WHAT HAPPENED: A newsy week, for sure. For one, the General Assembly was fuller-steam, with a marked uptick in session activity and bill-filing -- 150 this week -- and an airing of Gov. Roy Cooper's priorities in his biennial
State of the State speech delivered before the House and Senate. In other news, new elections were announced to fill vacancies in Congressional Districts 3 (following
Rep. Walter Jones' passing) and 9 (per the
conclusion of a nationally watched election fraud case). Also of note: a Wake County Superior Court Judge
threw out two of the state's constitutional amendments -- voter ID and a state income-tax rate cap. An appeal is likely.
WHAT IT MEANS: Focusing on the legislature, the long-session is really starting to spread its wings and we'll highlight in this Bulletin some of the latest proposals we're following for cities and towns. We'll also look at Gov. Cooper's speech -- notably his focus on broadband.
ON TAP: Bill deadlines. The important one to know right now: March 6, the cutoff for House members to get local bills to the General Assembly's drafting department. (The Senate deadline was this past week.) If you have requests for local bills, get them to your House member now.
THE SKINNY: Introductory business at the General Assembly is essentially behind us now and we'll soon hear more about the sessions' biggest-ticket item: a new budget. Otherwise, every bill we see of interest to cities and towns is loaded into our
easy-to-follow Bill Tracker.
The League is hosting a webinar April 5 at 10 a.m. to discuss a recently approved increase to the employer contribution rate for the Local Government Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS). Registration is open. The LGERS Board approved the increase, effective for fiscal year 2019-20, to address a significant system funding shortfall expected in future years. The webinar will be an opportunity for staff of the Retirement Systems Division of the Treasurer’s Office to share information about the change and answer any questions League members may have.
The N.C. Utilities Commission held a hearing this week to learn from Duke Energy Carolinas why it didn’t comply with a commission order to produce a plan for innovative rates based on advance metering infrastructure (AMI) – a continuation of an issue the League raised in the utility’s 2017 rate case when it intervened on behalf of its members. It is the League’s hope that Duke Energy Carolinas will offer rates under which municipal customers can save money by making better decisions about energy usage.
The Town of Hudson is notching up on regional economic development with the homegrown advancement of arts and entrepreneurship.
That story, which the town's government submitted to
Here We Grow, unfolds at the HUB Station, a campus the town prepared to provide supportive, affordable space for area artists and businesspeople to work, sell, connect and grow. "We are anxious to see it grow as it becomes a vital part of the Hudson community and a destination point for all of Caldwell and surrounding counties,” said Hudson Town Manager Rebecca Bentley. Read all about it at
Here We Grow, North Carolina's most standout collection of local economic development stories, brought to you by the League
in partnership with WRALTechWire.
North Carolina’s economic strength is rooted in the diversity of its cities and towns — a diversity that’s the direct result of allowing local residents to pursue their own unique visions. We encourage you to join in this effort to promote the municipal investments that are crucial to growing our state’s economy, and to educate the public about their importance. No one knows these stories better than the people in the cities and towns where they are happening. Help spread the word about the successes you’re seeing — from mill towns utilizing old resources in new ways, to big cities whose bright ideas are turning them into innovation hubs. By telling these stories, you can ensure that cities and towns have the freedom to act and invest in the ways that make the most sense for their residents.
Join Here We Grow today. Send an email to
about@herewegrownc.org to request login credentials, free to League-member cities and towns.
The 2019 N.C. Main Street Conference, billed as "the state's premier gathering for downtown revitalization and development," is set for March 12-14 in Salisbury. The theme this year is "Time. Talent. Money." and will explore how those elements interact in downtown improvement. "The 2019 conference will offer attendees tools to help transform their downtown districts while allowing public-private partnerships to flourish, ways to help local businesses grow, and how to develop a comprehensive downtown program," says a press release. The event is put on by the N.C. Department of Commerce and its Main Street & Rural Planning Center, whose leaders expressed excitement in bringing it to Salisbury this year. Said Main Street Center Director Liz Parham, “Salisbury is the epitome of what a Main Street community is; a strong public-private partnership that develops innovative economic development strategies and initiatives, through the implementation of the Main Street Four-Point Approach." Registration and other information is at ncmainstreetconference.com.