In the Chambers
This meeting (the Inspiring Spaces meeting) is all about Union Square. How do we direct traffic to Union Square?
Union Square Union Square Union Square yada yada yada
Wayfinding to Union Square
Who profits?
End of the great Kabuki part 1. Now on to part 2.
Let's see how this rolls.
2 cent property tax increase does not include Inspiring Spaces.
I repeat Inspiring Spaces not included.
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Honestly, this budget was Mick Berry and Hickory Inc.'s finest hour during his tenure. The budget he put forth is fiscally responsible. Anyone should accept the additional penny for roads and the additional penny for operational costs due to the loss in revenue of the hold harmless monies that have been coming from the State Government. I can't emphasize enough that the action taken on this night is fiscally sound.
The talk that should be had with the Inspiring Spaces group comes back to a proposal from, I believe, 2004 -- The Business Improvement District (BID) tax. Businesses in the Downtown area balked on this proposal and so it fell on its face back in 2004. It is understandable why it did, when they (Downtown Business and Property Owners) have constantly gotten monies from the General Fund. The revenue that would be raised from the "Redefined Downtown" properties BID tax would go directly back into that area and the other areas of Hickory would not be paying for their area. Other BID tax areas could start in the other quadrants should the property owners choose. I also think the Downtown Development Association should be created as a Department with the city. If the City is going to pay monies, and with a BID tax structure, then City Hall should have complete oversight.
The presentation by City Manager Berry was rather short and directly to the point. Inspiring Spaces as a part of the 2014-15 budget was not mentioned. This was very surprising and my sources were wrong, so that makes me wrong about what was going to happen on this night. I wasn't wrong about what was presented by the Inspiring Spaces group, but I was very surprised when the follow through did not occur.
I was wrong, but happy with the result that no tax would be increased in the name of Inspiring Spaces... and this won't happen until a referendum takes place that will establish whether or not the public wants it. The City needs to come forward with specifics on how to raise the revenues and what the projects will cost. That is all that is being asked for... nothing more, nothing less.
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Heading to Kabuki Theater tonight
Opening act begins at 5:30pm at City Hall in Council Chambers. The Inspiring Spaces Committee is meeting together with the City Council. The purpose of this Special Joint Meeting is the presentation of the Advisory Committee's Final Report for the Inspiring Spaces Project.
The goal here is to make it look like Hickory Inc. has a plan. Last year Mayor Wright, Alderman Guess, and Alder Patton said they were not in favor of raising property taxes for 2013-14, because "we don't have a plan." The real reason was because they were facing re-election in a few months. So here we come to the night when the City Manager will present the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2014-15.. Everybody knows what is going on here. The truth is that they have no more of a plan here than what they had last year.
In my opinion, the Inspiring Spaces presentation is to set up what will take place during the second act, which is the regularly scheduled second meeting of the Hickory City Council for the month of May, in which the City Manager will present the proposed property tax increase for the upcoming year. The Inspiring Spaces meeting is to give you the reasoning for the tax increase and the City Manager is going to reemphasize that reasoning. Truth be told, the City Manager is the one behind, and fully vested in, the reasoning.
I have presumed, based upon information I was given and information provided involving this committee, that the City Manager will be requesting a significant property tax increase for City of Hickory associated properties. The majority of these revenues will be devoted to the Inspiring Spaces initiative.
My cynical side envisions the City Manager asking for a 15¢ property tax increase to 65¢ per $100 and the Mayor and other Council members saying that is too much and pulling back to 10¢, or 60¢ per $100, under the guise that they are protecting residents they know will have a difficult time with such an increase.
That is why I call this Kabuki Theater, because these folks are on the same page going into this meeting. This will be a show like so many manufactured plots we have seen before. They already know what is going down. It will still be entertaining to witness, because this has all the makings of a political drama in the coming months that will make the Referendum on Ward Specific Voting and last year's municipal election look like peanuts.
The bottom line, in my opinion, is that no tax should be increased in the name of Inspiring Spaces until a referendum takes place that establishes that it is what the public wants.
The proposed property tax increase coming on Tuesday night - 5/16/2014
Rudy and the City Council want to and will raise your taxes - 11/1/2013
The Complete "Platform for a 21st Century Hickory" - 8/31/2013
The goal here is to make it look like Hickory Inc. has a plan. Last year Mayor Wright, Alderman Guess, and Alder Patton said they were not in favor of raising property taxes for 2013-14, because "we don't have a plan." The real reason was because they were facing re-election in a few months. So here we come to the night when the City Manager will present the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2014-15.. Everybody knows what is going on here. The truth is that they have no more of a plan here than what they had last year.
In my opinion, the Inspiring Spaces presentation is to set up what will take place during the second act, which is the regularly scheduled second meeting of the Hickory City Council for the month of May, in which the City Manager will present the proposed property tax increase for the upcoming year. The Inspiring Spaces meeting is to give you the reasoning for the tax increase and the City Manager is going to reemphasize that reasoning. Truth be told, the City Manager is the one behind, and fully vested in, the reasoning.
I have presumed, based upon information I was given and information provided involving this committee, that the City Manager will be requesting a significant property tax increase for City of Hickory associated properties. The majority of these revenues will be devoted to the Inspiring Spaces initiative.
My cynical side envisions the City Manager asking for a 15¢ property tax increase to 65¢ per $100 and the Mayor and other Council members saying that is too much and pulling back to 10¢, or 60¢ per $100, under the guise that they are protecting residents they know will have a difficult time with such an increase.
That is why I call this Kabuki Theater, because these folks are on the same page going into this meeting. This will be a show like so many manufactured plots we have seen before. They already know what is going down. It will still be entertaining to witness, because this has all the makings of a political drama in the coming months that will make the Referendum on Ward Specific Voting and last year's municipal election look like peanuts.
The bottom line, in my opinion, is that no tax should be increased in the name of Inspiring Spaces until a referendum takes place that establishes that it is what the public wants.
The proposed property tax increase coming on Tuesday night - 5/16/2014
Rudy and the City Council want to and will raise your taxes - 11/1/2013
The Complete "Platform for a 21st Century Hickory" - 8/31/2013
Monday, May 19, 2014
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- May 18, 2014
Gas prices shouldn't be high, but are: What gives? - CNBC through USA Today - Javier E. David - May 18, 2014 - Rumors about the demise of U.S. gasoline demand have been greatly exaggerated. Until late 2013, most energy observers forecast the world's most reliably gas-guzzling market to consume less fuel this year. What was once thought to be a structural decline in demand, however, has proven more durable than expected. As the summer driving season nears, retail gas remains stubbornly lodged near $4 per gallon. According to the Energy Information Administration, gas prices rose for 12 straight weeks through late April, and were 20 cents a gallon higher than the same point last year. So what gives? "The world's not swimming in crude or gasoline yet," said Francisco Blanch, commodities strategist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, in an interview. "Despite all the crude and gasoline production in the U.S., international markets are not tagging along." International developments matter, analysts say, because gas prices are linked to internationally priced Brent crude. Turmoil in Ukraine and spotty supply from the perennially unstable Middle East has conspired to keep oil above $100 per barrel.
Fed Laundering Treasury Purchases to Disguise What’s Happening-Paul Craig Roberts - USA Watchdog - Greg Hunter - May 14, 2014 - In his latest article, former Assistant Treasury Secretary Dr. Paul Craig Roberts says, “The Fed is the great deceiver.” Why is he making this shocking accusation? The reason is tiny Belgium’s whopping purchase of $141 billion in Treasury bonds earlier this year. Dr. Roberts explains, “We know that Belgium didn’t have any money to buy $141 billion worth of bonds over a three month period. That sum comes to 29% of the Belgium GDP. So, they don’t have a surplus in their budget that is 29% of their GDP, and they don’t have trade or current account surplus in that amount. In fact, everything is in the red. Their budget deficit is in the red, and their trade and current accounts are in the red. So, Belgium didn’t have the money, and yet, they managed to pick up $141.2 billion in U.S. Treasuries over a three month period. So, where did they get the money?” Dr. Roberts, who holds a PhD in economics, goes on to say, “We know their central bank couldn’t have printed euros to buy the bonds with because the Belgium central bank can’t print euros. Belgium is part of the euro system and has lost the ability to create its own money. So, the only source for that kind of money would have been the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve thought it needed to hide the fact it was buying $141 billion in bonds over a three month period when it was officially reducing or tapering the quantitative easing down to $65 billion. It didn’t want to have to admit it was really purchasing $112 billion a month, almost double the announced purchases.”
If Economic Cycle Theorists Are Correct, 2015 To 2020 Will Be Pure Hell For The United States - Michael Snyder - May 12th, 2014 - Does the economy move in predictable waves, cycles or patterns? There are many economists that believe that it does, and if their projections are correct, the rest of this decade is going to be pure hell for the United States. Many mainstream economists want nothing to do with economic cycle theorists, but it should be noted that economic cycle theories have enabled some analysts to correctly predict the timing of recessions, stock market peaks and stock market crashes over the past couple of decades. Of course none of the theories discussed below is perfect, but it is very interesting to note that all of them seem to indicate that the U.S. economy is about to enter a major downturn. So will the period of 2015 to 2020 turn out to be pure hell for the United States? We will just have to wait and see. One of the most prominent economic cycle theories is known as "the Kondratieff wave". It was developed by a Russian economist named Nikolai Kondratiev, and as Wikipedia has noted, his economic theories got him into so much trouble with the Russian government that he was eventually executed because of them...
The Demographic Cliff: How to Survive and Prosper During the Great Deflation of 2014-2019 (2014) - Amazon List - Bestselling author and financial guru Harry Dent shows why we’re facing a “great deflation” after five years of desperate stimulus — and what to do about it now.
Throughout his long career as an economic forecaster, Harry Dent has relied on a not-so-secret weapon: demographics. Studying the predictable things people do as they age is the ultimate tool for understanding trends. For instance, Dent can tell a client exactly when people will spend the most on potato chips. And he can explain why our economy has risen and fallen with the peak spending of generations, and why we now face a growing demographic cliff with the accelerating retirement of the Baby Boomers around the world. Dent predicted the impact of the Boomers hitting their highest growth in spending in the 1990s, when most economists saw the United States declining. And he anticipated the decline of Japan in the 1990s, when economists were proclaiming it would overtake the U.S. economy. But now, Dent argues, the fundamental demographics have turned against the United States and will hit more countries ahead. Inflation rises when a larger than usual block of younger people enter the workforce, and it wanes when large numbers of older people retire, downsize their homes, and cut their spending. The mass retirement of the Boomers won’t just hold back inflation; it and massive debt deleveraging will actually cause deflation—weakening the economy the most from 2014 into 2019. Dent explores the implications of his controversial predictions. He offers advice on retirement planning, health care, real estate, education, investing, and business strategies. For instance . . .
HARRY DENT: America Is Headed Off The 'Demographic Cliff' And Another Crisis Is Near - Business Insider - Steven Perlberg - December 12, 2013
Here are some of his main points:
High Frequency Trading And Artificial Bubbles - Harry Dent - May 15, 2014
Fed Laundering Treasury Purchases to Disguise What’s Happening-Paul Craig Roberts - USA Watchdog - Greg Hunter - May 14, 2014 - In his latest article, former Assistant Treasury Secretary Dr. Paul Craig Roberts says, “The Fed is the great deceiver.” Why is he making this shocking accusation? The reason is tiny Belgium’s whopping purchase of $141 billion in Treasury bonds earlier this year. Dr. Roberts explains, “We know that Belgium didn’t have any money to buy $141 billion worth of bonds over a three month period. That sum comes to 29% of the Belgium GDP. So, they don’t have a surplus in their budget that is 29% of their GDP, and they don’t have trade or current account surplus in that amount. In fact, everything is in the red. Their budget deficit is in the red, and their trade and current accounts are in the red. So, Belgium didn’t have the money, and yet, they managed to pick up $141.2 billion in U.S. Treasuries over a three month period. So, where did they get the money?” Dr. Roberts, who holds a PhD in economics, goes on to say, “We know their central bank couldn’t have printed euros to buy the bonds with because the Belgium central bank can’t print euros. Belgium is part of the euro system and has lost the ability to create its own money. So, the only source for that kind of money would have been the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve thought it needed to hide the fact it was buying $141 billion in bonds over a three month period when it was officially reducing or tapering the quantitative easing down to $65 billion. It didn’t want to have to admit it was really purchasing $112 billion a month, almost double the announced purchases.”
If Economic Cycle Theorists Are Correct, 2015 To 2020 Will Be Pure Hell For The United States - Michael Snyder - May 12th, 2014 - Does the economy move in predictable waves, cycles or patterns? There are many economists that believe that it does, and if their projections are correct, the rest of this decade is going to be pure hell for the United States. Many mainstream economists want nothing to do with economic cycle theorists, but it should be noted that economic cycle theories have enabled some analysts to correctly predict the timing of recessions, stock market peaks and stock market crashes over the past couple of decades. Of course none of the theories discussed below is perfect, but it is very interesting to note that all of them seem to indicate that the U.S. economy is about to enter a major downturn. So will the period of 2015 to 2020 turn out to be pure hell for the United States? We will just have to wait and see. One of the most prominent economic cycle theories is known as "the Kondratieff wave". It was developed by a Russian economist named Nikolai Kondratiev, and as Wikipedia has noted, his economic theories got him into so much trouble with the Russian government that he was eventually executed because of them...
The Demographic Cliff: How to Survive and Prosper During the Great Deflation of 2014-2019 (2014) - Amazon List - Bestselling author and financial guru Harry Dent shows why we’re facing a “great deflation” after five years of desperate stimulus — and what to do about it now.
Throughout his long career as an economic forecaster, Harry Dent has relied on a not-so-secret weapon: demographics. Studying the predictable things people do as they age is the ultimate tool for understanding trends. For instance, Dent can tell a client exactly when people will spend the most on potato chips. And he can explain why our economy has risen and fallen with the peak spending of generations, and why we now face a growing demographic cliff with the accelerating retirement of the Baby Boomers around the world. Dent predicted the impact of the Boomers hitting their highest growth in spending in the 1990s, when most economists saw the United States declining. And he anticipated the decline of Japan in the 1990s, when economists were proclaiming it would overtake the U.S. economy. But now, Dent argues, the fundamental demographics have turned against the United States and will hit more countries ahead. Inflation rises when a larger than usual block of younger people enter the workforce, and it wanes when large numbers of older people retire, downsize their homes, and cut their spending. The mass retirement of the Boomers won’t just hold back inflation; it and massive debt deleveraging will actually cause deflation—weakening the economy the most from 2014 into 2019. Dent explores the implications of his controversial predictions. He offers advice on retirement planning, health care, real estate, education, investing, and business strategies. For instance . . .
- BUSINESSES should get lean and mean now. Identify segments that you can clearly dominate and sell off or shut down others. If you don’t, the economy will do it for you, more painfully and less profitably.
- INVESTORS should sell stocks by mid-January 2014 and look to buy them back in 2015 or later at a Dow as low as 5,800.
- FAMILIES should wait to buy real estate in areas where home prices have gone back to where the bubble started in early 2000.
- GOVERNMENTS need to stop the endless stimulus that creates more bubbles and kills the middle class, and should assist in restructuring the unprecedented debt bubble of 1983–2008.
HARRY DENT: America Is Headed Off The 'Demographic Cliff' And Another Crisis Is Near - Business Insider - Steven Perlberg - December 12, 2013
Here are some of his main points:
- Young people cause inflation because they "cost everything and produce nothing." But young people eventually "begin to pay off when they enter the workforce and become productive new workers (supply) and higher-spending consumers (demand)."
- Unfortunately, the U.S. reached its demographic "peak spending" from 2003-2007 and is headed for the "demographic cliff." Germany, England, Switzerland are all headed there too. Then China will be the first emerging market to fall off the cliff, albeit in a few decades. The world is getting older.
- The U.S. stock market will crash. "Our best long-term and intermediate cycles suggest another slowdown and stock crash accelerating between very early 2014 and early 2015, and possibly lasting well into 2015 or even 2016. The worst economic trends due to demographics will hit between 2014 and 2019. The U.S. economy is likely to suffer a minor or major crash by early 2015 and another between late 2017 and late 2019 or early 2020 at the latest."
- "The everyday consumer never came out of the last recession." The rich are the ones feeling great and spending money, as asset prices (not wages) are aided by monetary stimulus.
- The U.S. and Europe are headed in the same direction as Japan, a country still in a "coma economy precisely because it never let its debt bubble deleverage," Dent argues. "The only way we will not follow in Japan's footsteps is if the Federal Reserve stops printing new money."
- "The reality is stark, when dyers start to outweigh buyers, the market changes." It all comes down to an aging population, Dent writes. "Fewer spenders, borrowers, and investors will be around to participate in the next boom."
- The U.S. has a crazy amount of debt and "economists and politicians have acted like we can just wave a magic wand of endless monetary injections and bailouts and get over what they see as a short-term crisis." But the problem, Dent says, is long-term and structural — demographics.
- Businesses can "dominate the years to come" by focusing on cash and cash flow, being "lean and mean," deferring major capital expenditures, selling nonstrategic real estate, and firing weak employees now.
- The big four challenges in the years ahead will be 1) private and public debt 2) health care and retirement entitlements 3) authoritarian governance around the globe and 4) environmental pollution that threatens the global economy.
High Frequency Trading And Artificial Bubbles - Harry Dent - May 15, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Agenda about the City Council meeting of May 20, 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 20, 2014
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The Hound's Notes:
*** The issue is the proposed property tax increase coming on Tuesday night that will be part of the City manager's proposed budget.
Here are a some thoughts and questions on the proposed property tax increase as it relates to Hickory Inc.'s Inspiring Spaces Initiative.
Think back to last year, when Mayor Wright was pushing the Prepared Food Tax as the be all end all and all that was needed to fund the Inspiring Spaces projects. Now we know that it wouldn't have covered what they have talked about over the subsequent half a year, since the local municipal election occurred.
Now knowing that the Prepared Food Tax wasn't enough, they were willing to compound the mistake. We would have had this food tax and it wouldn't be covering the cost of Inspiring spaces, so they had every intention of raising your property taxes for Inspiring Spaces all along. What happened to the investments that were supposed to come from the Federal government? the State government? or through the Private sector?... none of that has been talked about recently.
Remember the Farmer's Market project that turned into the Sails project. It started out at $285,000 and within months became a $420,000 project and Hickory Inc. will admit that it is right at a half-million dollar project and we know that more monies have been spent on the structure to maintain and add to it. What if they underestimate the cost of this proposed project. This isn't a small structure like "The Sail's". This is a $40 million bond with ambiguous projects attached. There are still no specifics. We've been down this path before folks.
What if raising these taxes doesn't generate enough money for what is proposed? Hickory Inc. says oops and scales back and does the Linear Park/Sidewalk and whatever they want and you have no choice about it. There are no second chances. It, in essence, becomes the largest slush fund in this city's history; creating, according to the City Manager's numbers above, about $3.6 million per year for Hickory Inc. to spend as they see fit.
Hickory Inc. intends to pass this budget and then they will be holding meetings called "Citizen Briefings" to push the bond referendum. The "Briefing" that is online is long on vagueness and short on specifics. People don't need a pep talk to tell them why this park is a good thing. They need specifics. Tell the people what the projects will cost and what they will have to sacrifice to invest in these projects. They need to understand the trade offs. City Manager Berry and Assistant City Manager Surratt are supposed to be managers not sales people. Elected officials can do that, but that isn't the job of bureaucrats to sell projects. Think about what happened the last time a project was committed to that wasn't fully vetted?
And Guess what? If future economic development does take place, any new businesses looking to come here are going to want additional incentives, like two recent projects where those companies will pay no property tax on their buildings for the next 7 years. So the revenue pie isn't growing, but the outlay/expense pie continues to grow. Companies will expect some form of incentives, which will increase the burden on residents through their property and the taxes they pay on it.
No one is saying that they are against City investments. People are saying that they need specifics, because at the end of the day, the people are the government and the people know what is best for them. The people of Hickory have asked for certain things and have been constantly told NO! Hickory Inc. decides they want something and they grease the skids and manipulate situations. The government is supposed to be the servant of the people and it certainly seems like the view is warped around here.
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Invocation
Special Presentations
A. Business Well Crafted Award to Mark Romeo, Cox Manufacturing
Persons Requesting to Be Heard
A. Dan Green, In House Counsel for Meridian Senior Living, Information Regarding a Golf Tournament for National Alzheimer’s Awareness
Consent Agenda:
A. Special Events/Activities Application for St. Stephens High School Jazz Band, Casey Oakes, Director, St. Stephens High School, May 27, 2014, 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sails on the Square.
B. Special Events/Activities Application for Schmoozapalooza Under the Sails at Tastin’, Tunes & Tomatoes, Lindsay M. Keisler, Senior Vice President, Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, June 12, 2014, 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Union Square.
C. Call for a Public Hearing – Voluntary Satellite Annexation of 1218 Bugle Lane. (Authorize Public Hearing for June 3, 2014)
D. Call for Public Hearing - For the Consideration of a Street Closing Petition for portions of the former Hickory North Crosstown Loop and 13th Street NE, Hickory. (Authorize Public Hearing for June 17, 2014)
E. Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs. - The following request was considered by the Citizens’ Advisory Committee at their regular meeting on May 1, 2014:
Kathy Jeannette Kendrick Higgs was approved for recommendation to City Council for first-time homebuyer’s assistance to purchase a house located at 170 12th Street Court SE, Hickory. She had requested $5,000 for assistance with down payment and closing costs. The First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Loan is zero interest, no payments and repaid upon sale, refinance or payoff of first mortgage. Funds are budgeted for these items through the City of Hickory’s former Rental Rehabilitation Program income received in FY 2012 and/or program income received through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant Program.
F. Approval to Apply for the 2014 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) in the amount of $23,359. - Hickory Police Department requests permission to apply for the 2014 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) in the amount of $23,359. The JAG Program is a formula-based grant through the Office of Justice Programs/Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) that utilizes Uniform Crime Reporting statistics of all law enforcement agencies to determine eligibility for direct federal grant awards. There is no match required.
G. Acceptance of Bid and Award of Construction Contract with Neill Grading & Construction Company Inc., for the Construction of Eastwood Sewer Project. - The Eastwood Sewer Project includes construction of approximately 8,600 linear feet of 8 inch PVC or ductile iron sanitary sewer lines. Eastwood Subdivision is within the existing City of Hickory ETJ, and the City of Hickory does have existing sanitary sewer lines available for connection by the proposed subdivision sanitary sewer lines. Construction of the proposed systems in accordance with City of Hickory specifications will result in negligible increase in maintenance costs for the overall system and will provide for further protection of water quality in the area by potentially eliminating failing on-site septic systems. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources – State Revolving Fund awarded the City of Hickory a grant to fund construction of this project along with two others previously. Public Utilities requests the project be established with $684,648.82 contract and $32,432.44 contingency for a total of $717,081.26. Staff recommends Council accept the bid and award the construction contract to Neill Grading & Construction Company Inc. for the construction of the Eastwood Sewer Project in the
amount of $684,648.82.
H. Approval of an Agreement for Wastewater Operations between the City of Claremont and the City of Hickory. - Staff requests City Council’s approval of an agreement for wastewater operations between the City of Claremont and the City of Hickory. The proposed agreement details the City of Hickory continuing to provide all services that we currently provide the City of Claremont for operation of their two wastewater treatment facilities, operation and maintenance of five collection system lift stations, operator in responsible charge of the distribution system, and back-up operator in responsible charge services in the collection system. The base fee for this agreement is proposed to be $370,000 per year for operations of the wastewater treatment facilities and lift stations; $13,500 per year for back-up operator in responsible charge of the collection system, and $30,600 per year for operator in responsible charge of the distribution system. These fees will be subject to fee adjustments in the future as approved by the City Council of the City of Hickory for all other public utilities rates and fees. This agreement will be in effect until June 30, 2017.
I. Approve the Transfer of a Cemetery Deed from Nancy L. Isenhour, and husband Larry Isenhour, and Barbara L. Huggins, unmarried to Nancy L. Isenhour,
J. Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 24.
1. To transfer $3,000 from General Fund Contingency to the Professional Services Elections line item. This transfer is necessary to pay the Board of Elections for early voting in the run-off election.
2. To transfer $123,081 of GF-Appropriated-Fund Balance to the Stormwater Capital Improvements line item. This transfer is needed to pay Fenton Rigging & Contracting, Inc. $123,081 for Change Order #1 which includes additional
cleaning of the storm drain and to fully line the pipe under 7th St. SE.
3. To transfer $13,860 of unused funds from the Downtown Canopy project to the Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
4. To transfer $9,683 of unused funds from the Radio System Upgrade project to the General Capital Project Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
5. To transfer $1,008,537 of unused funds from the Northeast Plant Renovation project to the Water and Sewer General Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
6. To budget a total of $49,354 of State ($12,338) and Federal ($37,016) revenue in the Water and Sewer Fund Storm Damage Repair line items. These funds are budgeted for miscellaneous FEMA storm damage related to the August storm and flooding event.
K. Capital Project Ordinance Amendment Number 1.
1. To accept a $1,008,537 transfer of unused funds from the Northeast Plant Renovation project to the Water and Sewer General Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the
project.
2. To accept a $9,683 transfer of unused funds from the Radio System Upgrade project to the General Capital Project Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
3. To accept a $13,860 transfer of unused funds from the Downtown Canopy project to the Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
L. Capital Project Ordinance Number 4.
1. To budget a total of $54,307 of State ($13,577) and Federal ($40,730) in the Water and Sewer Capital Construction line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages to the Rock Quarry Sewer Outfall as a result from the August storm and flooding event.
M. Capital Project Ordinance Number 5.
1. To budget a total of $400,000 of State ($100,000) and Federal ($300,000) in the Transportation Storm Damage Repair line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages resulting from the August storm and flooding event.
N. Capital Project Ordinance Number 6.
1. To budget a total of $195,363 of State ($48,841) and Federal ($146,522) in the General Capital Construction Project line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages to the Pinecrest Drive Culvert resulting from the August storm and
flooding event.
O. Capital Project Ordinance Number 7.
1. To budget a total of $1,500,000 of State ($375,000) and Federal ($1,125,000) revenue in the General Capital Construction, Design and Miscellaneous Windridge Bridge Project line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages to the Windridge Bridge Replacement as a result of the August storm and flooding event.
Informational Item
A. Report of Mayor Wright’s travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, North Carolina League of Municipalities Board Meeting, May 14, 2014 (Mileage Reimbursement $196.64, Meal Per Diem $10.25)
New Business - Public Hearings
1. 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. - The Hickory Youth Council is a group of 25 High School students that provide input to City Council, Staff, and other Boards and Commissions on youth issues. Members learn about City government and perform community service projects. Every year the Council receives far more applications than there are open positions on the Youth Council. The Youth Council reviewed the proposed ordinance revisions at their April 14th meeting and recommended approval of five additional Youth Council members. Staff recommends that City Council approve the amendment to the ordinance to expand the Youth Council membership from 25 to 30 members. This public hearing was advertised on May 9, 2014 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area.
2. Voluntary Contiguous Annexation of 1515 Cloninger Mill Road NE, Hickory. - Mr. Bobby Hedrick, and wife Patsy Hedrick, have submitted a petition for the voluntary contiguous annexation of .3963 acres of property. The petitioners are requesting annexation in order to connect to the City of Hickory’s sanitary sewer system. The property currently serves as the Hedrick’s primary residence.This public hearing was advertised on May 9, 2014 in a newspaper having
general circulation in the Hickory area.
New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Call for Public Hearing on the City Manager’s FY2014-2015 Recommended Annual Budget. (Authorize Public Hearing for June 3, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers of the Julian G. Whitener Municipal Building. The 2014-2015 Recommended Annual Budget has been distributed to City Council as required by law and is available for review in the Office of the City Clerk, Patrick Beaver Memorial Library and Ridgeview Library.
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 20, 2014----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hound's Notes:
*** The issue is the proposed property tax increase coming on Tuesday night that will be part of the City manager's proposed budget.
Here are a some thoughts and questions on the proposed property tax increase as it relates to Hickory Inc.'s Inspiring Spaces Initiative.
Think back to last year, when Mayor Wright was pushing the Prepared Food Tax as the be all end all and all that was needed to fund the Inspiring Spaces projects. Now we know that it wouldn't have covered what they have talked about over the subsequent half a year, since the local municipal election occurred.
Now knowing that the Prepared Food Tax wasn't enough, they were willing to compound the mistake. We would have had this food tax and it wouldn't be covering the cost of Inspiring spaces, so they had every intention of raising your property taxes for Inspiring Spaces all along. What happened to the investments that were supposed to come from the Federal government? the State government? or through the Private sector?... none of that has been talked about recently.
Remember the Farmer's Market project that turned into the Sails project. It started out at $285,000 and within months became a $420,000 project and Hickory Inc. will admit that it is right at a half-million dollar project and we know that more monies have been spent on the structure to maintain and add to it. What if they underestimate the cost of this proposed project. This isn't a small structure like "The Sail's". This is a $40 million bond with ambiguous projects attached. There are still no specifics. We've been down this path before folks.
What if raising these taxes doesn't generate enough money for what is proposed? Hickory Inc. says oops and scales back and does the Linear Park/Sidewalk and whatever they want and you have no choice about it. There are no second chances. It, in essence, becomes the largest slush fund in this city's history; creating, according to the City Manager's numbers above, about $3.6 million per year for Hickory Inc. to spend as they see fit.
Hickory Inc. intends to pass this budget and then they will be holding meetings called "Citizen Briefings" to push the bond referendum. The "Briefing" that is online is long on vagueness and short on specifics. People don't need a pep talk to tell them why this park is a good thing. They need specifics. Tell the people what the projects will cost and what they will have to sacrifice to invest in these projects. They need to understand the trade offs. City Manager Berry and Assistant City Manager Surratt are supposed to be managers not sales people. Elected officials can do that, but that isn't the job of bureaucrats to sell projects. Think about what happened the last time a project was committed to that wasn't fully vetted?
And Guess what? If future economic development does take place, any new businesses looking to come here are going to want additional incentives, like two recent projects where those companies will pay no property tax on their buildings for the next 7 years. So the revenue pie isn't growing, but the outlay/expense pie continues to grow. Companies will expect some form of incentives, which will increase the burden on residents through their property and the taxes they pay on it.
No one is saying that they are against City investments. People are saying that they need specifics, because at the end of the day, the people are the government and the people know what is best for them. The people of Hickory have asked for certain things and have been constantly told NO! Hickory Inc. decides they want something and they grease the skids and manipulate situations. The government is supposed to be the servant of the people and it certainly seems like the view is warped around here.
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Invocation
Special Presentations
A. Business Well Crafted Award to Mark Romeo, Cox Manufacturing
Persons Requesting to Be Heard
A. Dan Green, In House Counsel for Meridian Senior Living, Information Regarding a Golf Tournament for National Alzheimer’s Awareness
Consent Agenda:
A. Special Events/Activities Application for St. Stephens High School Jazz Band, Casey Oakes, Director, St. Stephens High School, May 27, 2014, 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sails on the Square.
B. Special Events/Activities Application for Schmoozapalooza Under the Sails at Tastin’, Tunes & Tomatoes, Lindsay M. Keisler, Senior Vice President, Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, June 12, 2014, 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Union Square.
C. Call for a Public Hearing – Voluntary Satellite Annexation of 1218 Bugle Lane. (Authorize Public Hearing for June 3, 2014)
D. Call for Public Hearing - For the Consideration of a Street Closing Petition for portions of the former Hickory North Crosstown Loop and 13th Street NE, Hickory. (Authorize Public Hearing for June 17, 2014)
E. Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs. - The following request was considered by the Citizens’ Advisory Committee at their regular meeting on May 1, 2014:
Kathy Jeannette Kendrick Higgs was approved for recommendation to City Council for first-time homebuyer’s assistance to purchase a house located at 170 12th Street Court SE, Hickory. She had requested $5,000 for assistance with down payment and closing costs. The First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Loan is zero interest, no payments and repaid upon sale, refinance or payoff of first mortgage. Funds are budgeted for these items through the City of Hickory’s former Rental Rehabilitation Program income received in FY 2012 and/or program income received through the City of Hickory’s Community Development Block Grant Program.
F. Approval to Apply for the 2014 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) in the amount of $23,359. - Hickory Police Department requests permission to apply for the 2014 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) in the amount of $23,359. The JAG Program is a formula-based grant through the Office of Justice Programs/Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) that utilizes Uniform Crime Reporting statistics of all law enforcement agencies to determine eligibility for direct federal grant awards. There is no match required.
G. Acceptance of Bid and Award of Construction Contract with Neill Grading & Construction Company Inc., for the Construction of Eastwood Sewer Project. - The Eastwood Sewer Project includes construction of approximately 8,600 linear feet of 8 inch PVC or ductile iron sanitary sewer lines. Eastwood Subdivision is within the existing City of Hickory ETJ, and the City of Hickory does have existing sanitary sewer lines available for connection by the proposed subdivision sanitary sewer lines. Construction of the proposed systems in accordance with City of Hickory specifications will result in negligible increase in maintenance costs for the overall system and will provide for further protection of water quality in the area by potentially eliminating failing on-site septic systems. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources – State Revolving Fund awarded the City of Hickory a grant to fund construction of this project along with two others previously. Public Utilities requests the project be established with $684,648.82 contract and $32,432.44 contingency for a total of $717,081.26. Staff recommends Council accept the bid and award the construction contract to Neill Grading & Construction Company Inc. for the construction of the Eastwood Sewer Project in the
amount of $684,648.82.
H. Approval of an Agreement for Wastewater Operations between the City of Claremont and the City of Hickory. - Staff requests City Council’s approval of an agreement for wastewater operations between the City of Claremont and the City of Hickory. The proposed agreement details the City of Hickory continuing to provide all services that we currently provide the City of Claremont for operation of their two wastewater treatment facilities, operation and maintenance of five collection system lift stations, operator in responsible charge of the distribution system, and back-up operator in responsible charge services in the collection system. The base fee for this agreement is proposed to be $370,000 per year for operations of the wastewater treatment facilities and lift stations; $13,500 per year for back-up operator in responsible charge of the collection system, and $30,600 per year for operator in responsible charge of the distribution system. These fees will be subject to fee adjustments in the future as approved by the City Council of the City of Hickory for all other public utilities rates and fees. This agreement will be in effect until June 30, 2017.
I. Approve the Transfer of a Cemetery Deed from Nancy L. Isenhour, and husband Larry Isenhour, and Barbara L. Huggins, unmarried to Nancy L. Isenhour,
J. Budget Ordinance Amendment Number 24.
1. To transfer $3,000 from General Fund Contingency to the Professional Services Elections line item. This transfer is necessary to pay the Board of Elections for early voting in the run-off election.
2. To transfer $123,081 of GF-Appropriated-Fund Balance to the Stormwater Capital Improvements line item. This transfer is needed to pay Fenton Rigging & Contracting, Inc. $123,081 for Change Order #1 which includes additional
cleaning of the storm drain and to fully line the pipe under 7th St. SE.
3. To transfer $13,860 of unused funds from the Downtown Canopy project to the Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
4. To transfer $9,683 of unused funds from the Radio System Upgrade project to the General Capital Project Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
5. To transfer $1,008,537 of unused funds from the Northeast Plant Renovation project to the Water and Sewer General Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
6. To budget a total of $49,354 of State ($12,338) and Federal ($37,016) revenue in the Water and Sewer Fund Storm Damage Repair line items. These funds are budgeted for miscellaneous FEMA storm damage related to the August storm and flooding event.
K. Capital Project Ordinance Amendment Number 1.
1. To accept a $1,008,537 transfer of unused funds from the Northeast Plant Renovation project to the Water and Sewer General Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the
project.
2. To accept a $9,683 transfer of unused funds from the Radio System Upgrade project to the General Capital Project Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
3. To accept a $13,860 transfer of unused funds from the Downtown Canopy project to the Capital Reserve Fund. The final transfer of remaining funds back to the original funding source will close the project.
L. Capital Project Ordinance Number 4.
1. To budget a total of $54,307 of State ($13,577) and Federal ($40,730) in the Water and Sewer Capital Construction line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages to the Rock Quarry Sewer Outfall as a result from the August storm and flooding event.
M. Capital Project Ordinance Number 5.
1. To budget a total of $400,000 of State ($100,000) and Federal ($300,000) in the Transportation Storm Damage Repair line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages resulting from the August storm and flooding event.
N. Capital Project Ordinance Number 6.
1. To budget a total of $195,363 of State ($48,841) and Federal ($146,522) in the General Capital Construction Project line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages to the Pinecrest Drive Culvert resulting from the August storm and
flooding event.
O. Capital Project Ordinance Number 7.
1. To budget a total of $1,500,000 of State ($375,000) and Federal ($1,125,000) revenue in the General Capital Construction, Design and Miscellaneous Windridge Bridge Project line item. These FEMA funds are budgeted for damages to the Windridge Bridge Replacement as a result of the August storm and flooding event.
Informational Item
A. Report of Mayor Wright’s travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, North Carolina League of Municipalities Board Meeting, May 14, 2014 (Mileage Reimbursement $196.64, Meal Per Diem $10.25)
New Business - Public Hearings
1. 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. - The Hickory Youth Council is a group of 25 High School students that provide input to City Council, Staff, and other Boards and Commissions on youth issues. Members learn about City government and perform community service projects. Every year the Council receives far more applications than there are open positions on the Youth Council. The Youth Council reviewed the proposed ordinance revisions at their April 14th meeting and recommended approval of five additional Youth Council members. Staff recommends that City Council approve the amendment to the ordinance to expand the Youth Council membership from 25 to 30 members. This public hearing was advertised on May 9, 2014 in a newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area.
2. Voluntary Contiguous Annexation of 1515 Cloninger Mill Road NE, Hickory. - Mr. Bobby Hedrick, and wife Patsy Hedrick, have submitted a petition for the voluntary contiguous annexation of .3963 acres of property. The petitioners are requesting annexation in order to connect to the City of Hickory’s sanitary sewer system. The property currently serves as the Hedrick’s primary residence.This public hearing was advertised on May 9, 2014 in a newspaper having
general circulation in the Hickory area.
New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Call for Public Hearing on the City Manager’s FY2014-2015 Recommended Annual Budget. (Authorize Public Hearing for June 3, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers of the Julian G. Whitener Municipal Building. The 2014-2015 Recommended Annual Budget has been distributed to City Council as required by law and is available for review in the Office of the City Clerk, Patrick Beaver Memorial Library and Ridgeview Library.
Friday, May 16, 2014
The proposed property tax increase coming on Tuesday night
Insider Sources are telling us that the Bond Referendum being promoted by Hickory Inc. and the "Inspiring Spaces" folks is irrelevant. The Referendum is a vote on validation for Hickory Inc. to spend the money that they will already be accruing through the tax increase that they will have already approved on June 3rd. The wheels will have been set in motion and they are going to start spending millions of dollars on their "Linear Park"/Downtown Sidewalk whether that is what most Hickory citizens want or not.
The necessity to put this in the upcoming Fiscal 2014-15 Hickory City Budget is that, for one thing, Hickory Inc. needs money to help with the increased costs of operations, changing revenue streams, and problems with roads falling into disrepair that are Hickory Inc.'s responsibility. Hickory Inc. can't afford to come back next year and say, 'we need another tax increase for the "Linear Park".' This was also set up to happen this year, because it is a non-election year for the Mayor and City Council.
Remember that former City Council member Sally Fox wanted to raise property taxes last year, but Mayor Wright and Council Members Patton and Guess said no, claiming it was because there was no plan. The reality was that they didn't want to have to face the voters after having voted to raise taxes for this year. In reality, the plans are no more defined this year than they were last year.
The tax rate proposed by City Manager Berry is said to be at least 10¢ per $100 taking the tax rate from 50¢ to at least 60¢ per $100. A 10¢ increase in the tax rate is a 20% increase in your Hickory Inc. property tax bill. The median income house was defined as $151,000 in Hickory last year. A resident in Hickory based upon the median will see their tax rate in Hickory rise to $906 per year versus the current $755 -- a $151 increase. Add in Catawba County property taxes of 53¢ per $100 ($800.30 for the median) and that means that the total tax bill for the median house in Hickory will rise to $1,706.30.
The current median household income for Hickory is $37,364. Real median household income peaked in 2006 at $44,656 and is now $7,292 (16.33%) lower. That means the average family is earning $718.54 per week, so the average family is devoting nearly 2 1/2 weeks of their income to property taxes. The only reason I bring this up is to stress that this is a significant tax and decision.
Once the rate is raised, then the revenue stream will have been established. We have seen this happen before. With the Stormwater runoff program, Hickory Inc. decided what it wanted to do and then put together a committee to attempt to get validation. When the committee came back against Hickory Inc.'s recommendation, the fund/monies had already been designated and set aside and Hickory Inc. moved forward with the program anyway.
Hickory Inc. is trying to separate the issues and get the public to focus on the referendum, while having already established the "Inspiring Spaces" program monies in the General Fund. When the Bond Referendum fails, then they will tell you that people didn't vote down the Bond Referendum, because they are against the Inspiring Spaces projects, they voted it down, because they are against going into debt to fund the projects. Hickory Inc. just needs to focus and scale back "on what the people want." And that will be their "Linear Park/Sidewalk."
On Tuesday night we will see City Manager Berry propose his budget for the upcoming year and then the Council will come back two weeks later and vote upon the budget. If the Citizens of Hickory don't want to see this go through as proposed, then they don't have much time to act. November 4th is not the important date on the calendar. The important date on the calendar is June 3rd. If this tax rate is allowed to pass as proposed, then there will be no turning back. That will be your tax rate from here on out.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Breaking News...
Why the upcoming Hickory bond referendum is
completely irrelevant. Hickory Inc. Insiders deliver information and expose the
smoke and mirrors of the upcoming Annual Hickory City proposed budget...
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
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