At the bottom right of this page under main information links is a Hickory, NC link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the bottom of the page you will see the future dates for meetings scheduled for this year.
At the top of the page, if you click on the “Documents” link, you will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.
Here is a summary of the agenda of the 10/7/2008 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below.
The invocation was from the Reverend Reggie Longcrier. I may not agree with a lot of the political people that he supports, but I really do admire this man. I met Reverend Longcrier 9 years ago at my church, Mt. Olive Lutheran. His outreach program has helped a lot of people when they were down and out. The Reverend had us go to the Prison camp at Newton and read scripture with the inmates there. These people need the message of redemption and hope that spirituality brings.
If you ever get the chance to meet Reverend Longcrier, I hope that you will accept. His message is an uplifting one. He is a man that accepted the consequences of his youth, righted the wrongs, and has fought for the greater good of our community. We need more men like the Reverend that will stand up for the least of us.
Jennifer Helton of the Community Appearance Commission handed out awards for various voluntary beautification projects done throughout Hickory. Tim Cline received an award for the renovation of the arcade downtown. Bishop and Terry Jackson received an award for work done at a location on 127 north. Other projects were at Hickory High and the Salvation Army.
Phil Barringer made a presentation about the new Art Benches that have been placed around town. The council unanimously approved to allow the Public Art Commission to solicit money from the private sector to produce more of the benches. The City is not being asked for any more money.
The mayor and State Representative Ray Warren presented the Order of the Long Leaf Pine to Dr. Ed Rogers. Greg McGuiness, Mr. Rodgers long time friend and town manager of West Jefferson, asked Governor Easley to bestow North Carolina’s highest civilian honor to Dr. Rodgers. Dr. Rodgers has apparently been very instrumental in a lot of work done by the Habitat for Humanity. If anyone would like to send me a bio on Dr. Rodgers, I would very much like to post it.
The Council confirmed several projects including a couple of annexations. Recognitions were approved for National Family Day on 9/22/2008, Financial Planning Week 10/6-12/2008, and Respiratory Care Week 10/19-25/2008. The Library has been approved to have a book sale 10/9-12/2008.
Hammer Properties was awarded grants of $10,437 for landscaping and appearance improvements at 432 4th st SW. The City amended its parking lot agreement with Transportation Insight, Inc.
The city approved a lease agreement with the Hickory Downtown Development Association to Lease vacant property at 24 1st ave NE. The city is leasing the property for an annual fee of $1 for 5 years. The HDDA will be responsible for maintenance and repairs of utilities up to $1,000. The HDDA currently budgets $3,000 annually for these expenditures. The City of Hickory currently appropriates $50,000 annually to the HDDA.
In the Hounds Opinion: This is a backdoor attempt by the city to increase its investment in the Downtown Development Association. I would like to know what are we getting for our investment in this association? In my opinion, the problems with our downtown have nothing to do with the amount of money that we continuously throw at it and have everything to do with the viability of our city as a whole.
It is time that the city freezes any expenditures aimed at downtown, have these people fend for themselves, and start focusing on the greater areas of need throughout the city. Downtown will start hustling and bustling when we rectify the economic integrity of the city as a whole.
The Budget was amended to the tune of $109,750. This included $71,503 for the Clement Boulevard Extension Project. The cost is to pay Duke Power to relocate utility lines along the project.
New Business
1) The City approved an assessment to install curb and guttering along 7th ave NE.
2) Assistant City manager Andrea Surratt brought up for discussion the issue of Wayfinding. She said that this subject was first addressed at the February 2008 retreat. She thoroughly discussed the issue as a way of reducing sign clutter, projecting community image, projecting consistency, and safety.
Here is a link to a wayfinding system in New York City. http://www.ap.buffalo.edu/idea/udny/Section4-1c.htm
Ms. Surratt wants a Committee to be formed to look into this issue before hiring a consultant. This system will be unique to our community identity. The main purposes of such a system are to help people find their way around and help benefit local destinations in helping people identify and successfully find their locations.
She stated that this would be good for downtown, but also stated that this system will have to be flexible as we move forward to the future. Paraphrasing, she said that the city would have to work with the Department of Transportation on color schemes and consistency.
Mayor Wright asked what she was wanting from the council tonight. Ms. Surratt said that she was just updating the council on where the staff was in the process. (Paraphrasing) Councilor Lail said that she was making a proposal to move forward. Mayor Wright said this was a good idea. We need to sell our image…clean up sign clutter…most places do this. City Manager Mick Berry said we need to consolidate and streamline signs in the city.
The Hounds Take : I think this is an excellent idea. It may be because I am from here, but I have never had a problem getting around this city. If you have a mind that thinks mathematically, then the grid system isn't that hard to adapt to. But, if people are having trouble getting around Hickory, we need to make it more user friendly.
The only issue that gives me any apprehension about this plan, is the conspiracy theorist in me has me thinking that this is just another scheme by Downtown Special interests to point the way towards Union Square. I do believe that Downtown is an integral part of the community and they should play a big role in such a project, but they should not be the focal point of this project and it should not be done at the expense of other areas that need to be lifted up. If this project were to turn into a Downtown marketing tool, then I believe that a light should be shone on it and I would have to fight it.
On the other hand, if this project is developed in such a way to help businesses and organizations in every quadrant of our city, then I think it will be a wonderful thing. It would be a great benefit to the small businesses interspersed throughout our city. It also would collaterally help businesses near those destinations. So I really do think that this will be a great project for 21st century Hickory, if the focus is right.
3) Warren Wood was next and he gave a summary of the City’s investments during these tumultuous economic times. He stated that our investments are regulated by the North Carolina Local Government Commission.
The North Carolina Local Government Commission is a part of the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer which was created after the Great Depression to assist local North Carolina
governments in decision making involving large financing projects such as bond issues. The
commission is chaired by the North Carolina State Treasurer..
Mr. Wood stated that the city has $42.7 million basically invested 1/3 in CDs (with 60 to 90 day
maturity) and they are presently earning around 2.7% interest annually, another 1/3 is invested in US agency securities which have a 2 to 5 year maturity and these assets are earning around 4% annually, and the last 1/3 is invested in the North Carolina Capital Trust – these are the most liquid assets – which earn 2.5% interest. The trust is the most volatile of these investments.
Mr. Wood stated that the city does it’s banking with BB&T. The city keeps around $850,000 in this account. It is used for payroll and to do daily business.
The city’s finances are reviewed by North Carolina Independent Auditors twice per year. City staff report to council annually. The city’s view toward investments is that safety and liquidity are more important than yield. The city believes in taking a conservative view towards investments and projections.
The city is looking to issue bonds very soon for the upcoming water and sewer project in Northeast Hickory. Because of present circumstances, the issuance of these bonds is still up in the air. The city has a revolvong loan available from the state for $17.5 million dollars that can be utilized to buy time and get the project off and going. Mr. Wood said that the city may wait until next spring to offer the bonds. When Mr. Wood was through with his summary presentation the mayor subsequently closed the meeting.
The Hound Believes: If you have read any of this blog, then you will understand that I believe that the United States macro economy is shot. If there is one thing I can say about our Mayor (and city staff) it is that I agree with the way that they have managed our city's finances. We don't need to be taking an aggressive viewpoint as to our outlook and making investments based on overly optimistic numbers.
Where I differ is on the the cost-benefit analyses related to growth. If an investment doesn't create value, then let's just call it what it is, a social outlay. We can have a small percentage of our budget directed towards this, but they cannot be priorities. These are totally discretionary (and some have been frivolous) expenditures. They definitely aren't necessities. If times become hard, then this stuff is going to have to take a backseat.
We need projects that create value. If a project, that the city fosters, overtly tries to control growth, then the end result is that it will most likely stifle growth. When this happens, then we don't mature, our standard of living stagnates, and most parts of our community will fail.
There has to be accountability when it comes to our city's investments. We should not enter into any agreements that don't have checks and balances, aren't results oriented, aren't flexible towards the needs of the community, and/or don't allow the city a way out.
No matter what, we are headed towards a difficult macro economic environment. Money is going to be hard to come by from the State and Federal government. We aren't in good shape locally and it is going to take an innovative governmental system to turn the tide. We cannot copycat other communities to get ahead. We need to be at the forefront of whatever we do. We need people coming to us and not us going to them, because we will always be playing second fiddle and lucky if we get scraps under those conditions.
I hope that the Mayor and Council understand that it it is time to quit worrying about frivolities and time to take our city's role in this world seriously.
16 comments:
C'mon Hound - Rudy's a know-it-all, but he don't know SQUAT about the City's investments. That's all done by the Finance Director -- or it was, when the City had one. Tim Inch, who was purged along with numerous other department heads, did a great job of setting up the City's accounts, renegotiating and rewriting debt to get the best possible interest rate and getting the highest possible rate of return on the City's investments. Neither the Mayor nor the Council had anything to do with it other than to hear what Inch did and say, "That's nice. Keep up the good work." So far, Warren the Weasel hasn't been able to screw it up, which is pretty amazing since he's been stealing from the City for years.
Don't believe me? Why does he get a mileage allowance for using his own vehicle (something only he, Mick Berry and Andrea Surratt get), but he still uses a City vehicle every time he goes out of town? Check the records. If they haven't shredded them they're right there in the manager's office.
What you say is very interesting.
I believe the city's guidelines are that personal vehicles receiving a car allowance are to be used within x amount of miles away from the city...I'm not sure of the distance. If the travel is say, more than 50 miles, they use a city vehicle.
Last I heard, the Community Development Director also gets a car allowance. He had a city vehicle purchased out of his budget, "sold" it to another department and began receiving the car allowance some years ago. His main budget is not 'city' money, per se, but created from HUD funds received yearly by the city.
Here it is....
Automobile Travel --
1. Whenever possible, City vehicles should be used for local travel. Local travel for purposes of this
paragraph is defined as travel within seventy-five (75) miles of the City of Hickory. Individuals receiving a car
travel allowance shall use their personal vehicles and will not be reimbursed for mileage or travel expenses
(other than subsistence) that falls in the category of local travel as defined herein. If a City vehicle is
unavailable to an individual not receiving a travel allowance, the person’s private vehicle may be used and
mileage will be reimbursed at the current federal allowable rate.
http://www.hickorygov.com/coworker/documents/travelpolicy.pdf
http://www.hickorygov.com/coworker/documents/travelpolicy.pdf
In case the whole thing doesn't post again, and someone really wants to know, the last bit is /documents/travelpolicy.pdf
I agree with you James about the Downtown initiatives, especially since they haven't worked. I'd prefer the same approach Lenoir took to get Google (shrink the scale), tax breaks to draw in one or two big draws to the downtown, which would boost business for the whole area.
Is there anything in the train station yet? Why not bring in an Applebee's, an Old Navy, or some such. I'd hate to see the place over-run with corporate chains, but the biggest problem with downtown is nobody is going there.
A new restaurant was approved by city council to go into the Hickory Station. There is a lot of work to be done on the building.
The people that own the Tap Room are the people looking to re-open the Hickory Station.
Don't be sidetracked into talking about the policy that reimburses the top dogs for actual mileage; there's no argument that ought to occur. But Berry & Wood (and presumably Surratt, although that one hasn't been checked lately) at least get a monthly check - about $500 a month - whether their car ever left the parking lot or not. ON TOP of that, they take a City vehicle whenever they go out of town.
This is one of the "supersecret" policies in place that isn't explained to the general public. Ask to see the mileage logs for any vehicle that either of them have used, and you'll see the proof there, and it's several thousand dollars a year. Look at the policy that's not posted on the web page that provides for these mileage allowances.
Incidentally, anyone who thinks that ALL of the City's policies are posted on the webpage is dreaming. Controversial policies are routinely left off "inadvertently".
Pay them whatever they're worth (which has already been exceeded in my opinion), but they shouldn't be allowed to hide things and call it something else when they're playing with the taxpayer's money.
Oh, incidentally - Council members get a monthly mileage allowance as well, regardless of whether they actually drive any city related miles or not. That's a little income supplement that's also hidden back in the budget deeply.
Doesn't it seem strange to anyone else that the Hickory Station was leased at a premium and yet renovations are taking so long to happen downtown? Shouldn't the tradeoff have been to get a restaurant up and operating within a limited time period, rather than leaving the same empty building standing for months? Oh, but wait - this is sacred ground because it's "THE SQUARE". Normal rules of development don't work.
It seems odd that Chili's on Highway 70 went from a vacant lot to an operating restaurant in about 90 days, while this project moves along at a glacial pace.
No finance director = no oversight. Money continues to be poured into a dead or dying square when there are other far more important needs out there.
Very well put anonymous. I apologize for the brevity of information in my own posts...you're right in that they get a car allowance, period, above and beyond mileage reported. Hidden policies abound.
The city has lost a lot of good people in the last 3-4 years. People who really cared and did a good job. Tim Inch is a great example. Good people will not stay in a bad situation they know they can't change. They try, but when nothing can be done, they wisely disassociate themselves.
It took YEARS for the city to get a proposal for use of the station property that was 'suitable'. Renovations will also have to be suitable...nothing so common as a Chili's.
I thought the finance director position was filled.
The Hound is going to look into all of these accusations. I am also going to publish a template letter that can be used by anyone to get public information.
I do find it funny how this Station project looks like a flop. Some sort of rational time limits need to be put on this project.
If Rudy can get all twisted up in knots over the Buffalo's thing -- hmm,hmm why is that not resolved yet? -- then why isn't he flustered by the progress on the Station situation?
Everything is so arbitrary in this town. No Justice, No Peace!!!
So what happened to this Tim Inch dude? Was he fired or forced to resign? Who else has was purged?
We get a lot of accusations but no meat.
Maybe we can purge Police Chief Adkins too. That man is an idiot and we would be a better police department without him. We nee a new and better chief. Help!!!
Tim Inch either retired or took another position. I think Tom Carr took another job in VA to be near his daughter. Quite a few office workers are either in a different job or gone. All 'valid' reasons for being gone...Chief Lucas was, I'm sure, way ready for retirement, as was Pete Huggins, in the Planning Dept. A good many people who were stable fixtures in City Hall are missing since the administration changed. There are still plenty of familiar faces, but when they talk, you hear "yes. yes. yes." no matter what the question. I just wonder how many of them would have stayed a little longer if things hadn't turned so far around.
People who have left since Mick Berry took over include:
Tom Carr, Assistant City Manager - went to Roanoak, VA to be Planning Director. Tom was only in his late 50's, and his wife was just 3 or 4 years away from retirement in the school system.
Sam Chambers, Assistant City Manager - went to North Las Vegas, NV to be an Assistant City manager.
Tim Inch, Finance Director - went to the Las Vegas area to be a Finance Director. Tim had 2 or 3 children in college when he left. The position hasn't been filled; instead, Warren Wood has supposedly taken over these duties. With his time in the retirement system from other NC towns, he should have been just a few years away from retirement.
Patty Williams, City Clerk - Retired. Patty had 3 kids in college and is in her mid-50's. She works part time now taking minutes for the City.
Floyd Lucas, Police Chief - Retired
Keith Stahley, Planning Director - went to Olympia, WA to be Planning Director.
Larry Johnson, Staff Attorney - Now an attorney in town.
Sam Shames, Assistant Staff Attorney - went to Gaston County as Assistant County Attorney.
Corki Jones, Librarian - Retired. Corki is in her early 50's.
Brendan Pritchard, Assistant Engineer - took another job, location unknown. Brendan probably had 15 years with the City or so.
Tim Deike, Airport Director - went to Louden County, VA to be Airport Director.
Gene Hanes, Public Works Director - retired / quit.
Piedmont Wagon's director left - can't recall her name.
Kevin Greer / Tommy Rowland in Code Enforcement - both took jobs with other governments.
Compare that to who has stayed:
Warren Wood, Assistant City Manager. Warren's got 18 years or so with the City.
Chuck Hansen, City Engineer and Public Works Director. Chuck's got over 20 years with the City.
Mack McLeod, Parks and Recreation Director. Mack's got almost as much time as Chuck -- plus he's got 2 kids either in college or getting ready to go in.
Tom Alexander, Fire Chief. About 10 years with the City. Tom retired as a fire chief in Nevada before he came here.
Jeff Brittain, IS Director.
Joan Patterson, HR Director. Joan's got about 20 years with the City.
There are numerous others, although these are the only ones in Department Head or Assistant Department Head positions that come to mind.
Now compare that to the turnover during the Gary McGee / Bill McDonald administration.
Those that could, left. Others were forced out because they wouldn't play Berry's games.
Some who you might not have expected to leave chose to go elsewhere -- who retires with 3 kids in college, unless they're either rich or feel like they have no other choice because conditions are terrible? What 55 y/o leaves a job he's had for 30 years when his wife is just 3 or 4 years from retirement, unless conditions are such that he simply can't tolerate them any more?
These were good people in whom the City had invested a significant amount -- under McGee they were encouraged to do education and training that would help them with their jobs. That's one reason that Hickory had so many innovative programs for a City of its size. These people also had a lot of institutional knowledge and the ability to put that to good use. Now the employees won't commit to anything and can hardly fart without getting Berry's prior approval. Berry, of course, has to feel out Rudy / Jill / Sally to determine what he thinks about anything beyond what he's having for lunch.
The City Council should have recognized that Berry was a terrible choice before he'd been there a year. They should have recognized it just after he was hired when he came back to renegotiate his employment contract so the City would pay for his house TAX FREE after he'd already taken the job. (Don't believe it? Ask to see his employment contracts since he started -- they ought to be public records. Be sure to get the changes to them, too, when you ask).
At this point, the Council ought to be rushing to cut their losses and see if anything can be salvaged. That won't happen, of course, because half of them are getting exactly what they want (a Manager who lets them impose whatever dictates they want and refuses to protect his employees from their abuse) and the others are too lazy or wrapped up in their own issues to do anything.
It's the citizens who suffer. We already see Hickory starting to deteriorate, and without any foresight or innovative planning, it's not going to improve.
Think about it -- at the retreat last spring, the most important thing they could find to talk about was police calls from bars in town???
At least we'll have a well funded, pretty and enthnically pure square downtown. That's what they've been striving for the last several years, especially since Sally has put her business on the square. Of course, I'm sure that has NOTHING to do with it.
Nice, well developed list anonymous. I think you might've missed some lower level office workers, but you certainly got the main players...all good people who worked well under the McGee/McDonald administration but who just couldn't work the way the Berry/Rudy administration works. Patty may have stayed longer if McGee had still been there...but she stayed her 30 years and got out. Tommy and Kevin (Flynn?...I think Greer is in PS), I think their jobs went to the county when the county/city building inspections departments merged. They're both good guys who do their jobs and go home at night. Keith Stahley...was a good planning director, but he wasn't there long and I don't think he really intended to be "career Hickory". Brian Frazier replaced him and has learned from others in his department how to be a yes man. You've created a list of great people, lost...and esp Tom Carr, Tim Inch, Floyd Lucas, Patty Williams, Corki Jones, Gene Haynes...they were all HICKORY. All for creating a great place to live, not afraid to speak when it was necessary. Many had reached their 30 year retirement point, but they may not have gone under other circumstances. However, it is what it is now and we have to work with what we have available to us. Chuck and Mack have always seemed pro-Hickory too. I hope Hickory doesn't lose them too.
You're right - it is Kevin Flynn, not Kevin Greer. There are lots of others who've been run out, and we can't even begin to list police officers who've bailed. Last I heard, there were 13 or 14 slots that they can't get filled -- there was a time a few years ago when we had people lined up wanting to work for HPD.
Stahley was on Rudy's hit list when he ran the first time -- along with Gary McGee and Tom Carr. He made no bones about the fact that his goal was to run them off, which he managed to do. He'd been at the City about 6 years when he left.
Lots of those listed reached their 30 years -- what is interesting in my mind is that they didn't retire to tend to their rosebushes -- they've taken other jobs in other governments, for the most part. They're relatively young people with lots of experience who could have stayed another 5 to 10 years or so as productive employees (except for Pete Huggins -- God love him, he did his time and served the City well!)
Employees started to leave when they realized that neither the Manager nor any of the Assistant City Managers are going to run interference to keep them from being abused by Council, and the slightest bit of controversy from the Council is viewed by Berry as a failure, for which the employee must be punished.
Think about it -- when was the last time that Hickory ran out a new or innovative program of any substance? The closest they've had is when they started selling rainbarrels in City Hall with that dippy display -- rainbarrels, which, incidentally are worthless if it doesn't rain and which can be bought for about half the price elsewhere.
All show and no substance.
It's a running joke how Rudy used to throw temper tantrums in the Manager's lobby, or storm into someone's office screaming about something he wanted done RIGHT NOW. Sally is much the same way, but she has a harder time being as imposing a bully. It's just a shame there weren't any cameras around to catch them in the act -- maybe the City could have won $10K on television by sending it in!
Chuck and Mack are both great guys -- and both are counting down the days to retirement. It'll be a shame if they (and the others with some tenure) get ran off before Berry leaves.
Before anyone thinks that it's OK to have that much turnover, think about a factory or other company with a lot of turnover -- without institutional knowledge and memory that comes from long-time employees, a lot of energy is spent re-inventing the wheel. Governments work the same way, to some extent.
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