NC mayors meet in Asheville, seek to protect revenues (Asheville Citizen Times)
ASHEVILLE — State legislators should not push their budget problems off onto North Carolina cities and towns, mayors of the state’s largest municipalities said at the end of a two-day conference here Friday.
Revenues sent on to local governments are a traditional target in the General Assembly when the state’s budget picture darkens, and the Office of State Budget and Management says legislators could be facing a $3.3 billion budget deficit when they return to Raleigh next year.
Members of the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, composed of mayors of 26 large cities and towns, said any moves to reduce revenues sent to municipalities or to require them to provide more services, would be painful.
“None of us are providing all of the services to our citizenry that we think they’re entitled to,” said Hickory Mayor Rudy Wright. “We’re doing what we can.”
About 45 people, including 18 mayors, attended the meeting at the upscale Grand Bohemian Hotel in Biltmore Village.
Many of the state’s urbanized areas grew dramatically during the last decade, sparking concern about disparities between North Carolina’s relatively prosperous cities and its poorer rural counties. Eight of the state’s 14 metropolitan areas had unemployment rates lower than the statewide rate in August.
But mayors Friday rejected any suggestion that their cities are in a better position than anyone else to help balance the state budget.
Some said they have had to freeze employee pay, eliminate jobs and take other steps to balance their own budgets.
“We’ve tightened our budget belts,” said Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy.
Even rural residents would be affected if cities falter because of budget problems, said Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt.
“As our health goes, so goes the health of the state economically,” he said.
Mayors did not take a position on the prospect of reform of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Commission system. Many of the state’s ABC stores are administered by municipalities and there have been scandals related to employee pay and other issues. Mayors did say that ABC revenue is an important source of revenue for cities and that should not be changed.
On another issue, Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz urged legislators to give the court system enough resources to deal with accused criminals expeditiously. Backlogs in the system contribute to crime problems in cities, she said.
By Mark Barrett • September 25, 2010
