Cabarrus Cheap Seats

25 responses so far ↓

• 1 Holly Blackwelder // Apr 27, 2008 at 9:56 pm

  Just for clarification of information and for those who evidently are unfamiliar with my history and background:
  _ Licensed General Contractor 1999- owner of Blackwelder & Associates, Inc. a small custom home builder that believes in and encourages quality construction and standards for homes built to be sustainable and preserve our natural enviroment.
  _Member of the Cabarrus County Building Industry Association 2000 to present.
  _ President of the CCBIA 2003 thru July 2004.
  _ As president of the CCBIA, the association worked with the county and city on the structuring of implemented zoning ordinances, standards and build out (phasing) they are using today that has started a process of management with the growth of our county.
  _ Chair of the finance committee (appointed by the commissioners) 2003 thru 2004 that looked at school construction and financing options.
  _ Cabarrus County Board of Education 2004 to present, chair from December 2007 to present. In addition to working with the educational process of our children, have worked to implement construction standards for the school system that have never been in place prior to my serving on the board. Saving the taxpayers over 4 million dollars on our new Cox Mill High School project this year alone.
  _I am not the candidate that is a realtor (that would be Liz Poole) or a member of the Realtor Association (that would be Joy Lane).
  _ I do not support a land transfer tax, the Board of Education is the largest purchaser of land in the county and this would add hundreds of thousands of dollars to our purchase prices and we are not exempt from the state.
  _ “Pennies for Progress” has been an extremely positive program for York, S.C. We are the #1 county for tourism in the state, we should be tapping the revenue source of people coming here and using our services, our roads and our resources, not just the tax payers of this county.
  _ It is because of my knowledge, background and the experience I have of the county process that I feel I am more qualified for this position.
  _ I am supported by associations, individuals and businesses and they all support me because they know I stand for what I believe is right for this community and I have my track record of work for proof.
  I must ask:
  Bob Carruth, who has been at the table over the years since you have served as commissioner reccommending ideas and working on solutions with the county regarding growth issues and the problems we have with development?

• 2 Bob Carruth // Apr 27, 2008 at 11:35 pm

  I think we have to be careful not to “throw the baby out with the bath water”. I have had some very big issues in regards to REBIC, as I have felt that they have narrowly defended the building community to the point of being against many of the things we have tried to do to effectively manage growth.

  That being said, let me point out something - having worked with Holly, she is very forthcoming that she is a builder, but has proven that she can get involved and address the growth issues in our community, even if it puts her at odds with others in her industry. By the fact that her and her husband are local, and concentrate on higher end, custom built homes, puts her in a different league than a lot of the national folks that invaded Cabarrus County a few years back. She has also played a very active role in helping our community to address growth issues, and has found herself at odds sometimes with her local and state association. I don’t see a problem with her particular endorsement, as I think she will put the community’s needs first if she is elected.

• 3 Rev. Mike // Apr 27, 2008 at 11:56 pm

  Bob and Holly, I live in Mecklenburg, so neither of you owe me the time of day. Nonetheless, for my own edification, for years I’ve been told that growth ought to pay for itself. I’m beginning to think, eh, not so much. It seems to me that if all that came with the growth were the people who were buying property and thus paying taxes, perhaps that might be the case. However, when a community reaches a certain point in its growth, it seems that the cost of services provided to those who do not pay property taxes might outstrip the ability of growth to keep up.

  What say you–should growth pay for itself?

• 4 Bob Carruth // Apr 28, 2008 at 7:33 am

  Mike, that statement, when a couple of words are changed, comes out very different:

  1. “Residential growth will pay for itself” - this is not always true. The only way for this to occur is to drive out affordable housing, or continue to raise the tax rate to chase the cost of services to the residential community.

  2. “Should growth pay for itself?” - most definitely. Balanced growth between the residential and the non-residential tax base is what will make this happen. That’s why we need a strong and vibrant local business community in Cabarrus County.

• 5 Tony Hooker // Apr 28, 2008 at 8:23 am

  As an aside, It’s really nice to see a couple of the candidates here discussing things.

  I went to the Candidate forum/debate sponsored by the Republican Men a couple months back, but there’s only so much one can gain from that, unless you already know about the candidates beforehand.

  Local candidates have a lot less ability to attract media attention, especially during a presidential election year. Its nice that there is a spot like this where they can interact and distinguish their views from one another.

• 6 Justin Thibault // Apr 28, 2008 at 8:27 am

  Tony - Thanks. I’m really glad I didn’t shut this thing down after I’d achieved my objectives. [you can read about that here]

  The best thing you can do to help is invite your friends, keep posting material, and keep commenting. Also, give me honest feedback when things are not what they should be - that’ll help drive the development.

• 7 Justin Thibault // Apr 28, 2008 at 8:58 am

  Bob - You have to speak his language.

  Rev. Mike:

  Development Tax Generation Factor = (tax rate*property value[$])/(services used by development type[$])

  So, if a farm doesn’t use much in the way of county services (say, $100/acre/year); but the value, per acre is $20,000 and the rate is 0.7% - then the farm has a Tax Development Factor of ($140/$100) or 1.4. For example, I went to a certain power plant in a certain state in the Deep South where the county had the power plant (of the atom-smashing variety), tree farms, and not much else. The tax rate was a tenth what it is in this area.

  On the flip side, for residential development - most of the cost is tied up in education. So, if a 4-bedroom house has an average output of - say - 1.2 kids at say, $2000/kid/year, and the home value is $150,000, and the rate is 0.7% then that home has a Tax Development Factor of ($1,050/$2,400)=0.4375

  A balanced budget is one where the Tax Development Factor for the entire county is 1.0.

  So, revisiting our equation: Development Tax Generation Factor = (tax rate*property value[$])/(services used by development type[$]). As an government, you can - by fiat - directly affect “tax rate”. You can manage, but not eliminate “services used by development type[$]”. AND you can’t do too much about “property value” as it’s primarily influenced by the market.

  That makes Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties very different. Meck has a lot of high Tax Development Factor situations (downtown buildings, industrial areas in the I-77 area, etc.) - so you’ve seen some spending jackassary that has given y’all a higher tax rate. Cabarrus has had to work hard and develop their industry in the wake of Pillowtex (both when it existed as a Cannon Mills and other businesses were run out and when it shut down) and explosive residential growth.

  In conclusion, you were fighting the good fight in Meck and they need more people like you; but in Cabarrus you wouldn’t be “as right”; but you have the kind of mind that could have figured that out quickly.

  I covered our situation - in depth - in a series of posts I called “Appetite of Construction“

• 8 Steve Smith // Apr 28, 2008 at 10:50 am

  Holly

  If you are serious about your commitment to running for the County Commission then return the money and denounce the endorcement from REBIC!!!!! Same thing for Joy Lane. There is no room for Special Interest PAC money in the Cabarrus County Commissioners Election…

• 9 Liz Poole // Apr 28, 2008 at 10:59 am

  Holly,

  “Thanks” for the shout out. In the future, I’d prefer if you answer comments without including me. I can speak for myself but since you opened this line of comments I do have a few rebuttals.

  I didn’t answer the questionaire from the RECIB PAC because with very little research it seemed obvious to me who they would support. I have “loaned” my campaign $612 and I’ve received 6 donations from long-time friends none more than $200 (husband and wife) for a total of $650. Those same friends and my husband and myself are the ones putting out my yard art and we’ll be the ones picking it up on Tuesday night. I’ve bought yard signs and an ad on WEGO. You are welcome to post all your contributions and expenditures on cheapseats.

  I haven’t kept it a secret that I have a real estate license issued by the state of North Carolina. I haven’t practiced real estate for 21 years but I have kept my CE credits up to date. Having a license and keeping up to date on issues doesn’t mean that I have contributed to the growth of homes in Cabarrus County. I am not a REALTOR (properly in all caps), as you stated, which is a trade organization that some but not all persons with a real estate license may join.

  Somewhat similar is you keeping your CE credits for your CMA doesn’t mean that you are a nurse (but you could go back to managing a doctor’s office if you decided to get out of building houses.)

  I am friends with Joy Lane. Her dad worked for my dad many, many years ago. When I need CE credits I call Joy because I’d rather support a local company and Joy and her staff do a great job of providing the mandatory CE classes.

  As far as building schools. You were part of a team on the Cox Mill High School project so I don’t think that you can take all the credit. I believe that the architect had a lot to do with it along with the bid climate (some say we are in a recession and builders are needing the work so good competitive bidding resulted in lower prices even with rising costs) and I seem to remember that Cindy was the most outspoken about bidding it as a complete package without the alternates, that we have historically done, against the wishes of the Director of Construction and then Superintendent. Also, the school board has been building clone schools since before I was on the board and way before you were a member starting with Weddington Hills Elementary. We had one architect who updated the design and kept the standards. Then Coy and his majority set up a fake committee to review the building of schools and Coy stated publicly that the only way we would get any money for construction would be as long as we didn’t hire the architect who had been cloning all those schools (again this began more than 10 years ago before I was on the school board and years before you were a member.) The board had no choice but to go with another architect. A few years later, the commissioners again named another committee to look over the school board’s shoulder and you were placed on that committee. At that time, we had two architects that we were working with so there wasn’t continuity among the firms so no written standards since the architects own their plans and don’t communicate with other architects. Now, we are with yet a third architect who I believe has done an outstanding job. This firm has listened to the wishes of the entire board and staff. I am fine hiring them to keep the standards and build future schools. If the architect is keeping the standards then a turnover of board members won’t head us in a different direction. It is the architect, and not board members, who know the building codes for schools and who work with DPI and DOT and DOI and P & Z and every other entity that makes the rules we have to follow. (The Director of Construction should be making and keeping a file of design standards not a board member.) We now have the third committee looking over the school board’s construction plan — the Blue Ribbon Committee — and we’ve been waiting for their report so we can get on with addressing the needs of school construction. Some projects will be delayed as we wait for their report and some schools will need more mobile units. This is the third committee review in less than 10 years.

  Before I was chair, all board members had little input into school construction. I named liasions to all the construction projects so that a team of board members could make sure that we were headed in the right direction. Yes, you have had your share of input but I believe that you are shortchanging all the board members by taking sole credit, which you have been quick to do during this campaign. Yes, you have worked on construction issues but so have the other board members. Cindy, Wayne, Lynn, Andrea, Carolyn, Gary, Don, Grace, Chris and myself have all worked to build schools in Cabarrus County and be good stewards of the large amount of taxpayer money that has been and will continue to be spent in this area. Likewise, the county commissioners have worked hard to develop a plan to fund those needs so they deserve credit also.

  Is the process perfect? Of course not. Can any one person take credit for the work of many? Of course not.

  The issue posted on cheapseats was that a PAC has endorsed two candidates. Over the next week, I’m sure there will be more issues posted. Thankfully, it will all be over soon and we’ll pick up our yard art and unclutter the yards and streets of Cabarrus County until the fall. You run on your record of service and I’ll run on mine as will all the candidates and the voters will decide. You speak for Holly and I’ll speak for Liz in our future responses. Thanks.

• 10 Tony Hooker // Apr 29, 2008 at 7:45 am

  Justin, in terms of your equation:

  Development Tax Generation Factor = (tax rate*property value[$])/(services used by development type[$])

  If I’m reading that correctly, that assumes all property types will have an identical tax rate.

  Is there any statutory reason why different property types couldn’t be taxed at different rates? (The political questions involved in setting those rates would of course be far more complex.)

  But it does make sense to me that I as a residential homeowner would pay a higher tax rate than the guy who owns a farm behind my house. His tax bill may be larger, but the tax rate should probably be lower.

• 11 Justin Thibault // Apr 29, 2008 at 12:16 pm

  Tony - You can have a simple tax or you can have a fair one.

  I’ve never heard of one that’s both.

  For instance, to implement your solution - you’ll have define what a farm is. If I replace my yard with a HUGE garden - do I qualify or do you have something against small, organic farmers? If I run an eBay business out of my home - do I qualify or are you out to get small business people?

  Furthermore, there’s a built-in unfairness in any tax. I pay Social Security. I’ll be lucky to see a dime when I’m retirement age…whatever that will be set at when I’m old. However, it’s broad application makes life a little easier for the elderly, the permanently injured, and homes who’ve lost their breadwinner.

• 12 Steve Smith // Apr 29, 2008 at 2:35 pm

  Bob, Liz and Larry

  Thanks for disclosing your campaign finance activity. At lease I can feel better about three of the candidates for County Commission.

• 13 Liz Poole // Apr 29, 2008 at 4:13 pm

  As far as taxes go. No tax is a good tax at least if you are the one paying and the most efficient dollar saved is one never spent (second part Bob Orr — I think.)

  My brother-in-law in Texas pays a school tax based on the number of children he has in public school. Chapel Hill, Elkin City and others have specific school taxes in addition to the regular property tax. As you know, school boards don’t have taxing authority; NC is one of the few (3 0r 4) states that still receive funding from others. Hawaii receives all funding from their legislature, for example.

  I have not heard of a tax based on the type zoning for a property. Each property has a different impact on the community.

  Residential, obviously, impacts schools but large residential also impacts roads. Industrial/commerical impacts roads so should they pay based on the weight and number of trucks traveling to and from the location or the amount of pollution they produce? Would farms pay based on the number of waste lagoons or amount of fertilizer they use or some other common denominator? I agree with Justin about the question of what constitutes a small business or a farm, etc. The devil would be in the details and everyone can’t agree on a UDO so they sure couldn’t agree on a differenct tax structure based on usage/zoning. And who would monitor the process to make sure everyone is in compliance?

  Lastly, their is a heirarchy in NC that determines how most issues are handled. The legislature makes laws and pass along unfunded mandates to the county and the schools. The schools ask for an allowance from the counties that are balancing multiple unfunded mandates. And, all the wheels of the legislature are slow to turn based on our short and long session structure. Do you think that the legislature will even consider, much less pass, the “Bruton Smith 1/2 cent sales tax?”

  It would be interesting to investigate but it may be more of a cerebral endeavor than a practical matter. Good topic. Thanks.

• 14 Aaron // Apr 29, 2008 at 8:18 pm

  I absolutely think that the legistlature will allow the 1/2 cent sales tax to go through.

  Even though it’s not the same thing, the state generally loves to allow local governments to increase taxes for neato thingy’s. Just look at the choo choo train in Charlotte and the Nifty Nascar Museum we gave to the Billionaire Franz Family…

  In reality, they’ll also love the idea of taxing the local folk and forcing them to improve their own roads so they can keep the same cronyism and nepotistic system at the DOT that’s served the kleptocracy so well for so many years.

  Unless the candidates for State Legislature are openly opposed to forcing unfunded mandates on local government, I’d have a strong problem voting for them. These mandates are just a way for the politico to say they’ve improved things and kept taxes fixed

• 15 Bob Carruth // Apr 30, 2008 at 5:49 pm

  Liz, great points.

  I have had the pleasure for two of the last four years to serve as chair of our board of commissioners when Liz was chair of the school board. She and I were able to vent with each other several times during that period, and I have been very impressed with Liz’s level headed way of thinking, her professionalism, and calm demeanor. She also ran one heck of a good dog kennel! You may ask what running a dog kennel has to do with being a county commissioner, but if you can keep your cool around a hundred snarling dogs, then you can in front of an angry crowd at a commissioner’s meeting!

• 16 Justin Thibault // May 1, 2008 at 2:19 pm

  Bob - Of course she’s had to deal with a lot of crap…which is a necessary skill when you’re in politics (c’mon, people, wake up! - I held back on that one for something like 24 hours)

• 17 Steve Smith // May 1, 2008 at 4:39 pm

  Justin and Bob

  You have to deal with a lot of crap when you run a dog kennel too, besides dog is mans best friend. I don’t think an angry crowd at the Commissioner’s Meeting contains many friends when you are trying to raise taxes….

• 18 Bob Carruth // May 1, 2008 at 10:08 pm

  Although some of our favorite politicians in the past have:

  1. Fed us dog crap and called it ice cream;

  and,

  2. threw the crowd a bone every now and then to get them off his back…..

  I think I will go to bed now. In the words of that great American, F. Gump, That’s all I’m gonna talk about that!

• 19 Justin Thibault // May 1, 2008 at 11:30 pm

  All - Just for clarification - when I said “she had to deal with a lot of crap” - I was talking about her job at the kennel and that’s why I was amazed nobody brought it up.

  But, she did deal with a lot of it in the political realm, too. Liz was one of the ones fighting the good fight against the Public School opponents.

• 20 Aaron // May 2, 2008 at 1:57 pm

  Hey Justin, what are “public school opponents?”

• 21 Justin Thibault // May 2, 2008 at 3:48 pm

  Aaron -
  

  Hey Justin, what are “public school opponents?”

  Elected officials who ignore every student’s Constitutional Entitlement to a public education.

• 22 Aaron // May 2, 2008 at 8:19 pm

  Oh, that’s a good’un. Perhaps the previous majority who wanted a “pay as you go system.” Said system being where those in kindergarten had the cost put in an “account” to be paid for with the massive tax increases they’d levy on them when they got their first job out of college…

  I never thought of them as opponents but rather just morons.

• 23 Rev. Mike // May 3, 2008 at 9:38 am

  Now, Justin, there’s a whole spectrum of people out there trying to reform the public education system, some of whom believe the whole mess is completely broken, and that the only way to truly reform it is to raze it to the ground and start from scratch. The characterization above is too one-dimensional.

• 24 Justin Thibault // May 3, 2008 at 4:48 pm

  Mike -
  

  Now, Justin, there’s a whole spectrum of people out there trying to reform the public education system, some of whom believe the whole mess is completely broken, and that the only way to truly reform it is to raze it to the ground and start from scratch. The characterization above is too one-dimensional.

  And among those who want to “start from scratch”, there’s a spectrum. On one end, you have those who will earnestly make the case for reform and propose vouchers and other solutions while quoting real facts. And, on the other end, you have those who cynically deny the funding realities and run a campaign claiming that there is plenty of money for schools and then borrow hundreds of millions without going to the taxpayers and defer the tax increases. That’s what happened here in Cabarrus County a few years back [Read More Here].

  On Tony Hooker’s thread on School Choice, I noted my preference for a phased approach to reform and noted why.

• 25 Rev. Mike // May 3, 2008 at 5:48 pm

  I’ll need to go back and read that. I’ve probably been right where you are on that for most of the past 8 years. I’m beginning to wonder sometimes if we can actually accomplish reform without having the education establishment over the barrel. Even with what we’ve had go on in Mecklenburg over the past 10 years, there’s still no substantive change, no real improvement. Maybe I need to go back to the other thread because this may be heading this conversation off in a direction very different from where it has been. You know, rumor has it I even have a blog of my own!

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