble," City Attorney Fred Baggett, who coordinates the city's legislative agenda, told the council during a committee meeting this week. "(Mayor Becky Smothers) and I heard some economic projections that revenues are going to continue to decline, especially sales tax. I'm not sure we're at the bottom, but we sure aren't climbing out."

The agenda includes perpetual city priorities, such as support for continued state funding for the High Point Market. The council also supports a review of the N.C. Department of Transportation equity formula to ensure that state road funds are fairly distributed where the needs are greatest.

Another priority is opposition to any proposal that would require local governments or the state to recognize or collectively bargain with public sector employee unions. Federal or state legislation could enable public employees to unionize, something that officials said is gaining momentum.

"It's coming -- as sure as the sun's coming up in the east in the morning," said City Manager Strib Boynton. "(The Fraternal Order of Police and International Association of Fire Fighters) are working very hard to penetrate local governments."

Municipalities across the state are virtually unanimous in their opposition to such proposals, but officials said unions are making headway where it counts.

"The amount of money unions are giving to politicians has gone up exponentially," said Baggett. "The state is seen as the next battleground for union recognition for public employees, because this is one of the last holdouts. ... The problems we've seen with budgets (of governments with union workers) are largely attributable to huge employee contracts that cannot be sustained."

pkimbrough@hpe.com -- 888-3531

At a glance

The High Point City Council's legislative policy positions for the N.C. General Assembly short session beginning May 12 include:

--Opposing proposals to require local governments to assume maintenance responsibility for state highway system roads, which cities argue would impose an unfair burden on local taxpayers and create an inefficient and fragmented method of maintaining the state road network.

--Opposing proposals to require any form of referendum as a condition of involuntary annexation or other proposals which would substantially affect the ability of municipalities to annex urbanized areas adjacent to municipal corporate limits.

--Supporting the preservation of existing revenue sources for local governments and oppose erosion of these sources unless there is permanent and reliable replacement revenue.

--Opposing proposals to grant certain classes of local government employees greater retirement or other benefits than other employees.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0090-42644155