Area officials have compiled lists of issues they want legislators to address during the General Assembly’s long session this year, which began Jan. 14.
“My focus will remain on economic development and job creation,” said Jonathan Barfield, the newly elected chairman of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners. “Film incentives restored would help import jobs to our area.”
Barfield noted that the county commissioners, on Jan. 5, their first meeting in 2015, passed a resolution in favor of a strengthened incentives program for the film and television industry. That issue was among the county’s legislative agenda, along with restoration of the state’s historic preservation tax credits program, which lapsed at the end of 2014 and which Barfield called “a job-booster that spurs economic development.”
Other issues on the county’s legislative agenda are better funding for schools, school construction and teacher pay; additional state funding for shoreline stabilization; and laws and funding mechanisms to encourage job creation and retention.
Film incentives and historic preservation tax credits also are top of mind for Wilmington mayor Bill Saffo. If the state elects to stay with a film grant program, he wonders if it can be improved.
“Hopefully we can have some constructive dialogue with our state delegation; they all seem to be in support of the grant program,” he said. “But we’re starting to see families and people moving to Atlanta to find work.”
Regarding historic preservation tax credits, Saffo said, “I have heard the governor is in support [of restoring them]. They are very important to a city like Wilmington because of the number of historic structures we have. We don’t know the mindset of the state, but we hope they will restore the program. It creates a lot of jobs. We look at it as a job creator more than anything.”
Another issue Saffo – along with Leland mayor Brenda Bozeman – would like some action on is finding revenue sources to replace the business privilege-license tax legislators eliminated during the 2014 session.
“Wilmington is taking a $2.3 million hit that may possibly mean we have to cut services,” Saffo said. “The vast majority [of privilege-license tax revenues] paid for public services … we have to find a way to fill that gap, but we don’t know where the money will come from. The governor and others talk about finding another [revenue] source. I’m cautiously optimistic but not certain that this will happen.”
Bozeman shares many other concerns with Saffo she’d like to see the legislators address. Most have dollar signs attached. She cited limited funding for economic development-related matters such as transportation, incentives, education and water and sewer projects. Another concern is Leland’s lack of annexation authority, since the previous General Assembly denied municipalities the right to annex unincorporated areas involuntarily.
Money for local projects – or lack of it – is on the mind of David Williams, chairman of the Pender County Board of Commissioners. Williams said he was disappointed that funding for the Military Cutoff Extension/Hampstead Bypass project was not included in NCDOT’s most recent budget, and wants to see funding restored by the legislature during the new session.
Williams described the project’s exclusion from the budget as “a big punch in the gut.”
“We’ve been through all types of hurdles. We’re at the point with the environmental document that we could move forward,” he said. “There has even been money … spent in early buyouts for properties. The latest transportation funding formula doesn’t work for the 20 counties east of I-95.
“I hope and expect to see our legislature fighting for the bypass to be categorized as a statewide signficant project and for the governor to add it to his list,” he said, referring to Gov. Pat McCrory’s wish to raise $1 billion to fund transportation projects.
