City Council Work Session – PWC Study

Fayetteville City Council
Work Session
August 5, 2013

Present: Full Council & PWC Commissioners

Other 2013 Candidates in Attendance: Nat Robertson (mayor), Kirk deViere (mayor), Jerry Reinoehl (district 1)

What Happened: DavenportLawrence (DL) is a consultant firm in Aberdeen, NC hired by the City of Fayetteville to examine the business relationship between the Public Works Commission and the City.  The cost to hire the firm was $100,000.  The consultants were commissioned to analyze information including the PWC charter and make recommendations on possible consolidation of services.  At this initial stage, the information disseminated was for discussion purposes only. Of the various items discussed, the Fort Bragg water agreement with PWC was the most concerning to Council.

Below are some of the recommendations from DL.  Please visit the city website to view the 51 page document in its entirety www.cityoffayetteville.org

Recommended Changes (from city memo):

  • The Commission (PWC) should transfer all legal services to the City’s internal Legal Division, as well as the associated legal support funding allocated in the FY14 budget
  • The City should fulfill its responsibilities as “Parent Municipal Corporation” of Fayetteville PWC as detailed in the City Charter, including Treasury functions
  • The City should lead all communications involving Fayetteville PWC and the process by which communication is managed and delivered
  • The City should amend its 2006 Fort Bragg water agreement with the Commission to revise the interest rate, apply historical pre-payments to the balance and modify the agreement to allow a pre-payment of balance

Consultants’ Observations:

  • Fayetteville PWC operates effectively and efficiently in the delivery of electric, water and sewer services with competitive rates to other regional utilities
  • Fayetteville PWC autonomy (operational independence) has expanded beyond what we believe to be was originally granted (or intended) by Charter and what is typical for a municipal utility
  • PWC has created an internal control culture and “private company” philosophy that reduces public transparency and support to the City as a Commission of the City

Power Point Talking Points:

  • PWC is tightly controlled and limited transparency
  • PWC has broad financial flexibility
  • Provisions of the Charter – PWC has to come to the City and this has NOT been happening for a long time
  • Anything over $10,000…the City Council must approve
  • There is ineffective coordination with capitol planning
  • There is separate strategic planning goals
  • Budget process is often conciliatory
  • Communication between the City and PWC is extraordinarily limited
  • The City of Fayetteville was not a party to the Fort Bragg water agreement modification of 2008, the missing party is the City of Fayetteville

What Was Said:

Andy Honeycutt (DL Consultant) – “We have collected six months of information.  We are not looking at people but organizations.”

regarding the Fort Bragg water agreement  (PWC Commissioner) – “I don’t know how we could have done that without them.”

Karen McDonald (City Attorney) – “I was involved in the original agreement in 2006 but was not aware of 2008.”

Councilwoman Applewhite – “Do you (city manager) drill down in the PWC’s budget?”

Ted Voorhees – “I haven’t looked at their budget.”

regarding Phase V annexation (DL consultant) – “.3 cent of the city’s property tax rate is not a typical arrangement…in our city we used a city fund to pay for services.”

Next Steps:

Additional discussions and eventual adoption of a resolution

 

 

Weekly Recipe

“Bess” Truman’s Mac & Cheese”

Former First Lady Elizabeth “Bess” Wallace Truman use to make this recipe for President Truman and close friends while residing in the White House. Below is the actual hand written recipe from the First Lady.

Ingredients:

8 oz. macaroni
1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
1 egg
1/4 cup oleo (margarine)

Directions:

Cook macaroni – drain & cool
Place layer of macaroni in baking dish
Add layer of cheese and repeat layers
Combine milk & egg – pour over macaroni and cheese
Dot with butter

*This can be done the day before & refrigerated

 

Photo -- See Caption Below

TAX Reform Is Here – House Bill 998

Governor McCrory has signed HB 998.  This NEW tax legislation will have a dramatic impact on the citizens and business climate of North Carolina.  Below is a one page snapshot of the new changes.

To read the bill in its entirety please go to www.ncleg.net

Personal Income Tax:

Currently – 3 tiered rates of 6%, 7% and 7/75%
Now – flat rate of 5.8% in 2014, 5.75% in 2015

Increased standard deduction for all taxpayers
First 15,000 income – married filing jointly
First 12,000 income – heads of households
First 7,500 income – single filers

Personal exemptions and deductions – eliminated
Deductions for charitable contributions – unlimited
Child credit remains intact and increases slightly for families of $40,000 and less
Social Security will not be taxed by the state
Mortgage interest and property tax deductions – capped at $20,000 for all filers

Corporate Income Tax:

Currently – 6.9%
Now – 6% in 2014, 5% in 2015, 4% in 2016, 3% in 2017 – if the state meets goals
Now – $50,000 deduction on small business related income is eliminated

Sales Tax:

Sales tax holiday weekend (back to school tax free weekend) is eliminated in 2014
Energy Star appliance sales tax holiday is eliminated in 2014

Other Taxes:

State estate tax(death tax) is eliminated
Gas tax is capped @ 37.5 cent per gallon
No changes to the franchise tax…yet

New North Carolina Law! – Landlord & Tenants HB 802

What bill is now law?  North Carolina House Bill 802

Name of the bill?  “Laws related to landlord and tenant relationships to shorten the time period required to evict a tenant

What does this mean for me?  This legislation is aimed at decreasing the timeline for eviction of a tenant by reducing the number of days each process in a summary ejection proceeding and eviction proceeding….”Chet Oehme, Chairman of FRAR Property Management Committee”

What is the decreased timeline? Time changed from 10 days to 7 days

When does this bill take effect in North Carolina?  September 1, 2013

Bill wordage below:

In a small claim action for summary ejectment, the magistrate shall render judgemet on the same day on which the conclusion of all the evidence and submission of legal authorities occurs.  Unless the parties concur on an extensionof additional time for entering the judgment and except for more complex summary ejectment cases, in shich event the magistrate shall render judgment within five business days of the hearing.  Complex summary ejectment cases include cases brought for criminal activity, breaches other tha nonpayment of rent, or public housing tenants and cases with counterclaims.

Seven days after being placed in lawful possession by execution of a writ of possession, a landlord may dispose of personal property remaining on the premises in accordance with the provisions of this section and G.S. 42-36.2(b).

Where can I read the entire bill?  www.ncleg.net

FRAR NC Bill Tracker

FRAR NC Bill Tracker – The following proposed bills will have a direct impact on the Cumberland County area.  These bills are progressing through the General Assembly as of July 25, 2013. (Some information in this chart was obtained from the North Carolina Association of REALTORS® and the North Carolina General Assembly website)Continue reading “FRAR NC Bill Tracker”

Weekly Recipe – John F. Kennedy’s Fish Chowder

John F. Kennedy’s New England Fish Chowder

Jackie Kennedy said…”This is one of my husband’s favorite recipes with fish”

Ingredients:

2 pounds Haddock
2 ounces salt pork (diced)
2 onions (sliced)
4 potatoes (diced)
1 cup celery (chopped)
1 Bay leaf (crumbled)
1 quart milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  • Simmer haddock in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes, drain and reserve broth
  • Remove bones from fish
  • Saute diced pork until crisp, remove and set aside
  • Saute onions in pork fat until golden brown
  • Add fish, potatoes, celery, bay leaf, salt and pepper
  • Pour in fish broth plus enough boiling water to make 3 cups of liquid
  • Simmer for 30 minutes
  • Add milk and butter and simmer for 5 minutes
  • Serve chowder and sprinkle pork dices