{"id":7324,"date":"2011-06-06T18:02:38","date_gmt":"2011-06-06T22:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=7324"},"modified":"2012-10-05T14:07:13","modified_gmt":"2012-10-05T18:07:13","slug":"public-asks-wake-commission-not-to-cut-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/2011\/06\/06\/public-asks-wake-commission-not-to-cut-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Asks Wake Commission Not to Cut Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

CORRECTION APPENDED: Marilyn Grolitzer, not Marilyn Ross, spoke on behalf of the master gardener program.<\/em><\/p>\n

Some implored. Some stated facts and figures. All asked for more money.<\/p>\n

The Wake County Commission held a public hearing Monday for the proposed 2011-12 budget, which takes effect July 1.<\/p>\n

The recommended $951.5 million Fiscal Year 2012 budget is only $300,000 more the current year\u2019s spending plan. The proposal maintains the current property tax rate of 53.4 cents.<\/p>\n

View the budget and the budget presentation.<\/a><\/p>\n

Most of the people who spoke at Monday\u2019s public hearing requested fewer cuts to Health and Human Services programs. That portion of the budget was sliced by $14.4 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need your help,\u201d said a representative of the Boys & Girls Club. \u201cWe understand the fiscal constraints. But when that window opens up again we want to be the first standing in line.\u201d
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A member of CASA, which serves the housing needs of low-income residents, asked the commission to reconsider the cuts. Others who spoke from related agencies reiterated the point: these funds serve \u201cthose who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, the list of those who need it most has grown with the down economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story is the people who normally donate to us are coming to seek food,\u201d said Earline Middleton, vice president of agency services and programs for the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Each of the speakers acknowledged the \u201ctough decisions\u201d faced by commissioners during these economic times.<\/p>\n

County Manager David Cooke, who draws up a budget proposal each year, said yes, flat revenues are requiring tough decisions. The county is sticking to its main focus of public services, he said, and holding to plans for a new jail and a new mental health center.<\/p>\n

Two of Monday\u2019s speakers asked for more money for Wake County Public Schools. About 3,400 new students will join Wake schools this fall, making it the 18th<\/sup> largest system in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchools are really critical for the success of our county,\u201d said Karen Rindge of Wake Up Wake County.<\/p>\n

The county\u2019s education funding will increase this year by $900,000. Cooke pointed out that education has not received any cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to keep education the same … and the budget isn\u2019t getting any bigger, that means you\u2019ve got to cut other stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Commission Chair Paul Coble said commissioners must manage a lot of priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hard thing to deal with,\u201d he said. \u201cThe solution is a robust economy and growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioner Betty Lou Ward said with so many worthy causes to choose from \u201cyou just have to decide which is the worthiest.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the evening portion of the hearing, more than 30 people appeared on behalf of a Wake County agriculture agency position. According to the budget outline, both have been vacant for a year. The jobs have focused on Cooperative Extension\u2019s farmer\u2019s market and horticulture program.<\/p>\n

The program offers education, speakers and seminars for free to residents, schools and youth camps. A phone bank operates five days a week to handle questions and certifies the county\u2019s master gardeners. The program also teaches classes about gardening.<\/p>\n

Local farmer Bob Kellerman said more people are using that service than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t eat the seed corn,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t help but feel that by eliminating this position you are doing just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Program volunteers, who wore red shirts at the hearing, spent more than 10,000 hours of their time last year \u2014 the equivalent of five full-time employees, said Marilyn Grolitzer, who spoke on behalf of the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo agent, no program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. June 13 for a budget work session. They are scheduled to approve the budget June 20.<\/p>\n

In other business, the board approved new residential districts for the seven members. The map had not been redrawn since 1981. Since then, the county\u2019s population has doubled, and the new lines aim to even out the number of residents in each district.<\/p>\n

Because Wake County Commissioners are elected countywide, the change is not the same political hot potato handled by the Wake County Board of Education.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter,\u201d said County Attorney Scott Warren.<\/p>\n

Still, the change was not approved without its own bit of drama. Ward requested a line moved to include a particular neighborhood near U.S. 1. The change was not approved; she was the lone vote against the new districts.<\/p>\n

Ward argued she did not have enough input in the process, but Coble said everyone had plenty of time these past few weeks to suggest changes.<\/p>\n

The change also draws Commissioner Tony Gurley\u2019s residence out of his district, but does not negate his term as commissioner. One commissioner asked why Gurley\u2019s district was drawn out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I plan on being Lieutenant Governor,\u201d he joked, prompting laughter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some implored. Some stated facts and figures. All asked for more money. The Wake County Commission held a public hearing Monday for the proposed 2011-12 budget, which takes effect July 1. In other business, the board voted for new residency districts for the first time in 30 years. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24025,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[34,15],"tags":[77,196,272,224,273],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7324"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24025"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}