I began video recording the City Council in 2012, because of my desire that the City do it on their own as any modern 21st century community began doing long ago. I had people tell me that they couldn't make it to the meetings, but they would like to see what is going on. I was also told by some council members that my summaries did not truly reflect the record, so having a video/audio recording cannot be misinterpreted.
So below is the City Council meeting. With each agenda item, you can click on the links and it will take you to that specific point in the meeting. You can always drag the marker on the video display to the point in the broadcast that you are interested in seeing.
Agenda about the City Council meeting of May 6, 2014
Thoughts about last night's Hickory City Council meeting - May 6, 2014
Invocation by Rev. Whit Malone, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church
Special Presentations
A. Proclamation for National Police Week May 11-17, 2014. - Mayor Wright read and presented the National Police Week Proclamation to Chief Tom Adkins, and other members of the Hickory Police Department.
B. Proclamation for Lupus Awareness Month May 2014. - Mayor Wright read and presented the Lupus Awareness Month Proclamation to Ms. Angela Berasa.
Mayor Wright recognized Scouts in attendance from First United Methodist Church, Troop 234, and Scouts from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Troop 300.
Mayor Wright also recognized students from Ms. Davis’, St. Stephens Honor Civics class.
Persons Requesting to be Heard
Cliff Moone - addressed Council on Inspiring Spaces. He commented that he is for Inspiring Spaces and for letting the people have a referendum to let Council know how they feel. He believes in referendums, and he also believes in Council making decisions. He knows that when we do things, when we go up, and standup, and start doing something, new people will come. It will be a good thing. He has served on Inspiring Spaces Committees and on Innovate Catawba, and he has seen the ideas. He is not for every idea that is put out there, and he will challenge them when he feels the need. He is with Council, he if for this, and he hopes Council is for it, and fully behind it. He thinks it will make our City a better place to live work and grow.
Larry Pope - addressed Council on Inspiring Spaces. He stated he was taking a different position than Reverend Moone took on Inspiring Spaces. He has been disappointed within the last several years about how money, City Council has spent, and City Council not accounting for the expenditure of that money. He stated that City Council had disbanded the Inspiring Spaces Committee because, when they went to Charlotte to meet with the consultants, they found out as a City Council that Committee could not exist, and Council will do a referendum for the funding that Council feels is needed for the Inspiring Spaces. He stated that once a referendum is done the same Committee will be reappointed, because that is the only legal way that Council can do it. He is tired of Council playing games with the City to accomplish the things that Council wants to accomplish that may not be the best for this City. He referenced survey’s done regarding the swimming pools, and commented that it was voted by citizens in Northeast, Northwest Hickory, that they wanted a swimming pool in every quadrant of the City, and a centrally located swimming pool. Council paid for that survey, and for those consultants to do the work. Council turned around, because they got bit in the backside, because they did not expect those citizens to vote that way, and put that on the shelf, and it is somewhere on a shelf collecting dust. If Council can’t raise the taxes, then they are talking about doing a bond referendum to have every citizen in this City to pay for a bond. That work may not be done within their communities to improve their communities, but they are going to have to pay for that bond. He stated that he will be the most outspoken person that ever existed to encourage citizens to vote against that bond. He will also be very vocal to encourage citizens to raise cane if Council tries to raise their taxes, because we have so many senior citizens in our City that are property owners, that cannot afford to have their taxes raised. Council spent, they claim, $500,000 plus dollars for the Sails on the Square, Council took the money that was designated for a parking deck and used it. When that money was raised for that parking deck, which was much needed downtown, what is going to happen now to folks that come downtown for events and there is nowhere to park. We are going to have to quit telling citizens that we are raising money for one thing, and then turn around and do something else with those funds. Bond referendum, no. Raising taxes, no. Council can find another way to do what they want to do.
Consent Agenda:
Item L was removed from the Consent Agenda and discussed - Release of Bond Claim and Assignment of Claims Executed by the City of Hickory to Westchester Fire Insurance Company. - Council previously declared American LaFrance to be in default of a contract to build a ladder engine truck for the Hickory Fire Department after American LaFrance closed its operation and failed to deliver the truck to the City. American LaFrance had purchased a performance bond from Westchester Fire Insurance to cover such instances of default. Notice was given to Westchester in March that the City was making a claim on the bond for the amount paid to American LaFrance for the ladder truck in the amount of $729,864. Westchester has investigated the City’s claim on the bond and made the determination the claim is valid. Westchester will pay the claim in full subject to the City executing a release form. The release form was received and reviewed. Seeing no issues with the release’s provisions, staff executed the release and returned to Westchester to expedite the process. Staff requests Council to ratify the execution of the release and assignment of claims.
Informational Item
A. Report of Mayor Wright’s travel to Asheville, North Carolina
New Business - Departmental Reports
1. Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant for 56 3rd Street SE - Dave Leonetti Presentation - Unanimous Consent
2. Street Resurfacing - Public Services Director, Chuck Hansen will present an analysis of the City’s street program resurfacing. - Chuck Hanson - Unanimous Consent
General Comments
Alderman Seaver stated that he was substituting at Hickory High School and had attended the Academic Awards Banquet and Dr. Blake Brandes was the speaker. He was a former Key Club President of Hickory High in 2002. He works in a Champions for Kids program raising money to help kids. He has helped over a million kids in three years. At the Key Club Banquet, the year that he was President, Graylyn Scholarship Committee was present there to observe him, and interview him after the banquet. He received that prestigious scholarship through Wake Forest. While at Wake Forest he received the Marshall Scholarship, which paid for his Masters, and his PhD at Kent University in England. While there, he was operating a business, he was making albums while he was in High School. Alderman Seaver tried to get Mr. Brandes to attend the Kiwanis meeting to speak but he was busy with some other schools in the Rowan Salisbury School District, and some others around the State. He is moving from New York City to San Diego as well. Alderman Seaver commented that maybe we could get him to attend a Council meeting to speak.
Alderman Seaver also commented that he had Kiwanis pancake tickets for sale. The event would take place Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.
Mayor Wright commented that it is good breakfast and the money is for the kids.
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Hound's Notes: Not much to add to the notes. Go read my thoughts about the meeting. The next meeting will be the City Manager's recommended budget. I saw in the Hickory Daily Record that Newton raised its tax rate to cover operational costs and also spoke about the loss in revenue due to loss of property value. That is exactly what I was addressing in my notes. Just to remain revenue neutral, Hickory Inc. is going to have to raise the property tax rate; add to that the monies they want to spend on their proposed projects and there should be a substantial increase in the property tax rate.
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Friday, May 9, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Thoughts about last night's Hickory City Council meeting - May 6, 2014
Agenda about the City Council meeting of May 6, 2014
The Hound's Notes:
1) The most interesting events of the evening were the presentations made during Persons Requesting to be Heard. Cliff Moone speaks for Inspiring Spaces and the Bond referendum and Larry Pope speaks against the Inspiring Spaces process and the Bond referendum. Take note that when Mr. Moone speaks he is not given the 3 minute time notification. Mr. Pope is given the 3 minute time notification. Is this because Mr. Moone is speaking in support of the Council?
Hound Note: I do find Mr. Moone's unconditional support of this initiative to be troubling to the extent that it certainly seems to be following the pattern of the "Sails on the Square" project. A project that Mr. Moone stood in opposition to many times.
Once again we have been witnessing Hickory Inc. ramrodding a process... putting the cart before the horse. There has been no citizen input to this point and through everything that has been said thus far, Hickory Inc. intends to find a way to do these projects by hook or by crook. Witness City Manager Berry telling a group of citizens that if the Plan A Bond Referendum does not pass, then they will go to Plan B. Then he refuses to address Plan B, when asked to explain Plan B. How can the public make informed decisions, when Hickory Inc. refuses to provide vital information. Information that by all rights belongs to the public.
The City is playing a Shell game here, as Mr. Pope gets into. And being a Shell, I know one when I see one.
2) From the Agenda as produced here. I spoke about the City’s street resurfacing program. I do believe that there are legitimate issues with the city streets in Hickory. The $450,000 shown in the graphic below, that has been shown multiple times on this site was the monetary number that Mr. Hanson revealed last night - $450,000. So if that number is relevant to carry forward into the picture, then the others must be also.
This subject last night in my opinion was a pre-salvo volley to lend legitimacy to the necessity as to why Hickory Inc. is going to raise property taxes this year. As already stated multiple times, this isn't new information. City Manager Berry talked about it at the City Council meeting of May 21 of last year (2013). Below is the screenshot of estimated costs including street resurfacing, revenue losses and operational increases, and what they call an Economic Competitiveness Plan, which includes their Inspiring Spaces plan.
Last year they told the public that the cost of moving to a 30 year resurfacing plan from the current 58 year resurfacing plan would be a 1-cent increase in the property tax rate.
The next city council meeting will be the meeting where the City Manager will unveil the Recommended Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15. The Budget has to be approved in June for the Fiscal Year that begins on July 1, 2014. The present year's budget was approved on June 4, 2013.
So, all indications seem to point to Chuck Hansen telling you that your property tax rate will be rising in part to pay for street resurfacing.
3) Plan B is that the City is going to raise your taxes above what they need to cover the necessary operational expenses and the road improvements. If the bond referendum fails, then they will take the additional revenue coming into the General Fund, that would be "Unfunded Balance" and they will earmark it to begin work on the Linear Park sidewalk from Union Square to Lenoir-Rhyne. The failure of the bond referendum will force them to do Hickory Inc.'s Inspiring Spaces program piecemeal, but they are going to do it whether the public wants it or not.
The Mayor says in the Hal Row interview this week that a $40 million bond would result in an $80 increase in the tax bill for a $100,000 home owner. Look at the above Power Point slide. That number falls in line with what they are proposing for the Economic Competitiveness Plan; although Inspiring Spaces is only supposed to be one part of that plan. Also factor in that Steve Mull, a member of the Inspiring Spaces Committee, is stated in a Hickory Daily Record article, from last week from the Inspiring Spaces meeting, as saying that what was proposed would cost $45 to $55 million. He also added that any plan should include all four quadrants of the city to get buy-in.
So in looking at the Power point slide we can assume an additional 1.5-cents for operation expenses + 1-cent for road improvements + 8-cents for Inspiring Spaces alone. The city will be asking for a 10.5 cent increase in the property tax rate, if the Sites and Buildings monies and Redevelopment monies that are in the slide above are lumped in with that total. It will be more if they aren't. So at a minimum City of Hickory residents will see their property tax rate rise from 50-cents to at least 60.5 cents.
Please also remember that with the devaluation of much of the Commercial and Industrial property that much of the property tax base burden has been shifted onto residential properties at a time when homes in the area have also lost value. The loss of assessed property value alone will require a property tax rate increase, if the county is honest about the assessed valuations. Morganton residents saw their tax rate rise by 21-cents this year ((5-cent increase for the City of Morganton - from 48-cents to 53-cents) and a (16-cent increase for Burke County - from 52-cents to 68-cents)), Don't think something like that can't happen in Hickory, if Hickory Inc. bites off more than it can chew with its spending spree.
The Mayor said in the Hal Row interview that the worst thing that can happen is that 'We spend the money and the businesses don't come here, but we live in a nicer community.' The part he fails to mention is the little part about having to pay back the $40 million in debt. We also see with the roads situation that it isn't only about building. The community has to maintain what it's got. I think Hickory Inc. needs to work on fixing what it's got before spending more money on adding. There's no need to buy a 100-inch 3D Television, if the walls are going to fall down around you.
Final Thought
When you constantly operate in a behind the scenes, dark, closed door, hide the information, non-transparent manner against the wishes of the majority of the people, then that by definition is Tyranny.
Tyranny
1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. Synonyms: despotism, absolutism, dictatorship.
The Hound's Notes:
1) The most interesting events of the evening were the presentations made during Persons Requesting to be Heard. Cliff Moone speaks for Inspiring Spaces and the Bond referendum and Larry Pope speaks against the Inspiring Spaces process and the Bond referendum. Take note that when Mr. Moone speaks he is not given the 3 minute time notification. Mr. Pope is given the 3 minute time notification. Is this because Mr. Moone is speaking in support of the Council?
Hound Note: I do find Mr. Moone's unconditional support of this initiative to be troubling to the extent that it certainly seems to be following the pattern of the "Sails on the Square" project. A project that Mr. Moone stood in opposition to many times.
Once again we have been witnessing Hickory Inc. ramrodding a process... putting the cart before the horse. There has been no citizen input to this point and through everything that has been said thus far, Hickory Inc. intends to find a way to do these projects by hook or by crook. Witness City Manager Berry telling a group of citizens that if the Plan A Bond Referendum does not pass, then they will go to Plan B. Then he refuses to address Plan B, when asked to explain Plan B. How can the public make informed decisions, when Hickory Inc. refuses to provide vital information. Information that by all rights belongs to the public.
The City is playing a Shell game here, as Mr. Pope gets into. And being a Shell, I know one when I see one.
2) From the Agenda as produced here. I spoke about the City’s street resurfacing program. I do believe that there are legitimate issues with the city streets in Hickory. The $450,000 shown in the graphic below, that has been shown multiple times on this site was the monetary number that Mr. Hanson revealed last night - $450,000. So if that number is relevant to carry forward into the picture, then the others must be also.
This subject last night in my opinion was a pre-salvo volley to lend legitimacy to the necessity as to why Hickory Inc. is going to raise property taxes this year. As already stated multiple times, this isn't new information. City Manager Berry talked about it at the City Council meeting of May 21 of last year (2013). Below is the screenshot of estimated costs including street resurfacing, revenue losses and operational increases, and what they call an Economic Competitiveness Plan, which includes their Inspiring Spaces plan.
Last year they told the public that the cost of moving to a 30 year resurfacing plan from the current 58 year resurfacing plan would be a 1-cent increase in the property tax rate.
The next city council meeting will be the meeting where the City Manager will unveil the Recommended Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15. The Budget has to be approved in June for the Fiscal Year that begins on July 1, 2014. The present year's budget was approved on June 4, 2013.
So, all indications seem to point to Chuck Hansen telling you that your property tax rate will be rising in part to pay for street resurfacing.
3) Plan B is that the City is going to raise your taxes above what they need to cover the necessary operational expenses and the road improvements. If the bond referendum fails, then they will take the additional revenue coming into the General Fund, that would be "Unfunded Balance" and they will earmark it to begin work on the Linear Park sidewalk from Union Square to Lenoir-Rhyne. The failure of the bond referendum will force them to do Hickory Inc.'s Inspiring Spaces program piecemeal, but they are going to do it whether the public wants it or not.
The Mayor says in the Hal Row interview this week that a $40 million bond would result in an $80 increase in the tax bill for a $100,000 home owner. Look at the above Power Point slide. That number falls in line with what they are proposing for the Economic Competitiveness Plan; although Inspiring Spaces is only supposed to be one part of that plan. Also factor in that Steve Mull, a member of the Inspiring Spaces Committee, is stated in a Hickory Daily Record article, from last week from the Inspiring Spaces meeting, as saying that what was proposed would cost $45 to $55 million. He also added that any plan should include all four quadrants of the city to get buy-in.
So in looking at the Power point slide we can assume an additional 1.5-cents for operation expenses + 1-cent for road improvements + 8-cents for Inspiring Spaces alone. The city will be asking for a 10.5 cent increase in the property tax rate, if the Sites and Buildings monies and Redevelopment monies that are in the slide above are lumped in with that total. It will be more if they aren't. So at a minimum City of Hickory residents will see their property tax rate rise from 50-cents to at least 60.5 cents.
Please also remember that with the devaluation of much of the Commercial and Industrial property that much of the property tax base burden has been shifted onto residential properties at a time when homes in the area have also lost value. The loss of assessed property value alone will require a property tax rate increase, if the county is honest about the assessed valuations. Morganton residents saw their tax rate rise by 21-cents this year ((5-cent increase for the City of Morganton - from 48-cents to 53-cents) and a (16-cent increase for Burke County - from 52-cents to 68-cents)), Don't think something like that can't happen in Hickory, if Hickory Inc. bites off more than it can chew with its spending spree.
The Mayor said in the Hal Row interview that the worst thing that can happen is that 'We spend the money and the businesses don't come here, but we live in a nicer community.' The part he fails to mention is the little part about having to pay back the $40 million in debt. We also see with the roads situation that it isn't only about building. The community has to maintain what it's got. I think Hickory Inc. needs to work on fixing what it's got before spending more money on adding. There's no need to buy a 100-inch 3D Television, if the walls are going to fall down around you.
Final Thought
When you constantly operate in a behind the scenes, dark, closed door, hide the information, non-transparent manner against the wishes of the majority of the people, then that by definition is Tyranny.
Tyranny
1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. Synonyms: despotism, absolutism, dictatorship.
Joe Fox - Desperate Robocalls do nothing to help ones cause or move a community forward
We've seen the future and it's the same as the past. We can expect it to happen again during the upcoming bond referendum process that Hickory Inc. is pushing forward with. Listen to Hickory Inc.'s chosen candidate in an 11th hour desperate, night before the election, robocall; where he tried to evoke fear and hatred by mischaracterizing a person's support of a single issue.
Thank You Hickory Area citizens, by a vote of more than 4 to 1 margin, you rejected this type of fear based, lowball politics.
Mr. Fox, your mother is one of the greatest community organizers that this community has ever known. She is one of a handful of people who spearheaded the Hickory Downtown Development Association movement; which is one of the, if not THE, most powerful political forces in the Hickory Community. She also spearheaded the movement towards local neighborhoods having their own associations to (drum roll please!!!) organize. I also remember seeing your mother at both Clinton and Obama events in photographs. Besides that, I have never heard anything but admiration come from Jay Adams mouth, when it comes to speaking about your mother's passion for the community.
Mr. Adams was never a part of the CEG. He has never attended a meeting of the CEG, other than one meeting that was open to the public (that means everyone) in which ward specific voting was talked about. He did voice his support of the referendum on ward specific voting. I won't debate the merits of ward specific voting in this post, other than to say that there is nothing radical about it. There are plenty of communities that vote that way throughout the United States.
I've seen the list of people who endorsed Jay Adams and many of those people stood staunchly against the referendum. I am sure that those people were not happy that you were basically lumping them in with the Citizens for Equity in Government. Again, I will not get into how Hickory Inc. has unfairly mischaracterized the CEG and created a rift in this community.
If you compare Jay Adams to Barack Obama, then you certainly don't know Jay Adams -- or you are lying. If people want to move this community forward, then it is time to call out and put a stop to these disingenuous political practices.
Thank You Hickory Area citizens, by a vote of more than 4 to 1 margin, you rejected this type of fear based, lowball politics.
Mr. Fox, your mother is one of the greatest community organizers that this community has ever known. She is one of a handful of people who spearheaded the Hickory Downtown Development Association movement; which is one of the, if not THE, most powerful political forces in the Hickory Community. She also spearheaded the movement towards local neighborhoods having their own associations to (drum roll please!!!) organize. I also remember seeing your mother at both Clinton and Obama events in photographs. Besides that, I have never heard anything but admiration come from Jay Adams mouth, when it comes to speaking about your mother's passion for the community.
Mr. Adams was never a part of the CEG. He has never attended a meeting of the CEG, other than one meeting that was open to the public (that means everyone) in which ward specific voting was talked about. He did voice his support of the referendum on ward specific voting. I won't debate the merits of ward specific voting in this post, other than to say that there is nothing radical about it. There are plenty of communities that vote that way throughout the United States.
I've seen the list of people who endorsed Jay Adams and many of those people stood staunchly against the referendum. I am sure that those people were not happy that you were basically lumping them in with the Citizens for Equity in Government. Again, I will not get into how Hickory Inc. has unfairly mischaracterized the CEG and created a rift in this community.
If you compare Jay Adams to Barack Obama, then you certainly don't know Jay Adams -- or you are lying. If people want to move this community forward, then it is time to call out and put a stop to these disingenuous political practices.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
20140505 - Monday Morning Meeting with the Mayor
The following is the interview of Mayor Rudy Wright on 1290 WHKYam Radio's First talk program with Hal Row.
WHKY does not archive these programs and make them available to the public, so I am putting this important public interview up under Fair Use guidelines.
The Mayor talks about Transportation Insights move to the Old Lyerly Mill Building. He gives his reasoning for wanting to have the bond referendum, but gets into no specifics. He does talk about a $40 million referendum costing the person who owns a $100,000 house an an additional $80 per year if it were to pass. He does believe there will be a referendum this year. He talks about the lack of population growth in the community.
Listen and fill free to comment.
WHKY does not archive these programs and make them available to the public, so I am putting this important public interview up under Fair Use guidelines.
The Mayor talks about Transportation Insights move to the Old Lyerly Mill Building. He gives his reasoning for wanting to have the bond referendum, but gets into no specifics. He does talk about a $40 million referendum costing the person who owns a $100,000 house an an additional $80 per year if it were to pass. He does believe there will be a referendum this year. He talks about the lack of population growth in the community.
Listen and fill free to comment.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- May 4, 2014
US economy slowed to 0.1 percent growth rate in Q1 - AP through myway news - MARTIN CRUTSINGER - April 30, 2014 - WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed drastically in the first three months of the year as a harsh winter exacted a toll on business activity. The slowdown, while worse than expected, is likely to be temporary as growth rebounds with warmer weather. Growth slowed to a barely discernible 0.1 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was the weakest pace since the end of 2012 and was down from a 2.6 percent rate in the previous quarter. Many economists said the government's first estimate of growth in the January-March quarter was skewed by weak figures early in the quarter. They noted that several sectors — from retail sales to manufacturing output — rebounded in March. That strength should provide momentum for the rest of the year.
#1 The homeownership rate in the United States has dropped to the lowest level in 19 years.
#2 Consumer spending for durable goods has dropped by 3.23 percent since November. This is a clear sign that an economic slowdown is ahead.
#3 Major retailers are closing stores at the fastest pace that we have seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
#4 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 percent of all families in the United States do not have a single member that is employed. That means that one out of every five families in the entire country is completely unemployed.
#5 There are 1.3 million fewer jobs in the U.S. economy than when the last recession began in December 2007. Meanwhile, our population has continued to grow steadily since that time.
#6 According to a new report from the National Employment Law Project, the quality of the jobs that have been "created" since the end of the last recession does not match the quality of the jobs lost during the last recession...
- Lower-wage industries constituted 22 percent of recession losses, but 44 percent of recovery growth.
- Mid-wage industries constituted 37 percent of recession losses, but only 26 percent of recovery growth.
- Higher-wage industries constituted 41 percent of recession losses, and 30 percent of recovery growth.
#8 It is hard to believe, but 62 percent of all Americans make $20 or less an hour at this point.
#9 Nine of the top ten occupations in the U.S. pay an average wage of less than $35,000 a year.
#10 The middle class in Canada now makes more money than the middle class in the United States does.
#11 According to one recent study, 40 percent of all Americans could not come up with $2000 right now even if there was a major emergency.
#12 Less than one out of every four Americans has enough money put away to cover six months of expenses if there was a job loss or major emergency.
#13 An astounding 56 percent of all Americans have subprime credit in 2014.
#14 As I wrote about the other day, there are now 49 million Americans that are dealing with food insecurity.
#15 Ten years ago, the number of women in the U.S. that had jobs outnumbered the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps by more than a 2 to 1 margin. But now the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps actually exceeds the number of women that have jobs.
#16 69 percent of the federal budget is spent either on entitlements or on welfare programs.
#17 The number of Americans receiving benefits from the federal government each month exceeds the number of full-time workers in the private sector by more than 60 million...
US Economy Is A House Of Cards — Paul Craig Roberts - April 30, 2014 - The US economy is a house of cards. Every aspect of it is fraudulent, and the illusion of recovery is created with fraudulent statistics. American capitalism itself is an illusion. All financial markets are rigged. Massive liquidity poured into financial markets by the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing inflates stock and bond prices and drives interest rates, which are supposed to be a measure of the cost of capital, to zero or negative, with the implication that capital is so abundant that its cost is zero and can be had for free. Large enterprises, such as mega-banks and auto manufacturers, that go bankrupt are not permitted to fail. Instead, public debt and money creation are used to cover private losses and keep corporations “too big to fail” afloat at the expense not of shareholders but of people who do not own the shares of the corporations. Profits are no longer a measure that social welfare is being served by capitalism’s efficient use of resources when profits are achieved by substituting cheaper foreign labor for domestic labor, with resultant decline in consumer purchasing power and rise in income and wealth inequality. In the 21st century, the era of jobs offshoring, the US has experienced an unprecedented explosion in income and wealth inequality. I have made reference to this hard evidence of the failure of capitalism to provide for the social welfare in the traditional economic sense in my book, The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism, and Thomas Piketty’s just published book, Capital in the 21st Century, has brought an alarming picture of reality to insouciant economists, such as Paul Krugman. As worrisome as Piketty’s picture is of inequality, I agree with Michael Hudson that the situation is worse than Piketty describes. http://michael-hudson.com/2014/04/pikettys-wealth-gap-wake-up/ Capitalism has been transformed by powerful private interests whose control over governments, courts, and regulatory agencies has turned capitalism into a looting mechanism. Wall Street no longer performs any positive function. Wall Street is a looting mechanism, a deadweight loss to society. Wall Street makes profits by front-running trades with fast computers, by selling fraudulent financial instruments that it is betting against as investment grade securities, by leveraging equity to unprecedented heights, making bets that cannot be covered, and by rigging all commodity markets.
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to cut 350 jobs - WGHP (High Point, NC) - Web Staff and Joe Dominguez - May 1, 2014 - WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center announced Thursday that they are laying off approximately 350 employees. The job cuts are to help close the increasing gap between growing expenses and declining reimbursement from federal and state health insurance and other revenue sources, according to a press release. Here in North Caroline we got the first part of that with the cuts but we did not get the expanded Medicaid program. “At the end of the day the Affordable Care Act is just reforming payments, it’s not really reforming health care,” said John McConnell, CEO of Wake Forest Baptist. “That job is left up to institutions like ours to figure out how we drive up quality and drive down cost.” The Medical Center employs approximately 14,686 faculty and staff at all of their locations. The release states that the announcement was not unexpected...
Seattle mayor unveils plan for $15 minimum wage - CNN Money - Gregory Wallace - May 1, 2014 - Mayor Ed Murray unveiled on Thursday his proposal for a $15 minimum wage, a plan he said has broad support across the local government, business and labor communities. Washington already has the nation's highest state-level minimum wage of $9.32. The Seattle proposal would be more than double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. Mayor Murray's plan would take effect over several years and apply first to some large businesses starting in 2017, and ultimately to all businesses by 2021. All told, the wage hike will apply to 102,000 workers, according to 15 for Seattle, an advocacy group that supports the plan. Annual increases would then be tied to inflation. The city council will begin considering the proposal next week and hold a series of public meetings this month, Councilmember Sally Clark said.
Related: What is the minimum wage in your state?...
Money Pit: Officials struggling to fix state ObamaCare exchanges - Fox News - Jim Angle - May 01, 2014 - As the Obama administration touts its latest enrollment numbers for the ObamaCare exchanges, some state networks are grappling with major changes ahead of the next sign-up period – meaning more cost to taxpayers. The biggest overhaul came out of Oregon, which last week decided to junk its broken health care exchange and turn to the federal government for help.
"Their health exchange has been a disaster,” said Michael Cannon, of the Cato Institute. "They're the only state in the country that built their own exchange and couldn't get it to a level of functionality to sign a single person up,” said Jim Capretta, of the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
But Oregon isn’t the only state still struggling, months after the major problems with HealthCare.gov were addressed. Systems in Vermont, Massachusetts, Nevada and Maryland continue to have problems. "The federal government spent about a billion dollars on those five state exchanges, and none of them are very likely to work well ever,” Capretta said. “So that's a lot of wasted taxpayer money." Maryland's exchange imploded, and it decided a month ago to adopt the system used by Connecticut. But officials say they’ll need $40-50 million more to cover the costs.
Officials refuse to say where the money will come from, but taxpayers somewhere will pay.
In all, the state exchanges cost taxpayers almost $4.2 billion to build,and will cost even more to fix.
Meanwhile, the administration reported updated figures Thursday showing more than 8 million signed up in the first enrollment period.
But Republicans in Congress cast doubt on the figures in a report a day earlier, putting out estimates they claim show how many people actually paid their first month’s premiums.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee said, based on information from insurance providers in the federal exchange, only 67 percent of people who selected a plan on HealthCare.gov had paid their first premium as of April 15.
“Now what we don't know is how many of those have continued to make that payment and are successfully enrolled," noted Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
The information from Republicans came from contacting 160 insurance companies listed on HealthCare.gov and getting payment rates as of April 15.
The administration argues some didn't have to pay until May 1 and several insurers have reported higher payment numbers.
About that jobs report...maybe it wasn't so great - CNBC - Jeff Cox - May 2, 2014 - While the numbers may change, the story of the U.S. labor market ultimately is the same. Job growth continues, but significant weakness remains. Friday's nonfarm payroll report was the best in months, with 288,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate dropping all the way down to 6.3 percent. The internals were somewhat less impressive. The headline rate fell due to a stunning decline in the labor force, the quality of new jobs remained iffy and long-term unemployment is still immune to ultra-easy monetary policy as the average length of joblessness holds at more than 35 weeks. "The unemployment rate, which fell to 6.3 percent in April from 6.7 percent the prior month, wholly masks the extent of the problem," University of Maryland economist Peter Morici said in an analysis. "The percentage of adults seeking employment dropped precipitously. One out of 6 men between the ages of 25 and 54 are without jobs, and many have given up looking for work and are not counted in the jobless rate."... For the Federal Reserve, then, the report likely does nothing to move policy. The central bank will continue on its road of decreasing monthly bond purchases but holding its key policy rate near zero. The Fed already has given up on its old yardstick of 6.5 percent unemployment to begin raising rates, and the uneven internals of the report probably will only fortify that position. "All of this leaves the Fed on its super-slow exit path," Michelle Meyer, U.S. economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a note to clients. "They want a full healing and that means getting the unemployment rate below 6 percent and getting wage growth back to normal. Today's data helped us move toward the first goal, but we actually took a small step back on the second goal."
It’s An Illusion: Here Are the REAL Unemployment Numbers - SHTFPlan.com -Mac Slavo - May 2nd, 2014 - Mainstream financial pundits are falling over themselves today following a report from the Labor Department indicating that the national unemployment rate has fallen yet again, this time to just 6.3%. The Associated Press, whose report on the new rate is being distributed to news services around the country, says this is “the strongest evidence to date that the economy is picking up.” They cite numerous economic experts, claiming that the U.S. economy is now experiencing vigorous job growth, which they say is confirmation that the economic health of our nation is bouncing back from a rough winter. In fact, they mention bad “weather” and “winter” eight times in a single article just to make sure we understand that the problems we’ve seen over the last few months were seasonal. But, as is generally the case with mainstream assessments and government statistics as of late, the devil’s in the details... Thus, while U.S. companies added some 288,000 jobs last month, three times as many people were dropped from the official unemployment statistics and are no longer counted in the labor pool. At this rate we’re well on our way to achieving the Communist dream of 0% unemployment before the end of the President’s term. Karl Denninger looks even deeper into the report at Market Ticker and points out that, while jobs were created last month, the claims of vigorous job growth are not even close....
Most jobs created in this recovery are low-wage, study finds - MarketWatch Wall Street Journal - May 1, 2014 - A majority of the new jobs created in the four years of the recovery have been in low-wage sectors, according to a new report released this week. “Deep into the recovery, job growth is still heavily concentrated in lower-wage industries,” said the National Employment Law Project, a progressive research group which has been pushing for Congress to increase the minimum wage. Lower-wage industries accounted for 22% of job losses during the recession but 44% of employment growth over the past four years. Mid-wage industries accounted for 37% of job losses but 26% of recent employment growth. Higher-wage industries accounted for 41% of job losses but 30% of the recent employment growth. Michael Evangelist, a policy analyst at NELP, said this trend toward low-wage job is another reason to boost the minimum wage...
Thanks to Obamacare, more companies are likely to dump health benefits - Yahoo Finance - Rick Newman - May 1, 2014 - Get ready for a trip back to the 1950s. Back then, fast-growing companies were in the habit of offering health insurance as a fringe benefit to help recruit workers, a practice that got started during World War II to reward loyal employees when wage controls were in place. It helped that the government had passed a few tax breaks making it affordable for corporations. So it was basically by accident that employer-provided health insurance became the norm in the United States, even though the government came to oversee healthcare in most other developed nations. We may soon go back to a model in which employers provide healthcare more as a perk than as a routine benefit, requiring workers to get insurance from other sources. That could save big companies up to $700 billion by 2025, according to a new report from S&P Capital IQ. It’s hard to think of any other single change that could save companies that much money, indicating how powerful the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could become once it has fully impacted the U.S. healthcare system. S&P predicts that companies will do the math and find it irresistible to move more and more of their workers off company-run plans and into the exchanges established under Obamacare, as the ACA is known. Companies with more than 50 workers will have to pay a penalty if they don’t offer insurance, but it could still be cheaper when factoring in the savings on healthcare; that’s because insurance costs have skyrocketed during the last 20 years, making healthcare one of the costs companies find most difficult to control. The rising and unpredictable nature of healthcare costs led AOL CEO Tim Armstrong to make his unfortunate comment about "distressed babies" earlier this year. Armstrong took a lot of heat and later apologized, but many CEOs expresss similar frustrations (usually privately).
GOP REPORT: 1 in 3 Obamacare ‘Enrollees’ Haven't Paid - Breitbart - May 1, 2014 - WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans issued a report Wednesday saying that one-third of people who signed up for health insurance through new federal exchanges hadn't paid their first month's premium as of mid-April, which could undermine the Obama administration's claims of robust enrollment under the new health law. But administration officials, outside experts and even the health insurance industry immediately questioned the report, offering the latest skirmish over questionable claims and counterclaims that have come to characterize debate over President Barack Obama's signature health law. The report by House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans said 67 percent of people who had signed up for health insurance through federal marketplaces had paid their first month's premiums as of April 15. That was far lower than the numbers emerging from individual insurance companies, which have been reporting payment numbers in the range of 85 percent and above. Wellpoint reported on an earnings call Wednesday that some 90 percent of people signing up for insurance actually had paid. Administration officials, insurers and others were quick to point out that because the GOP data cut off in mid-April, it didn't capture a surge of health law sign-ups in March prior to the end of the first open enrollment period.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Agenda about the City Council meeting of May 6, 2014
This Agenda is about the Hickory City Council meeting that took place on the date listed above. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.
At right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.
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. You can also look in the upper right hand corner of the front page of the Hickory Hound and (will soon) find the link to the past history of Hickory City Newsletters.
Here is a summary of the agenda of the meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:
Please remember that pressing Ctrl and + will magnify the text and page and pressing Ctrl and - will make the text and page smaller. This will help the readability for those with smaller screens and/or eye difficulties.
City Website has changed - Here is a link to the City of Hickory Document Center
City Council Agenda - May 6, 2014
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The Hound's Notes:
1) The only matter that really stands out from what I see is Departmental Report # 2 about City’s street program resurfacing. This is a pre-salvo volley about why Hickory Inc. is going to raise property taxes this year. This isn't new information. City Manager Berry talked about it at the City Council meeting of May 21 of last year (2013). Below is a screenshot of estimated costs including street resurfacing, revenue losses and operational increases, and what they call an Economic Competitiveness Plan, which includes their Inspiring Spaces plan.
Last year they told the public that the cost of moving to a 30 year resurfacing plan from the current 58 year resurfacing plan would be a 1-cent increase in the property tax rate.
The next city council meeting will be the meeting where the City Manager will unveil the Recommended Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15. The Budget has to be approved in June for the Fiscal Year that begins on July 1, 2014. The present year's budget was approved on June 4, 2013.
So, all indications seem to point to Chuck Hansen telling you that your property tax rate will be rising in part to pay for street resurfacing.
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Invocation by Rev. Whit Malone, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church
Special Presentations
A. Proclamation for National Police Week May 11-17, 2014.
B. Proclamation for Lupus Awareness Month May 2014.
Consent Agenda:
A. Proclamation for National American Public Works Week, May 18-24, 2014.
B. Special Events/Activities Application for Charity Chase Expo, Bruce Felkins, Charity Chase President and Mandy Pitts, Vice President, Charity Chase Half Marathon Committee and Rotary of Catawba Valley, May 31, 2014, 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sails on the Square/Downtown Hickory.
C. Special Events/Activities Application for Teen Rock Concert, Tony Eltora, Executive Director, Hickory Music Factory, July 25, 2014, 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Sails on the Square.
D. Acceptance of Offers to Purchase and Contracts for Properties Located at 1840 and 1845 Waterbury Court, in the Waterford Hills Subdivision. - Staff requests consideration of the Offers to Purchase and Contracts for properties located at 1840 and 1845 Waterbury Court, in the Waterford Hills Subdivision. The properties were originally purchased by the City because they were on the route of the proposed Southern Cross-Town Thoroughfare. The route for the future thoroughfare has since been amended, and the properties are no longer needed. Daniel and Georgeta Marita are interested in purchasing these lots in order to construct single family dwellings. They are offering $15,000 per lot. Notice of Upset Bid was advertised on April 18, 2014 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area. No upset bids were received for the properties.
E. Call for Public Hearing – for Consideration of Amending Chapter 2, Article 8, Youth Council, of the Hickory City Code of Ordinance of the City of Hickory by Amending Sections 2-240, 2-242(a)(c), and 2-245. (Authorize Public Hearing for May 20, 2014)
F. Call for a Public Hearing – Voluntary Contiguous Annexation of 1515 Cloninger Mill Road NE, Hickory. (Authorize Public Hearing for May 20, 2014)
G. Approval to Purchase Property Adjacent to Hickory Fire Station 6 located at 3042 North Center Street. - Staff requests approval to purchase property located at 3042 North Center Street, which is located adjacent to City owned Fire Station 6. The tax value of the property is currently $88,000. The City of Hickory has presented an offer of $45,000 to purchase the property. Purchasing this property will assist the fire department in the future expansion of Fire Station 6 to house an additional fire company to serve the City for fire, EMS, and rescue services. The structure on the property would need to be demolished once the purchase is concluded. A budget amendment would be required from fund balance to acquire this property.
H. Approval of Community Relations Council’s spring 2014 Grant Recommendations. - Community Relations Council’s recommendation for spring 2014 grants: Safe Harbor Rescue Mission, $1,000; Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, $1,255; Western NC Epilepsy Association, $1,500; Women’s Resource Center. $1,000; New Hope for Kids, $500; Centro Latino, $1,500; Exodus Homes, $1,500. Total recommended for funding by the Community Relations Council, $8,255.
I. Approval of an Agreement for Services with Scott Mitchell, Architect, for Construction Administrative/Management for the New Parking Deck at the Convention Center. - Request for Qualifications were electronically advertised and proposals were received. Services will last for the duration of the project. The rate of pay for these services is 2.64% of the total project bid (to be determined). Part of the services include bidding the project, therefore preliminary estimates are used. This agreement covers three phases:
Bid Phase, Construction Administration, and Final As Built Drawings. This amount will be included as part of the lease amount the TDA will pay back to the City. Staff recommends Scott Mitchell, Architect for the necessary services as outlined in the agreement.
Hound's Note: This was discussed at the City Council meeting on January 21, 2014
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of January 21, 2014
J. Approval to Apply for a Grant to Assist in Funding the Purchase of Bulletproof Vests for Police Officers. - The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 was signed as law (Public Law 105-181). The purpose of this act is to save the lives of law enforcement officers by helping States and units of local government equip their law enforcement officers with armor vests. This grant will pay up to 50% of the cost of NIJ approved vests purchased by Hickory Police Department. Forty-five vests have been requested at an estimated price of $700 for each vest. Agenices will be notified that funds are available after July 1, 2014 if awarded the grant. Funds are placed in the police department budget uniform line item annually to purchase vests for police officers. Life expectancy of each vest is approximately five (5) years. The Police Department requests approval for the submission of this grant to receive up to 50% funding to purchase bulletproof vests for police officers.
K. Approval of a Contract with Taser International, Inc. to Purchase Officer Body-Worn Cameras and Digital Video Evidence Management Services. - Hickory Police Department requests approval of a contract with Taser International, Inc., to provide body-worn cameras, hardware, hardware service/replacement, digital evidence management storage, and services for a period of five years for 90 body-worn cameras. The first year would include all hardware, as well as digital evidence management licenses for one year, digital video storage, upgrades and damage replacements for the cost of $97,368.50. The remaining four years will include replacement of hardware for upgrades, digital evidence management licenses, and digital video storage for a cost of $69,300 annually.
L. Release of Bond Claim and Assignment of Claims Executed by the City of Hickory to Westchester Fire Insurance Company. - Council previously declared American LaFrance to be in default of a contract to build a ladder engine truck for the Hickory Fire Department after American LaFrance closed its operation and failed to deliver the truck to the City. American LaFrance had purchased a performance bond from Westchester Fire Insurance to cover such instances of default. Notice was given to Westchester in March that the City was making a claim on the bond for the amount paid to American LaFrance for the ladder truck in the amount of $729,864. Westchester has investigated the City’s claim on the bond and made the determination the claim is valid. Westchester will pay the claim in full subject to the City executing a release form. The release form was received and reviewed. Seeing no issues with the release’s provisions, staff executed the release and returned to Westchester to expedite the process. Staff requests Council to ratify the execution of the release and assignment of claims.
M. Budget Ordinance Amendment Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 23.
1. To transfer $45,000 from General Fund Contingency to the Fire Department's Capital Land line item. This transfer is necessary to purchase property located at 3042 North Center Street which is adjacent to City owned Fire Station 6. The purchase of the property will allow for future expansion of the station to house an additional fire company to serve the City for fire, EMS, and rescue services.
2. To budget an $8,475 insurance claim payment from Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company in the Police Department's Capital Vehicles line item. This payment is to pay for the total loss of a Police vehicle involved in an accident on 04-10-14.
3. To budget a $4,707 insurance claim payment from Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company in the Parks and Recreation Department Maintenance and Grounds line item. This payment is to pay for tree removal resulting from storm damage to the Army Reserve Building on 06-13-13.
4. To transfer $5,000 from General Fund Contingency to the Airport's Maintenance and Repair of Grounds line item. These funds are needed to pay for the removal of trees located on the Airport's South Ramp and behind Hangar S1.
5. To decrease the International Council Donations revenue and expenditure account codes by $200 and increase the International Springfest Donations revenue and expenditure codes by $200. Additional account codes were added for accounting purposes however a $200 International Springfest donation was budgeted in the International Council line item. Therefore an amendment is required to budget funds in the appropriate expenditure line item. This budget amendment also appropriates $3,006 of General Fund Balance and budgets it in the International Springfest Donations expenditure line item. $3,006 of International Springfest Donations were received at the end of FY12-13 and rolled into General Fund Balance, therefore an appropriation is necessary to budget these funds in the expenditure line item for use this fiscal year.
6. To transfer $12,327 of Police Department Specialized Equipment funds to the General Fund. $12,327 represents the unused portion of City grant matching funds from the Governors Highway Safety Program Grant. This grant was used to purchase 20 Panasonic Arbitrator Rear Seat Cameras. Due to purchase savings, the unused City match is being returned to General Fund.
N. Grant Project Ordinance Amendment Number 4.
1. To transfer $12,327 of unused Governors Highway Safety Program Grant funds back to the General Fund. Due to the $12,327 savings from the purchase of Panasonic Arbitrator Rear Seat Cameras the remainder of funds are being returned to the General Fund.
O. Capital Project Ordinance Number 3.
1. To budget a $72,000 transfer from Loan Proceeds to the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) Capital Project Design line item. This transfer is necessary to pay for the design and construction drawings of the new parking deck project at the Hickory Metro Convention Center.
Informational Item
A. Report of Mayor Wright’s travel to Asheville, North Carolina, Economic Development Meeting, Moogfest, April 23, 2014 (Mileage Reimbursement $86.80, Parking $5.00)
New Business - Departmental Reports
1. Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant for 56 3rd Street SE. -City Council established the Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant program on September 16, 2008. The program provides grant funding up to $30,000 for projects to renovate and rehabilitate vacant building within the Urban Revitalization Area and targeted industrial buildings in other areas of the City. OHM Holdings, LLC has applied for a Vacant Building Revitalization Grant in the amount of $30,000 to assist in the renovation of the former Lyerly Mill building located at 56 3rd Avenue SE. The applicant plans to renovate the facility for the headquarters of Transportation Insight, and to invest approximately five million dollars in real property improvements to rehabilitate the mill building. The Business Development Committee reviewed the application and recommends approval.
2. Street Resurfacing - Public Services Director, Chuck Hansen will present an analysis of the City’s street program resurfacing.
At right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.
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. You can also look in the upper right hand corner of the front page of the Hickory Hound and (will soon) find the link to the past history of Hickory City Newsletters.
Here is a summary of the agenda of the meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:
Please remember that pressing Ctrl and + will magnify the text and page and pressing Ctrl and - will make the text and page smaller. This will help the readability for those with smaller screens and/or eye difficulties.
City Website has changed - Here is a link to the City of Hickory Document Center
City Council Agenda - May 6, 2014----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hound's Notes:
1) The only matter that really stands out from what I see is Departmental Report # 2 about City’s street program resurfacing. This is a pre-salvo volley about why Hickory Inc. is going to raise property taxes this year. This isn't new information. City Manager Berry talked about it at the City Council meeting of May 21 of last year (2013). Below is a screenshot of estimated costs including street resurfacing, revenue losses and operational increases, and what they call an Economic Competitiveness Plan, which includes their Inspiring Spaces plan.
Last year they told the public that the cost of moving to a 30 year resurfacing plan from the current 58 year resurfacing plan would be a 1-cent increase in the property tax rate.
The next city council meeting will be the meeting where the City Manager will unveil the Recommended Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2014-15. The Budget has to be approved in June for the Fiscal Year that begins on July 1, 2014. The present year's budget was approved on June 4, 2013.
So, all indications seem to point to Chuck Hansen telling you that your property tax rate will be rising in part to pay for street resurfacing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invocation by Rev. Whit Malone, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church
Special Presentations
A. Proclamation for National Police Week May 11-17, 2014.
B. Proclamation for Lupus Awareness Month May 2014.
Consent Agenda:
A. Proclamation for National American Public Works Week, May 18-24, 2014.
B. Special Events/Activities Application for Charity Chase Expo, Bruce Felkins, Charity Chase President and Mandy Pitts, Vice President, Charity Chase Half Marathon Committee and Rotary of Catawba Valley, May 31, 2014, 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sails on the Square/Downtown Hickory.
C. Special Events/Activities Application for Teen Rock Concert, Tony Eltora, Executive Director, Hickory Music Factory, July 25, 2014, 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Sails on the Square.
D. Acceptance of Offers to Purchase and Contracts for Properties Located at 1840 and 1845 Waterbury Court, in the Waterford Hills Subdivision. - Staff requests consideration of the Offers to Purchase and Contracts for properties located at 1840 and 1845 Waterbury Court, in the Waterford Hills Subdivision. The properties were originally purchased by the City because they were on the route of the proposed Southern Cross-Town Thoroughfare. The route for the future thoroughfare has since been amended, and the properties are no longer needed. Daniel and Georgeta Marita are interested in purchasing these lots in order to construct single family dwellings. They are offering $15,000 per lot. Notice of Upset Bid was advertised on April 18, 2014 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area. No upset bids were received for the properties.
E. Call for Public Hearing – for Consideration of Amending Chapter 2, Article 8, Youth Council, of the Hickory City Code of Ordinance of the City of Hickory by Amending Sections 2-240, 2-242(a)(c), and 2-245. (Authorize Public Hearing for May 20, 2014)
F. Call for a Public Hearing – Voluntary Contiguous Annexation of 1515 Cloninger Mill Road NE, Hickory. (Authorize Public Hearing for May 20, 2014)
G. Approval to Purchase Property Adjacent to Hickory Fire Station 6 located at 3042 North Center Street. - Staff requests approval to purchase property located at 3042 North Center Street, which is located adjacent to City owned Fire Station 6. The tax value of the property is currently $88,000. The City of Hickory has presented an offer of $45,000 to purchase the property. Purchasing this property will assist the fire department in the future expansion of Fire Station 6 to house an additional fire company to serve the City for fire, EMS, and rescue services. The structure on the property would need to be demolished once the purchase is concluded. A budget amendment would be required from fund balance to acquire this property.
H. Approval of Community Relations Council’s spring 2014 Grant Recommendations. - Community Relations Council’s recommendation for spring 2014 grants: Safe Harbor Rescue Mission, $1,000; Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry, $1,255; Western NC Epilepsy Association, $1,500; Women’s Resource Center. $1,000; New Hope for Kids, $500; Centro Latino, $1,500; Exodus Homes, $1,500. Total recommended for funding by the Community Relations Council, $8,255.
I. Approval of an Agreement for Services with Scott Mitchell, Architect, for Construction Administrative/Management for the New Parking Deck at the Convention Center. - Request for Qualifications were electronically advertised and proposals were received. Services will last for the duration of the project. The rate of pay for these services is 2.64% of the total project bid (to be determined). Part of the services include bidding the project, therefore preliminary estimates are used. This agreement covers three phases:
Bid Phase, Construction Administration, and Final As Built Drawings. This amount will be included as part of the lease amount the TDA will pay back to the City. Staff recommends Scott Mitchell, Architect for the necessary services as outlined in the agreement.
Hound's Note: This was discussed at the City Council meeting on January 21, 2014
Newsletter about the City Council meeting of January 21, 2014
J. Approval to Apply for a Grant to Assist in Funding the Purchase of Bulletproof Vests for Police Officers. - The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 was signed as law (Public Law 105-181). The purpose of this act is to save the lives of law enforcement officers by helping States and units of local government equip their law enforcement officers with armor vests. This grant will pay up to 50% of the cost of NIJ approved vests purchased by Hickory Police Department. Forty-five vests have been requested at an estimated price of $700 for each vest. Agenices will be notified that funds are available after July 1, 2014 if awarded the grant. Funds are placed in the police department budget uniform line item annually to purchase vests for police officers. Life expectancy of each vest is approximately five (5) years. The Police Department requests approval for the submission of this grant to receive up to 50% funding to purchase bulletproof vests for police officers.
K. Approval of a Contract with Taser International, Inc. to Purchase Officer Body-Worn Cameras and Digital Video Evidence Management Services. - Hickory Police Department requests approval of a contract with Taser International, Inc., to provide body-worn cameras, hardware, hardware service/replacement, digital evidence management storage, and services for a period of five years for 90 body-worn cameras. The first year would include all hardware, as well as digital evidence management licenses for one year, digital video storage, upgrades and damage replacements for the cost of $97,368.50. The remaining four years will include replacement of hardware for upgrades, digital evidence management licenses, and digital video storage for a cost of $69,300 annually.
L. Release of Bond Claim and Assignment of Claims Executed by the City of Hickory to Westchester Fire Insurance Company. - Council previously declared American LaFrance to be in default of a contract to build a ladder engine truck for the Hickory Fire Department after American LaFrance closed its operation and failed to deliver the truck to the City. American LaFrance had purchased a performance bond from Westchester Fire Insurance to cover such instances of default. Notice was given to Westchester in March that the City was making a claim on the bond for the amount paid to American LaFrance for the ladder truck in the amount of $729,864. Westchester has investigated the City’s claim on the bond and made the determination the claim is valid. Westchester will pay the claim in full subject to the City executing a release form. The release form was received and reviewed. Seeing no issues with the release’s provisions, staff executed the release and returned to Westchester to expedite the process. Staff requests Council to ratify the execution of the release and assignment of claims.
M. Budget Ordinance Amendment Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 23.
1. To transfer $45,000 from General Fund Contingency to the Fire Department's Capital Land line item. This transfer is necessary to purchase property located at 3042 North Center Street which is adjacent to City owned Fire Station 6. The purchase of the property will allow for future expansion of the station to house an additional fire company to serve the City for fire, EMS, and rescue services.
2. To budget an $8,475 insurance claim payment from Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company in the Police Department's Capital Vehicles line item. This payment is to pay for the total loss of a Police vehicle involved in an accident on 04-10-14.
3. To budget a $4,707 insurance claim payment from Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company in the Parks and Recreation Department Maintenance and Grounds line item. This payment is to pay for tree removal resulting from storm damage to the Army Reserve Building on 06-13-13.
4. To transfer $5,000 from General Fund Contingency to the Airport's Maintenance and Repair of Grounds line item. These funds are needed to pay for the removal of trees located on the Airport's South Ramp and behind Hangar S1.
5. To decrease the International Council Donations revenue and expenditure account codes by $200 and increase the International Springfest Donations revenue and expenditure codes by $200. Additional account codes were added for accounting purposes however a $200 International Springfest donation was budgeted in the International Council line item. Therefore an amendment is required to budget funds in the appropriate expenditure line item. This budget amendment also appropriates $3,006 of General Fund Balance and budgets it in the International Springfest Donations expenditure line item. $3,006 of International Springfest Donations were received at the end of FY12-13 and rolled into General Fund Balance, therefore an appropriation is necessary to budget these funds in the expenditure line item for use this fiscal year.
6. To transfer $12,327 of Police Department Specialized Equipment funds to the General Fund. $12,327 represents the unused portion of City grant matching funds from the Governors Highway Safety Program Grant. This grant was used to purchase 20 Panasonic Arbitrator Rear Seat Cameras. Due to purchase savings, the unused City match is being returned to General Fund.
N. Grant Project Ordinance Amendment Number 4.
1. To transfer $12,327 of unused Governors Highway Safety Program Grant funds back to the General Fund. Due to the $12,327 savings from the purchase of Panasonic Arbitrator Rear Seat Cameras the remainder of funds are being returned to the General Fund.
O. Capital Project Ordinance Number 3.
1. To budget a $72,000 transfer from Loan Proceeds to the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) Capital Project Design line item. This transfer is necessary to pay for the design and construction drawings of the new parking deck project at the Hickory Metro Convention Center.
Informational Item
A. Report of Mayor Wright’s travel to Asheville, North Carolina, Economic Development Meeting, Moogfest, April 23, 2014 (Mileage Reimbursement $86.80, Parking $5.00)
New Business - Departmental Reports
1. Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant for 56 3rd Street SE. -City Council established the Vacant Building Revitalization and Demolition Grant program on September 16, 2008. The program provides grant funding up to $30,000 for projects to renovate and rehabilitate vacant building within the Urban Revitalization Area and targeted industrial buildings in other areas of the City. OHM Holdings, LLC has applied for a Vacant Building Revitalization Grant in the amount of $30,000 to assist in the renovation of the former Lyerly Mill building located at 56 3rd Avenue SE. The applicant plans to renovate the facility for the headquarters of Transportation Insight, and to invest approximately five million dollars in real property improvements to rehabilitate the mill building. The Business Development Committee reviewed the application and recommends approval.
2. Street Resurfacing - Public Services Director, Chuck Hansen will present an analysis of the City’s street program resurfacing.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Economic Relevance - 1% GDP in 1st Quarter = The Depression of 2007 til present
The Hound: Compare the lack of growth of the past 7 years to the real inflation rate over the period and you will see that we have been losing traction the entire time. Economic growth has never come with smoke and mirrors. Back in November of last year, Goldman Sachs expected 3% growth. As you will see below they are way off.
The Federal Reserve and their Puppet in Chief and the Congress have put out their convoluted numbers and excuses. It's the weather -- bwahahaha! WHATEVER
Here are past GDP numbers and their predictions for the upcoming rest of the year. We'll see if they end up being right. Fools, fools everywhere.... Fools, fools I don't care.
Leaders lead by example. We have no leaders running this country - JTS
US economy slowed to 0.1 percent growth rate in Q1 - AP through myway news - MARTIN CRUTSINGER - April 30, 2014 - WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed drastically in the first three months of the year as a harsh winter exacted a toll on business activity. The slowdown, while worse than expected, is likely to be temporary as growth rebounds with warmer weather. Growth slowed to a barely discernible 0.1 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was the weakest pace since the end of 2012 and was down from a 2.6 percent rate in the previous quarter. Many economists said the government's first estimate of growth in the January-March quarter was skewed by weak figures early in the quarter. They noted that several sectors — from retail sales to manufacturing output — rebounded in March. That strength should provide momentum for the rest of the year.
17 Facts To Show To Anyone That Still Believes That The U.S. Economy Is Just Fine - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - April 30, 2014 - ...
#1 The homeownership rate in the United States has dropped to the lowest level in 19 years.
#2 Consumer spending for durable goods has dropped by 3.23 percent since November. This is a clear sign that an economic slowdown is ahead.
#3 Major retailers are closing stores at the fastest pace that we have seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
#4 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 percent of all families in the United States do not have a single member that is employed. That means that one out of every five families in the entire country is completely unemployed.
#5 There are 1.3 million fewer jobs in the U.S. economy than when the last recession began in December 2007. Meanwhile, our population has continued to grow steadily since that time.
#6 According to a new report from the National Employment Law Project, the quality of the jobs that have been "created" since the end of the last recession does not match the quality of the jobs lost during the last recession...
#8 It is hard to believe, but 62 percent of all Americans make $20 or less an hour at this point.
#9 Nine of the top ten occupations in the U.S. pay an average wage of less than $35,000 a year.
#10 The middle class in Canada now makes more money than the middle class in the United States does.
#11 According to one recent study, 40 percent of all Americans could not come up with $2000 right now even if there was a major emergency.
#12 Less than one out of every four Americans has enough money put away to cover six months of expenses if there was a job loss or major emergency.
#13 An astounding 56 percent of all Americans have subprime credit in 2014.
#14 As I wrote about the other day, there are now 49 million Americans that are dealing with food insecurity.
#15 Ten years ago, the number of women in the U.S. that had jobs outnumbered the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps by more than a 2 to 1 margin. But now the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps actually exceeds the number of women that have jobs.
#16 69 percent of the federal budget is spent either on entitlements or on welfare programs.
#17 The number of Americans receiving benefits from the federal government each month exceeds the number of full-time workers in the private sector by more than 60 million...
Hey Fools - This was Reagan's Guy - Not any Hack Politicians of Today.
US Economy Is A House Of Cards — Paul Craig Roberts - April 30, 2014 -
The US economy is a house of cards. Every aspect of it is fraudulent, and the illusion of recovery is created with fraudulent statistics. American capitalism itself is an illusion. All financial markets are rigged. Massive liquidity poured into financial markets by the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing inflates stock and bond prices and drives interest rates, which are supposed to be a measure of the cost of capital, to zero or negative, with the implication that capital is so abundant that its cost is zero and can be had for free. Large enterprises, such as mega-banks and auto manufacturers, that go bankrupt are not permitted to fail. Instead, public debt and money creation are used to cover private losses and keep corporations “too big to fail” afloat at the expense not of shareholders but of people who do not own the shares of the corporations. Profits are no longer a measure that social welfare is being served by capitalism’s efficient use of resources when profits are achieved by substituting cheaper foreign labor for domestic labor, with resultant decline in consumer purchasing power and rise in income and wealth inequality. In the 21st century, the era of jobs offshoring, the US has experienced an unprecedented explosion in income and wealth inequality. I have made reference to this hard evidence of the failure of capitalism to provide for the social welfare in the traditional economic sense in my book, The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism, and Thomas Piketty’s just published book, Capital in the 21st Century, has brought an alarming picture of reality to insouciant economists, such as Paul Krugman. As worrisome as Piketty’s picture is of inequality, I agree with Michael Hudson that the situation is worse than Piketty describes. http://michael-hudson.com/2014/04/pikettys-wealth-gap-wake-up/ Capitalism has been transformed by powerful private interests whose control over governments, courts, and regulatory agencies has turned capitalism into a looting mechanism. Wall Street no longer performs any positive function. Wall Street is a looting mechanism, a deadweight loss to society. Wall Street makes profits by front-running trades with fast computers, by selling fraudulent financial instruments that it is betting against as investment grade securities, by leveraging equity to unprecedented heights, making bets that cannot be covered, and by rigging all commodity markets.
The Federal Reserve and their Puppet in Chief and the Congress have put out their convoluted numbers and excuses. It's the weather -- bwahahaha! WHATEVER
Here are past GDP numbers and their predictions for the upcoming rest of the year. We'll see if they end up being right. Fools, fools everywhere.... Fools, fools I don't care.
Leaders lead by example. We have no leaders running this country - JTS
US economy slowed to 0.1 percent growth rate in Q1 - AP through myway news - MARTIN CRUTSINGER - April 30, 2014 - WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed drastically in the first three months of the year as a harsh winter exacted a toll on business activity. The slowdown, while worse than expected, is likely to be temporary as growth rebounds with warmer weather. Growth slowed to a barely discernible 0.1 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was the weakest pace since the end of 2012 and was down from a 2.6 percent rate in the previous quarter. Many economists said the government's first estimate of growth in the January-March quarter was skewed by weak figures early in the quarter. They noted that several sectors — from retail sales to manufacturing output — rebounded in March. That strength should provide momentum for the rest of the year.
#1 The homeownership rate in the United States has dropped to the lowest level in 19 years.
#2 Consumer spending for durable goods has dropped by 3.23 percent since November. This is a clear sign that an economic slowdown is ahead.
#3 Major retailers are closing stores at the fastest pace that we have seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
#4 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 percent of all families in the United States do not have a single member that is employed. That means that one out of every five families in the entire country is completely unemployed.
#5 There are 1.3 million fewer jobs in the U.S. economy than when the last recession began in December 2007. Meanwhile, our population has continued to grow steadily since that time.
#6 According to a new report from the National Employment Law Project, the quality of the jobs that have been "created" since the end of the last recession does not match the quality of the jobs lost during the last recession...
- Lower-wage industries constituted 22 percent of recession losses, but 44 percent of recovery growth.
- Mid-wage industries constituted 37 percent of recession losses, but only 26 percent of recovery growth.
- Higher-wage industries constituted 41 percent of recession losses, and 30 percent of recovery growth.
#8 It is hard to believe, but 62 percent of all Americans make $20 or less an hour at this point.
#9 Nine of the top ten occupations in the U.S. pay an average wage of less than $35,000 a year.
#10 The middle class in Canada now makes more money than the middle class in the United States does.
#11 According to one recent study, 40 percent of all Americans could not come up with $2000 right now even if there was a major emergency.
#12 Less than one out of every four Americans has enough money put away to cover six months of expenses if there was a job loss or major emergency.
#13 An astounding 56 percent of all Americans have subprime credit in 2014.
#14 As I wrote about the other day, there are now 49 million Americans that are dealing with food insecurity.
#15 Ten years ago, the number of women in the U.S. that had jobs outnumbered the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps by more than a 2 to 1 margin. But now the number of women in the U.S. on food stamps actually exceeds the number of women that have jobs.
#16 69 percent of the federal budget is spent either on entitlements or on welfare programs.
#17 The number of Americans receiving benefits from the federal government each month exceeds the number of full-time workers in the private sector by more than 60 million...
Hey Fools - This was Reagan's Guy - Not any Hack Politicians of Today.
US Economy Is A House Of Cards — Paul Craig Roberts - April 30, 2014 -
The US economy is a house of cards. Every aspect of it is fraudulent, and the illusion of recovery is created with fraudulent statistics. American capitalism itself is an illusion. All financial markets are rigged. Massive liquidity poured into financial markets by the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing inflates stock and bond prices and drives interest rates, which are supposed to be a measure of the cost of capital, to zero or negative, with the implication that capital is so abundant that its cost is zero and can be had for free. Large enterprises, such as mega-banks and auto manufacturers, that go bankrupt are not permitted to fail. Instead, public debt and money creation are used to cover private losses and keep corporations “too big to fail” afloat at the expense not of shareholders but of people who do not own the shares of the corporations. Profits are no longer a measure that social welfare is being served by capitalism’s efficient use of resources when profits are achieved by substituting cheaper foreign labor for domestic labor, with resultant decline in consumer purchasing power and rise in income and wealth inequality. In the 21st century, the era of jobs offshoring, the US has experienced an unprecedented explosion in income and wealth inequality. I have made reference to this hard evidence of the failure of capitalism to provide for the social welfare in the traditional economic sense in my book, The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism, and Thomas Piketty’s just published book, Capital in the 21st Century, has brought an alarming picture of reality to insouciant economists, such as Paul Krugman. As worrisome as Piketty’s picture is of inequality, I agree with Michael Hudson that the situation is worse than Piketty describes. http://michael-hudson.com/2014/04/pikettys-wealth-gap-wake-up/ Capitalism has been transformed by powerful private interests whose control over governments, courts, and regulatory agencies has turned capitalism into a looting mechanism. Wall Street no longer performs any positive function. Wall Street is a looting mechanism, a deadweight loss to society. Wall Street makes profits by front-running trades with fast computers, by selling fraudulent financial instruments that it is betting against as investment grade securities, by leveraging equity to unprecedented heights, making bets that cannot be covered, and by rigging all commodity markets.
House Budget Committee to Hold Hearing on Poverty - New York Times - ANNIE LOWREY - APRIL 30, 2014 - Is the federal government responsible for lifting millions of Americans out of poverty or trapping them in it? That question has become a political Rorschach test this year, the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty. On Wednesday, Representative Paul D. Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, is holding a third hearing on the government and the poor, featuring testimony from the “front lines.” In recent months, Mr. Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, has loudly argued that the government has failed in its effort to end deprivation and ensure mobility. “Today, the poverty rate is stuck at 15 percent — the highest in a generation,” a House Republican report on the war on poverty argued. “The trends are not encouraging. Federal programs are not only failing to address the problem. They are also in some significant respects making it worse.” With the federal government spending about $800 billion on 92 programs to combat poverty in the 2012 fiscal year, Mr. Ryan has been critical of redundancy. The spending includes, according to a House Republican tally, 15 programs related to food aid and 20 related to education and job training. “The very disarray among all these federal programs has created what’s known as the poverty trap,” the report said. “Poor families face very high implicit marginal tax rates. The federal government effectively discourages them from making more money.” Those programs also at times penalize low-income workers when they earn more, Mr. Ryan argues.
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