BC 1995 04 24 - Laserfiche WebLink

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393 The Board of Commissioners for the County of Cabarrus met in recessed session at the Agriculture Center in Concord, North Carolina on Monday, April 24, 1995, at 7:30 A.M. for a Legislative Briefing. Present - Chairman: Jeffrey L. Barnhart Vice-Chairman: Arne L. Fennel Commissioners: Sue B. Casper Dr. Franklin C. Niblock, Jr. Kenneth Olio-Mills Also present were Mr. John V. Witherspoon, County Manager; Mr. J~bn ~' ayD~, Budget Officer/Area Manager; and Mrs. Frankie F. Bonds, Clerk to the Board. The four members of the local legislative delegation were present; namely, Senator Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr., and Representatives Robert C. Hayes, Timothy Tallent, and Bobby Harold Barbee, Sr. Other persons attending the Legislative Briefing included the following: Mayor George Liles, City of Concord; Mayor Richard Anderson, City of Kannapolis; Mr. Gene McCombs, Kannapolis City Manager; Mr. C. D. Lyons, Concord Parks and Recreation Director; Mr. Thomas Dayvault, President of the Kannapolis Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Mickey Hicks, Chairman of the Kannapolis Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Mr. Lewis Williams, Member of the Cabarrus County Board of Education; Mr. Gene Jordan, County Schools Finance Director; Dr. Ed Tyson, Kannapolis Schools Superintendent; Mr. Kenneth Propst, Chairman of the Concord- Cabarrus County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Mr. Tom Ramseur, President of the Concord-Cabarrus County Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Alvin Stanford, Cooperative Extension Chairman; Mr. Allan Boger from The Daily Independent, Mr. Mark Plemmons from The Concord Tribune, and Ms. Gail Smith from Cabarrus Neighbors. Chairman Barnhart called the meeting to order and gave the invocation. Senator Hartsell and Representatives Hayes, Tallent and Barbee gave abrief update on the work of the legislature during this session. The two major issues this year have included tax cuts and welfare reform. The members of the delegation then responded to questions and concerns from those present. The primary topic of discussion concerned the request for local legislation to allow Cabarrus County to enact an additional local option one cent sales tax subject to the vote of the people. Local officials addressed the crisis situation which now exists in meeting the school facilities needs created by the rapid growth in Cabarrus County. The additional sales tax would help provide school construction funds to meet these needs. Those present spoke in support of the sales tax legislation and requested the members of the local legislative delegation to assist in securing its approval by the General Assembly. Senator Hartsell stated that he had introduced the local legislation; however, he expressed concern about its passage. Representative Hayes reported that the current mood in Raleigh is not to increase taxes and indicated there are not enough votes in the House to pass the sales tax legislation at this time. He suggested that the County consider a bond issue to address school needs. Representative Tallent expressed his willingness to handle the local legislation in the House if it reaches that point. Other issues introduced and briefly discussed included the following: Mayor Liles - Repeal of the intangibles tax and reimbursement to the local units of government; Annexation laws Commissioner Fennel Human Services/Welfare Reform Representative Tallent - Visits by economic developers from Raleigh to the County (will work with the Chambers in coordinating these visits) Representative Barbee - Road Improvement Funding; Watershed Regulations Mr. Lyons - Funding for the development of parks from the Heritage Trust Fund Chairman Barnhart - Restructuring of the Department of Public Instruction; Method of funding public schools