Items of Relevance going into Tonight's Referendum Forum

Tonight's Referendum forum is being held at the SALT Block auditorium five minutes after the City Council meeting ends. The City Council meeting will begin at 7:00pm and should end around 7:30pm. The SALT Block Auditorium is located at the right hand side, along 3rd Avenue NE, of the building as it faces Highway 127.

Below are articles of relevance related to issues that have previously been posted on the Hickory Hound and may give you a context of how we have gotten to where we are today.

A contention has been made by Rudy Wright and some others that the Elite statement relates to anyone and everyone who visits or works on Union Square. The people I have spoken with don't seem to construe it in Mr. Wright's fashion. The Elite, some would prefer Cabal, relates to Interest Groups, Council Members, Property Owners, and Business Owners who feel this City should revolve around their needs, interests, and desires.

As I have stated, I have no problems with Union Square itself. I used to go down there and hang down there all the time when I was a kid. I remember being a 4 year old and going to the Christmas parade. I was born on the 75th anniversary of First National Bank's opening and received a $75 bank account as a gift because of that. Therefore, I was born with a Union Square Bank account. I was even invited to go to the opening night when the new building opened, which is now Wells Fargo.

My grandfather worked at the Hickory Station Depot as a switch operator and I was there the last day that a passenger train came through... I believe it was 1975.

I have nothing against Union Square. What I have a problem with is bringing the "Too Big too Fail" mentality to Hickory. We seriously need to rethink the way that Union Square operates. We have thrown millions of dollars at Union Square since the beginning of the new millennium without measurable results. And the Powers That Be say "No Change!"

It is time that we start looking at the whole of Hickory. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. For the most part what we are seeing from the No Change! group is that it is supported by people of older generations who have wealth. And they have spread fear related to Evolution.

That is what has gotten us behind in this community. The people at the top of the food chain are satisfied with the Status Quo and their actions keep everything frozen in place and that is where we see the cronyism take shape. They don't know that it is a Crony culture, because that is the way things have always been done around here when it comes to the people on top.

It isn't about pools, tents, and/or Larry G. Pope. It is about Conflicts of Interest versus Accountability and how that relates to Hickory City Council representation. That has an effect on your every day life. You will have to decide which side you are on.

So I present articles below that address these very issues:

Solutions to the Problems that Hickory, Catawba County, and the Unifour are facing -- We Want Your Input - October 30, 2008 - Read the comments from this article from 4 years ago. You can see that people have ideas, but there isn't anyone that is willing listen to them


TIME TO CHANGE WEAK ETHICS RULE - Harry Hipps - November 20, 2008 - It's time to change the city ordinance to make a clear statement on ethics. This is an article related to when Council should recuse themselves when taking votes.

Tax Money Spent on Downtown Interests from 2002 to Present (2008) - November 26, 2008 - The link to the stats spreadsheet is no longer available, because Google has changed reference points which allowed such linking, but the stats are still valid for the timeframe...                By looking at the numbers, we can see that the vast majority of these grants and studies were done for the benefit of the area in the immediate vicinity of Union Square. 41 of 47 of these grants (87.2%) have been made within 4 blocks of the geographic center of the city.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of February 17, 2009 - February 17, 2009 - This meeting entailed the City Council looking towards giving the HDDA $3,000 to utilize towards graffiti removal. This money would have been in addition to the $50,000 that the HDDA received at the time for their operations from the city - subsequently that figure has risen to $75,000 per year. Harry Hipps originally addressed this issue in an article entitled SHAKEDOWN BY DOWNTOWN COMING - (February 15, 2009).  Harry spoke with the Mayor about this issue and came to an agreement with Rudy and Rudy went into the meeting and tabled the issue. 

The Mayor asked for more information about this request. City Manager Berry said the CAC has the funds, but they would like a costiary program of a 50% matching funds up to $250 to pay for the removal of graffiti. Mayor Wright asked if this was only for Downtown. Asst. City Manager Surratt said that it was decided during CAC discussions that it was best for this to be citywide. Alderlady Hoyle asked about requirements. Ms. Surratt stated that a police report would have to be filed, it would have to be photographically documented, and obtain the cost for removal. Alderman Seaver asked if they would apply to the CAC for the grant. Ms. Surratt said they would and the staff would review it.

The Mayor asked if only graffiti would be included and not vandalism. Ms. Surratt said it would just be graffiti. The Mayor said that he thought insurance would cover this after deductibles. The Mayor asked if the CAC used up all of its grants for beautification projects. The Mayor said he didn't want to get involved in what deductibles businesses were paying on their insurance. He said that this program would only reward businesses with high deductibles and businesses with first dollar deductibles would receive nothing. Mayor Wright wants to push for a victim's fund that will be built by true work by the perpetraitors. He understands the good intentions of the HDDA and the CAC, but he isn't certain any buildings will be cleaned, because they qualify for $250. They will either clean it or not clean it. The Mayor motioned that the issue be tabled until some of the issues that he brought up can be explored and worked through. Motion carried unanimously.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of May 4, 2010 (Departmental Report Item 4) - May 4, 2010 - Less than 15 months later the Mayor does a 180 degree turn and decides that we should not only put $3,000 into graffiti removal, the council ups the ante to $25,000 into this graffiti removal program. To this day, we have not been given the promised update, seen who received the funds, or seen any accountability benchmarks to ensure that measurable value was gained from this fund and effort.


My Presentation to the Council during the February 16, 2009 City Council Meeting:

Thank You Council for allowing me to voice my concerns about this city’s investments in the Union Square area. You may notice that I am saying Union Square, because I believe Hickory’s downtown to include a lot more area than what was described as Downtown by Connie Kincaid in Sunday’s Paper.

I have read transcripts of every meeting that go back to when the City first started placing the minutes of Council meetings on the internet. I have seen what I construe as a waste of city funds, when it comes to investing in Downtown. I am sure tenants of other sectors of this city would like for you to repair and enhance their property the way you have in the immediate vicinity of Union Square.

In the comments section of today’s editorial in the Hickory Daily Record, an owner of a local Bike Shop had a comment that addresses this issue.

He stated “Hickory should promote businesses throughout the Hickory metro area, not simply downtown. I don't mean give businesses money or tax credits, it's up to the business owners to provide their own capital. The downtown merchants seem to think the city should provide them with funding to promote their businesses. If you can't take the pressure of building up and promoting your own business with your money, go do something else. But please, take your hand out of my pocket. Customers decide where they want to shop, if they are not coming to your store maybe they don't care for your products.”

I have been told that Mast General Store looked into possibly locating a store downtown, but they were micromanaged in their dealings with “the powers that be downtown” to the point that they said they would never locate here if they had to deal with certain individuals.

A former tenant told me why he is no longer downtown, He said he didn’t mind the competition that was brought by a major variety retailer, such as the former Woolworth’s. He said it only enhanced his business.

He stated and I quote, "silly decisions by the big fish in downtown's small pond (too many bars, no variety stores, the closure of the Fresh Air, parking stupidity, the downsizing of the cops' presence just when drunks took over nights) killed downtown's traffic and my business."

I am not here, just to talk about problems. If we are honest with ourselves, we know what the problems are. We need to help Ms. Hoyle enhance the Ridgeview area, because that is downtown. We need to spruce up the Southeast and Southwest sections of town, because that is Downtown. If you want to throw around $50,000 every year toward developing downtown, then that is where it should go.

What needs to be realized is that "Downtown" is more than just Union Square and a couple of blocks surrounding it. We cannot have upscale anything downtown, until the blighted areas surrounding the epicenter of Hickory are addressed. The last Downtown grocery store was robbed out of business.

Mr. Mayor, Council, I am not here to take pot shots or lob bombs. My interests aren’t here to tear this city down. We are here to build this city up, but if we find that there are cracks in the foundation, then we must be willing to tear it down to rebuild it on a stronger, more resolute foundation. We must quit trying to restore downtown from the inside-out and start doing more to develop it from the outside–in.

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- September 2, 2012

The U.S. Drought Is Hitting Harder Than Most Realize - Peak Prosperity - Chris Martenson - August 29, 2012 - This is an important update on the U.S. drought of 2012, the combined record-setting July land temperatures, and their impact on food prices, water availability, energy, and even U.S. GDP.                     Even though the mainstream media seems to have lost some interest in the drought, we should keep it front and center in our minds, as it has already led to sharply higher grain prices, increased gasoline costs (via the pass-through of higher ethanol costs), impeded oil and gas drilling activity in some areas (due to a lack of water), caused the shutdown of a few operating electricity plants, temporarily reduced red meat prices (but will also make them climb sharply later) as cattle are dumped in response to feed- and pasture-management concerns, and blocked and/or reduced shipping on the Mississippi River. All this and there's also a strong chance that today's drought will negatively impact next year's Winter wheat harvest, unless a lot of rain starts falling soon.

World food prices jumped 10 percent in July: World Bank - Reuters - August 30, 2012 - From June to July, corn and wheat prices rose by 25 percent each, soybean prices by 17 percent, and only rice prices went down, by 4 percent, the World Bank said.                       Overall, the World Bank's Food Price Index, which tracks the price of internationally traded food commodities, was 6 percent higher than in July of last year, and 1 percent over the previous peak of February 2011.                        
"We cannot allow these historic price hikes to turn into a lifetime of perils as families take their children out of school and eat less nutritious food to compensate for the high prices," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. "Countries must strengthen their targeted programs to ease the pressure on the most vulnerable population, and implement the right policies."                 


Sears to drop out of S&P 500 - The London Telegraph - Andrew Trotman - August 30, 2012 - The retailer, which was founded in the 19th century, is one of the original members of the S&P 500, and in 1965 was the fifth largest stock in the country.                   However, the shares have struggled over the past few years and are down 70pc from its all-time high in April 2007 to trade at $53.26 on Thursday. However, the stock is up 81pc in 2012, the 6th biggest gainer in the index.                  S&P is pulling Sears out of the index as the stock’s public float - shares that regular investors can trade - has been below the 50pc of the index requirement “for an extended period of time".               Last year, Sears, Roebuck & Co - to give the group its full name - announced plans to sell a handful of stores and close more than 100 others in a bid to turn the company around.                 Sears made history in 1974 when it completed the 110-storey Sears Tower in Chicago. The tower became the world's tallest building upon its completion, a title it took from the World Trade Center in New York. Though no longer the tallest building in the world, it remains the tallest building in the US.

Majority of New Jobs Pay Low Wages, Study Finds - New York Times - CATHERINE RAMPELL -  August 30, 2012 - While a majority of jobs lost during the downturn were in the middle range of wages, a majority of those added during the recovery have been low paying, according to a new report from the National Employment Law Project.                        The disappearance of midwage, midskill jobs is part of a longer-term trend that some refer to as a hollowing out of the work force, though it has probably been accelerated by government layoffs.                       “The overarching message here is we don’t just have a jobs deficit; we have a ‘good jobs’ deficit,” said Annette Bernhardt, the report’s author and a policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, a liberal research and advocacy group.                       The report looked at 366 occupations tracked by the Labor Department and clumped them into three equal groups by wage, with each representing a third of American employment in 2008. The middle third — occupations in fields like construction, manufacturing and information, with median hourly wages of $13.84 to $21.13 — accounted for 60 percent of job losses from the beginning of 2008 to early 2010.                       The job market has turned around since then, but those fields have represented only 22 percent of total job growth. Higher-wage occupations — those with a median wage of $21.14 to $54.55 — represented 19 percent of job losses when employment was falling, and 20 percent of job gains when employment began growing again. 

Half of Americans die with almost no money - Market Watch - Andrea Coombes - August 29, 2012 - Almost half of U.S. retirees die with savings of $10,000 or less, but that grim finding doesn’t fully describe the variability and uncertainty that characterize retirement in America, according to a recent study.                    While 46% of retirees have just $10,000 in savings when they die, “That doesn’t mean their standard of living is very low—they might have a relatively generous pension plan, most of them will have Social Security,” said James Poterba, professor of economics at M.I.T., president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a co-author of the study.                    But the findings “suggest something about the financial resiliency of these households,” Poterba added. “They may not have much capacity to absorb a shock, such as an out-of-pocket medical expenditure. They don’t have very much in the way of liquid assets they can access.” Read the study here.

Guest Post: The Shape Of 40 Years Of Inflation - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - 09/01/2012 - While many claim that inflation is at historic lows, those who spend a large share of their income on necessities might disagree. Inflation for those who spend a large proportion of their income on things like medical services, food, transport, clothing and energy never really went away. And that was also true during the mid 2000s — while headline inflation levels remained low, these numbers masked significant increases in necessities; certainly never to the extent of the 1970s, but not as slight as the CPI rate — pushed downward by deflation in things like consumer electronics imports from Asia — suggested.

Bernanke says Fed will act if needed, but no QE3 yet

The First Step...

Last month, August, was the second largest month ever on the Hickory Hound with 3,203 unique views and 6,293 page views. I couldn't have done it without the help of the No Steps Backwards Coalition and Chad Bolick, who by telling people not to come to the Hound, pushed them right to us.

Big Thanks,
Thom

The Definition of Cronyism and the Million Dollar Tent

From Wikipedia - Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy.

Cronyism exists when the appointer and the beneficiary are in social contact; often, the appointer is inadequate to hold his or her own job or position of authority, and for this reason the appointer appoints individuals who will not try to weaken him or her, or express views contrary to those of the appointer. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used.^[1]


Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of dirigisme^[1] Crony capitalism is believed to arise when political cronyism spills over into the business world; self-serving friendships and family ties between businessmen and the government influence the economy and society to the extent that it corrupts public-serving economic and political ideals.


The Hickory Hound: This is written in response to Rudy Wright's assertions this morning in the Hickory Daily Record.  It has been stated that only .5% of the people in Hickory serve on the various boards and commissions. Of those .5%, many appointments are people who have very close ties with the council. And in some of those positions, except where mandated, the turnover rate is very low. And I have seen well qualified people turned down who don't ascribe to the Council's philosophy or have fallen out of favor with the Council, while at the same time Council goes as far as to appoint their own family members to these advisory committees.

We have also seen this Council use city funding to grant low interest loans to their own children.

The Sign

The incumbents sure don't like the message from the sign that we put up that states, "Tell the Union Square Elite - No more million dollar tents."

People associated with Union Square say just ask Mick Berry, he'll give you the numbers, when those numbers have been requested, but not given, in any professional context. We want to see the line items of where and what monies are accounted for and to whom. Is that so much to ask when it comes to public money?

It is a matter of trust, and the City Council plays a role in that. First it was going to cost $286,000 in December, then they come back with $426,000, and now Rudy Wright has stated that it is $501,000 and we are just supposed to take his word for it as though it is some sort of decree. And Hickory Inc. has now said they must add additional lights and cameras and we haven't seen the appropriations for that. If we don't understand this, it is their job to help us understand this. We are not stupid!

We have seen that city labor was used and there has been no accounting for the man hours in relation to that... We have seen that a local non-profit agency's labor was used to substitute for certain labor usually managed by city workers, while they were away working on the Union Square structure. This is an agency with whom the City Council has apparent deep ties. And this agency is already receiving monies from the City under a grant program... There has been zero public discourse about this labor program being used as an additional benefit for this agency and funded through the public treasury as what I see being an extra benefit. All of this has to be factored into the cost of that structure.

Then there is the additional cost that will naturally occur in relation to maintaining the structure over its lifespan. What are the costs of maintenance? We have already seen several additional costs related to the unforeseen/unintended consequences of the construction of the Union Square structure. Will there be more? We think so.

We were told that the highest cost of the physical structure itself is the fabric and that fabric has a lifespan of 7 to 10 years. And folks, then it is going to have to be replaced. Can you see a million dollars? I can see a million, if not more.

Is it a tent?

What we know is that this structure was originally intended for the use of the Farmer's Market to replace the individual commercial canopy tents that they had used in the Hickory Station parking lot and subsequently in the east end of the Union Square parking lot. That is where the notion that this structure is a tent came from, because they have replaced the smaller individual tents with one big tent.

As Joe Brannock has stated, "Yeah, you can't really call it a tent, because a tent at least keeps you dry."

The farmers aren't even enjoying the overhang portion of the structure. Because of the translucent nature of the structure, along with the fact that many vendors are actually outside of any shaded area, we have been told of a case of heat exhaustion and others being very uncomfortable  and that it is very hard to maintain the quality of the produce and other items being sold. People and products were soaked a couple of Saturday's ago due to these same problems with the overhang and  lack of protection for the vendors.

Jill Patton said there was input from vendors at several meetings related to this subject, but we were told that it was more of that good ole Hickory, "If we want your opinion, we'll give it to ya!" style of ramrod discourse (Hickory Farmer's Market questions the Big Tent on Union Square - March 17, 2012). And there are also many questions about how and why the creation of this structure came into existence to start with. While she might consider this sniping and griping, these are customers (the vendors) of the city and we believe they should be listened to. These vendors pay good money, where is the customer service?

And it sure looks like this thing is going to cost our community at least a million bucks to me!!!

Elite

 The Burning resentment towards the CEG Ward Election Sign; I have heard it from many of the NSB people. When are we going to take that "Lie" down.

Folks, we are not going to ever lie down.

The other side is the one that has it in their minds that they know better than the rest of us... That they don't need public input on public projects... That they can manipulate processes and numbers to justify their personal ambitions, desires, and goals... and we are supposed to lie down and Rudy Wright is going to tell us what our sign can say. Are these words "dangerous?" Does King Rudolph have a problem with our freedom to speak and express ourselves? Who really seems to be the one that has the dangerous idea here?

We have all been told, "You just don't have the information we have." Any information we don't have is a result of Hickory Inc. not being forthright in divulging it with the people. They are a club. They are a small group of people who have empowered themselves through secrecy and lack of compassion towards their fellow community members to use the Public Trust towards their own personal desires, goals, and achievements. They are supposed to be public servants and work towards the interests of the public, but instead they think we are supposed to be here for them and we are just supposed to go along with whatever they decide... whatever they decree... and just lie down.

Listen to the Words of Rudy Wright in his Robocall the other night, "It is unfortunate that we have this referendum." Which hat is he wearing in that call? Is he the Mayor? The head of the No Steps Backwards Coalition? A citizen? Or the authoritarian King Rudolph?

2,707 people legitimately signed the petition. No one lied to them... No one held a gun to their head... It is a historical event, because it is the first time a Referendum has been forced on a local government by the people in Catawba County. Hickory Inc. fought this petition every step of the way and we have now come to the final stages. 

Will it pass? That is up to the will of the people. I put my trust in the people to make that decision. It is their choice.  Rudy Wright doesn't seem to be comfortable with that.

Enjoyed the Ward Voting Debate on Hal Row's Show - Harry Hipps

I’d like to offer a couple of thoughts on the WHKY debate on the ward specific election, and the campaigning in general.  In the interest of full and fair disclosure I should say that I know Joe Brannock personally but do not personally know Mr. Byrd, though I would like to. Joe is a smart, likeable guy with a lovely family. And though I haven’t met Paul Byrd, he sounds like a thoughtful, concerned man who thinks things through and is sincerely interested in the welfare of the City.  I also will say that I plan to vote Yes! for the amendment. 

Both Joe Brannock, representing the Citizens for Equity in Government (advocating for the amendment) and Paul Byrd, representing the No Steps Backwards Coalition (opposing the amendment) represented their positions well in an informed and civil debate. Both were persuasive and articulate and I think this was one of the finest events in Hickory’s political history. It was evident that both gentlemen had carefully thought about the facts and had the best interests of the City at heart as they made their cases. They were frank in their disagreement, but stuck to the issues in a statesman like way and it was a true pleasure to hear this in our City.

It struck me as ironic that this is exactly what is missing in City government and why we are discussing this issue in the first place. City council votes unanimously almost all the time with little or no discussion. Some matters are routine of course and don’t require a debate, but the controversial and more substantial issues aren’t often given proper debate either. Furthermore, the vote is over before public input is allowed and so the citizens are routinely deprived of the type of debate we heard on the radio. This lack of input and discussion is a contributing factor in much of the disgruntlement we have today and has led to some poorly conceived ideas.

The contrast between the great debate between Mr. Brannock and Mr. Byrd and the debate with Mr. Brannock and Mayor Wright was stark. The WHKY debate was public, recorded and civil. The Republican’ Women’s debate was public but drew the Mayor’s ire when it was recorded. I’m not sure why because it was PUBLIC, and if you want to talk to the citizenry what difference does recording it make?  Furthermore, the Mayor struck an angry, conspiratorial, and even threatening tone that has characterized the debate (with some parties on both sides going to the nastiest and most personally vicious arguments).  It was disappointing to witness the same political atmospherics we have in Washington politics applied to Hickory. It’s fine to articulate your views and opinions passionately, but the ominous, dark, patronizing tone was sad to hear.

At the end of the debate on the radio, it was good to hear Joe and Paul joke about eggs and ending on a neighborly note even though they disagree on this issue. Years ago, politicians debated, campaigned, then after the vote, put the election behind and worked together to do the people’s work. All concerned were glad to live in a country that allowed everyone to speak their mind and still live as neighbors when we don’t always see eye to eye. At the end of this, too, we are going to have to move forward, because there will always be challenges to face. And we have to do something to keep Hickory the nice, livable hometown we want it to be while adapting to a tough, fast changing world.

To those who oppose this issue I would like to ask this: If this isn’t the way you want to go, what do you propose to allow the voices to be heard that aren’t heard now? What do you propose to focus on the blighted, neglected areas of Hickory? What do you propose to change the rubber stamp council that votes unanimously almost all the time and doesn’t allow for public comment until after the vote is taken? And to those that wish to comment on all sides of this issue, can we have more of the enlightening, thoughtful competition we heard on WHKY and less like we heard at the Republican Women’s Forum? We can disagree without being disagreeable and draw strength from the different perspectives we have. Thank you, neighbors!