June 29, 2008

This week we had one more work session on the budget and finally got it approved at the council meeting on the 26^th.

Monday’s only event for me was a very nice picnic for the town boards’ volunteers. Although the picnic was a huge success we had a few moments of concern as two small children were lost. But all ended well as volunteers and police located them in a short time. The remainder of the picnic was a lot of fun. I shared the cooking duties with council member Erv Portman. We cranked out a bazillion burgers with some cooked a little longer than I would have preferred. But we heard no complaints and everyone had a good time. I really enjoyed seeing all the volunteers and think it is fantastic that Cary has so many citizens that care enough to take time out of their lives to serve the town. They are one of the reasons Cary is such a great place to live.

Tuesday started early for the council with a 7 AM work session on the budget. This was the last of six work sessions on the budget. At the end of the fifth work session we set the tax rate to the revenue neutral rate of 33 cents. That left us with no debt capacity for three years, little operating margin, and a list of unscheduled road projects. So staff presented information at this work session that would allow the funding of key capital projects of Cary Elementary and Downtown Streetscape and give us a cushion of $7 million a year. In addition, we would still have enough to repave several sections of Cary Parkway. This still left the town with very little flexibility to start new capital projects for the next few years.

I believe this proposal, which was a good compromise, just postpones a tax increase for the next council. Why? Because we have approved $232 million in street and parks bonds the last ten years that were supposed to be paid for in part by additional taxes. Instead, we used debt. Now the debt capacity is all used which puts the town in a very tight position. Although the staff proposal was not ideal it was a good compromise of the council’s wishes and was agreed upon by the majority to present as the budget at the council meeting on Thursday.

Wednesday started with a brief meeting with staff to discuss items on the agenda for Thursday. Later in the afternoon I was part of the July taping of Cary Matters. My co-host this month was Mayor Pro-Tem Robison and our big topic was putting the town’s public notices on the web. The last event for Wednesday was a casual dinner interview. 

Thursday’s first meeting was with a gentleman interested in kiosks on I-40. We discussed his idea and it was based on the perception that visitors have a hard time finding their way around in Cary. I suggested that this would be a great item for a Citizens Issue Advisory Group and he agreed. It will be interesting to see what comes of this idea.

Thursday was also the 10^th anniversary of Cary TV. Interestingly, I pushed televising meetings as the first chairman of the Information Services Advisory Board 10 years ago. I am very proud of Cary TV and I, along with the town clerk, presented cupcakes to the staff in the control room before the council meeting broadcast.

The council meeting had three notable issues. We did approve the budget by a 6-1 margin which was amazing considering the difference of opinions on council. We also appointed members to the Environmental Advisory Board. The liaison Mayor Pro-Tem Robison spent several hours on the selection process and it was approved unanimously by council. The potential controversy was if one of my recommendations would have been part of her suggested list. Two council members believed one of my recommendations was based on campaign contributions and did not trust my sincerity which is totally false. I recommended this individual solely on his qualifications. The last notable issue was the beginning of a process to involuntarily annex several parcels into town. I was the only council member to vote against this motion.

Saturday I began my first vacation of the year at Hilton Head. Unfortunately, I could not post my blog from a remote computer due to security reasons and that is the reason for this late post.  

That’s about all I have to report for this week. So I’ll close for now and hopefully post again by Sunday, July 6th.