Rascally rabbits

Does anyone know of a humane way to deal with an over-abundance of wild rabbits in one's urban back yard? An adult has been nibbling away at our garden for the last month, and my husband spotted three babies beside her on the lawn a couple of days ago. They are now attacking the colorful coleus plants I planted in the border beside my deck -- I returned home today to stripped stalks. Needless to say, those bunnies aren't so cute to me anymore.

We already spent $12 for a bottle of pepper spray two weeks ago that washed off in the first thunderstorm; it obviously did not deter the hungry bunnies and probably added a little spice to their life. I know that a pet dog roaming the yard would take care of the problem, but it wouldn't be fair to a dog that would get little or none of my attention due to my busy schedule. Help!!! Any tried and true solutions???

Cute dogs

My brother Lee and wife Lisa "adopted" two chocolate labrador puppies from my next-door neighbor back in April and took them back to Oak Island with them. Here's their first encounter with a fish they snatched from Lisa's hand when she was showing it to them -- Susie and Mocha have obviously developed a taste for sushi!

I'm back...for now

I returned home mid-afternoon today after five wonderful stress-relieving days at my brother's house on Oak Island. I did a lot of reading (magazines, not city budgets), took a long walk on the beach every day (only got a little "toasted" due to judicious use of sunscreen), paddled all over the place in the kayak (mental note to myself: stay off the Intracoastal Waterway on Memorial Day -- it's like trying to ride a bicycle on I-40), made a lot of progress on an afghan I'm knitting, and caught up on my sleep deficit. Once I got past all the calls from the media seeking comments on the Department of Justice's decision not to file civil rights violation charges against former police chief David Wray (I was surprised to hear my voice on WXII's report since I wasn't told our cell phone conversation was being recorded) and the release of the TRC report (sorry, I haven't seen it yet), it was a very relaxing time. The weather was beautiful except for some early-evening thunderstorms on Friday.

Things were even better when I walked into a clean home. My husband had picked up, vacuumed, run the dishwasher, kept the plants watered, etc. -- so all I had to deal with was the unpacking and dirty laundry I brought home with me. Thanks, hubby!

The rest of the week is light for me. My only official duties include the War Memorial Commission (coliseum) meeting on Thursday at noon and a 7:00pm community watch meeting that same evening for the Lamroc area in District 5.

Then I'm hitting the road again, this time to Fayetteville with the NC PTA Board of Managers for a planning and team-building retreat Friday-Sunday. I'll pay for all this "free time" next week when I have multiple official meetings and/or duties practically every day. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted!

Off to the beach

My blogging is likely to be spotty for the next 4-5 days while I enjoy the fun and sun on the NC coast. See you next week!

Good news for Greensboro bicycle riders

One of the briefing items on today's TAC (transportation committee) agenda was an update on the status of the bicycle-pedestrian study that is nearing completion. The TAC will be asked to adopt it in July or August. GDOT planner Tyler Meyer reported that bicycle lanes will be added over the next couple of years in the following Greensboro locations:

*Florida Street -- from Holden Road to Lee Street except for some sections where the street is too narrow and/or there is on-street parking allowed. The street will be marked with bike lanes where possible after the routine resurfacing of the roadway is completed.

* Spring Garden Street -- the section west of the UNCG campus. This too will be done when resurfacing is complete, estimated to be sometime this fall.

* Church Street -- from Wendover to Golden Gate Drive, bike lanes will be added when this section is widened. There will be no bike lanes between Golden Gate and Cone Boulevard due to the tightness of the street. Bike lanes will be marked from Cone Boulevard to Lees Chapel Road. NCDOT will add additional width to the paved roadway north of Lees Chapel Road up to and past the city lakes when they resurface this section that will help make it safer for biking.

GDOT Director Jim Westmoreland, an avid biker himself, noted how much progress has been made in accomodating bike riders and pedestrians. When he was on the staff of NCDOT early in his career, he said if he mentioned "bicycles" or "pedestrians," these words were absolutely alien to his collegues and they thought he was weird. My, how times have changed!

Weekly schedule

I realized I failed to post my official schedule for the week, but thankfully, there is not much on it so you didn't miss anything particularly important.

On Monday, May 22 I attended the ACC celebration luncheon hugfest at the Coliseum where everyone was all smiles at the recent good news. The projected economic impact to the community during the 2010-15 period when all the women's tournaments and four of the five men's tournaments is $130 million. Not bad at all!

Later that afternoon I had my regular monthly one-on-one meeting with City Manager Mitchell Johnson where we reviewed a wide range of topics, mostly pertaining to budget matters this month. These sessions are an excellent way for councilmembers and the manager to communicate on issues of special interest to each of us.

The regular monthly city council briefing session was held this morning, Tuesday, May 23. Our discussion items included the 2006-07 budget and the GTA/SCAT task force recommendations. Councilmembers Anderson-Groat and Phillips were absent because both were out of town. A majority of the seven of us informally agreed to hold off hiring additional police officers until next year. However, we are NOT NEGLECTING the police department -- that budget is still proposed to increase by $2.4 million dollars next year -- more than 1-cent on the tax rate -- to address pay equity issues and health benefits costs. Councilmember Mike Barber asked staff to come back with a "catastrophe budget" showing what programs/personnel would be cut if council absolutely demanded no tax increase this year, suggesting that they project a "rosier" (my choice of words) growth rate (thus increased revenue) and that reserves in various funds be spent down -- both extremely risky financial moves, in my opinion. Five of us -- all the females -- also informally agreed to the recommendations for the GTA/SCAT fare and policy changes.

I will be attending the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday, May 24 at 2PM. The agenda does not appear to contain any particularly controversial items.

Then, would you believe I actually have a clear schedule until Thursday, June 1 -- no GTA/SCAT meetings, no Committee C meetings, no council meetings, no Heart of the Triad meetings, no Early Action Compact meetings -- unbelievable!!! So it should be no big surprise to anyone that I'm off to Oak Island early Thursday morning to spend some quality time at my brother's place. I may be back Sunday... or Monday... or Tuesday... or let's just play it by ear. Of course, I'll take the big stack of budget notebooks with me to read and review, but it seems a much more pleasant task sitting on the deck or the beach.

Just wondering why

I received a call today from a local resident asking me to sign her notary public application; this is a request that I receive frequently as do many other elected officials. State law requires that notary public applicants get an elected official -- ANY elected official of their choice -- to sign their application, supposedly vouching for their good character.

While I am happy to assist these folks, I wonder exactly why this exercise is required. At least in today's case, I know the woman's boss who vouched for her, and I had even met her briefly at an open house at this business two years ago. However, in nine out of ten cases, I don't know a thing about the applicant and certainly don't have access to criminal history background checks. For all I know, I could be certifying a dangerous criminal.

Does anyone know why this process is required and what it is supposed to accomplish? It would certainly make sense if the sheriff or someone in law enforcement had to sign the form or even perhaps the applicant's minister or rabbi. But in this day of rampant public mistrust of elected officials, isn't this requirement a bit ironic? {smile}

City Connections

The latest edition of City Connections contains a link to the proposed 2006-07 budget. Happy reading!

Putting one's neck in the noose

Everyone at one time or another faces one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations where you know it's going to hurt, no matter which choice you make. That was my gut reaction when Mayor Holliday approached me about "subbing" for original council appointees on the GTA/SCAT task force back in March. But it was an important job that needed to be done, so I agreed to put my neck in that noose and participate in that process.

I understood the assignment as two-fold -- 1) work with members of the GTA board to research and verify if the reported needs and hemorrhaging budget for GTA/SCAT were genuine, and 2) if so, recommend strategies and funding to address those needs. Task force members determined that the needs were indeed real and then set about identifying ways to fix them. I do not recall being told to "bring back recommendations that won't rock the boat." We were asked to formulate possible solutions -- and we did.

Now that those recommendations have been made public, the howls of protest I knew would inevitably come have arrived full force. SCAT users have accused us of trying to undermine the whole service and suggested that council members who vote for the changes should be strangled (yes, that comment was offered in jest, but I found it offensive, nonetheless). Former Councilman Bill Burckley phoned to ask in his own unique style if I'd lost my mind and opine that I'm trying to eliminate the middle class from Greensboro. Florence Gatten and I are portrayed to be in a bidding war to up city taxes in the editorial cartoon in this week's Rhino (don't get me wrong, I loved it, John). Thank heavens for the insightful, supportive editorial in the News & Record (thank you, Allen Johnson!) or I really would feel persecuted for fulfilling an assignment I didn't relish in the first place.

The task force has presented its findings, and it's ultimately up to the GTA Board and city council to determine which, if any, of the changes to services, policies, funding and fares we have the stomach to make. Councilmembers will review and discuss the task force findings during Tuesday's briefing session.

I would compare this whole scenario to another situation in which most of us find ourselves at one time or another. Your vehicle is making weird noises and not performing as it should, so you take it to a repair shop for service. The mechanic gives you the bad news -- the repairs are going to be costly. So you must decide -- "Do I pay for the repairs and end up with a fully functioning vehicle?" OR "Do I go for a cheaper, partial fix and hope my car lasts until I can afford to do the rest?" OR "Do I ignore his advice, hoping my car doesn't break down and leave me stranded?"

These are the choices facing the city council as we try to reach a reasonable decision, knowing full well that whichever we choose, there are going to be unhappy people. Which noose should we choose?

My newest "beauty"

After attending today's Police Memorial Service honoring fallen law enforcement officers from Guilford County, my husband and I made a quick stop at Coe Grocery and Seed Company at 529 South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro to pick up a few more seeds for our backyard garden. That's where I spotted a gorgeous plant that I have never seen before. Bill, the store owner, said it is called a "Shrimp Plant."

Needless to say, there is now one residing on my deck. Coe's has plenty more of these beauties if anyone else wants to brighten up their surroundings.

Additional GTA/SCAT information

A number of additional questions have been raised about the costs of providing SCAT service. Here is more information that will hopefully provide better understanding of the harsh fiscal realities the city is facing.

* The 10- and 40-ride passes are not limited to being used within a single month. They are good for the specific number of trips, however long it takes a rider to use them, whether that be one month, one year, or longer. Riders always have the option of paying for single trips instead of purchasing a pass.

* While some of the 250 clients who purchase the unlimited ride pass each month take a large number of trips (for example, this highest user in November 2005 booked 125 trips and cancelled or "no-showed" on 17 of those), the AVERAGE use of that pass is 34 trips/month.

* GDOT staff provided me additional breakdown information on the costs of providing SCAT service. The AVERAGE cost of the 135,126 SCAT trips taken last year is $23.63. This compares with Durham's average of $25.84/trip and $25.20/trip in Charlotte (staff is still researching comparative figures from High Point and Winston-Salem). Factors that go into these figures include the cost of the van, vehicle insurance and registration, liability insurance, the driver (unionized contract with a private company), vehicle maintenance, and fuel. Greensboro operates slightly more efficiently than our peers while offering a significantly higher level of service.

* Of that $23.63/trip average, the riders' average share is $1.03/trip with the city covering the $22.60/trip difference, a 95.6% subsidy.

* The AVERAGE number of clients on a SCAT van at any one time is 2.29 passengers per van (not the 5-10 that was cited) compared with an average of 28.45 passengers per bus on GTA's fixed routes. That's one reason the "per person per trip" cost is so much higher on SCAT -- the cost of the vehicle, driver, fuel, etc. is allocated among 2.29 SCAT passengers as opposed to the 28.45 passengers on a regular bus.

* Staff is still researching the average miles traveled per trip for me. Obviously some will be shorter, but with the commitment to serve all areas within the Greensboro city limits, some very long rides are also taken. (Please remember that most transit systems do NOT offer this option, limiting rides to with 3/4 mile of their fixed routes -- Greensboro is literally "going the extra mile(s) with our premium service.) As council frequently hears during zoning hearings, "for illustrative purposes only," it is possible for a client in the outermost section of northwest Greensboro to travel to a location in the outermost southeast section of the city. Since our "territory" is the entire city, SCAT must serve clients out in outlying annexation areas in places such as Mt. Hope Church Road, quite a lengthy trip.

Quoting directly from the additional information I received from staff: "Based on past peer reviews, the City of Greensboro appears to provide one of the most robust and affordable paratransit [SCAT} systems and menu of services in the State and possibly the nation." The recommendations from the task force are an effort to continue that same high level of service by adjusting fare schedules and policies in order to better cover the costs to provide it.

Greensboro's Transit Challenges

Alternate title: A Victim of our own Success

The GTA/SCAT Task Force presented its final report to the Greensboro City Council at last night's council meeting. The findings and recommendations were hammered out in two-hour weekly meetings that began in late March. Councilmembers Florence Gatten and I worked hand-in-hand with GTA Board members Mary Lou Zimmerman, B.J. Gerald-Covington (who has a family member who uses the SCAT service), and Dottie Neely (who is sight-impaired and regularly rides GTA's fixed route service) to review and understand the tons of critical information supplied by GDOT and GTA staff.

Our formal charge was to recommend ways to address the overcrowding problem on GTA bus fixed routes, the financial pressures caused by rising fuel costs and contracted labor costs for our drivers (a unionized work force the city inherited from Duke Power when they operated the bus system), repeated requests for service expansion, and escalating costs in our SCAT services (specialized transit service for the disabled). The issues are complicated and sometimes intertwined, so this is going to be a lengthy post as I try to explain them and the reasoning behind our recommendations.

GTA Fixed Route Service: GTA currently operates buses daily on 14 routes that begin and end at The J. Douglas Galyon Depot. Seven run on a 30-minute schedule, and seven run on a 60-minute schedule, three of which have 30-minute service during the peak hours. A high percentage of riders transfer from one route to another at no cost at The Depot. 2005 ridership was 2.6 million boardings, a 17% increase over the previous year, and is projected to reach 3.1 million this year. For many citizens, GTA is their only transportation option to travel to work, school, and medical services as well as everyday tasks such as grocery shopping.

The GTA base fare is $1 with discounts available to students, senior, and the disabled as well as through discounted passes. This base fare has been the same for seven years with some minor increases to the discounted passes in 2003. These fares cover approximately 24% of GTA's current operating expense while the industry standard is around 28% (one of the issues the task force tried to address). Other local funding support includes a two-cent allocation on the property tax rate and $5 of the vehicle registration fee in Greensboro. Federal and state grants heavily subsidize GTA operations as well as purchase of the buses. GTA's operating costs are well below the industry standard of $2.68 per passenger, coming in at $1.99 in 2004-05 and projected to be $1.95 this fiscal year, a testimony to efficient operations.

The main problems the fixed route service is experiencing are 1) overcrowding on many buses due to increased ridership and a mismatch of the 30-minute and 60-minute schedules for people needing to transfer, 2) all routes beginning and ending at The Depot that forces a large number of transfers, 3) financial shortfalls due to increased fuel costs ($425,000) and running extra buses on some routes to relieve the overcrowding ($300,000).

The task force recommendations to address those issues are the following:

* Increase the fixed route base (trip) fares by 10-cents a year for the next three years, from the current $1 to $1.10 to $1.20 to $1.30. This would increase our cost-recovery rate to the industry standard level.

* Increase the fixed route pass costs over the same three-year period. Discounts would range from 10-12% over the base fare.

* Continue the policy of free route transfers. Transfer costs are absorbed in the base fare increase plus it would be cumbersome for our drivers to have to process transfers.

* Expand 30-minute service to all 14 routes from 5:15am - 6:30pm on weekdays. This will expand the system's capacity by 33% and eliminate the overcrowding issue. This move would eliminate the $300,000 in costs expended on extra buses this year.

* Establish the South-Town Connector Service that would run east-west roughly along Vandalia Road, crossing two existing routes. When the decision was made to consolidate the Benchmark Square and Southwest branch libraries (both of which were on GTA bus routes) into the Hemphill Branch at Vandalia and Holden Roads, the city council assured those displaced patrons that the new branch would have bus service -- Hemphilll is not on a bus route currently. GTA has received requests from numerous citizens requesting service to the new Wal-Mart shopping area on South Elm-Eugene Street, but current routes cannot access that area and maintain their tight schedules. This connector route would fulfill both these needs.

SCAT

SCAT provides transportation on an appointment basis for qualified persons with disabilities who reside inside the Greensboro city limits to any destination within the Greensboro city limits. Federal law require that any city operating a bus system provide this ADA service to qualified persons who live within 3/4 mile of their regular bus fixed routes. In February 2005, the city council voted to make this service available to all qualified persons citywide at the same fare as the required ADA service, one of the few cities in the US that does so. Since SCAT provides service to every nook and cranny of the city, the 1400 SCAT-eligible riders receive a much higher level of service than regular GTA customers and can access locations that are not accessible on our 14 regular fixed routes.

By federal law, SCAT fares are limited to double the amount of the regular GTA fare despite the fact that SCAT service averages $25-34 per trip. Discounted passes are available, the most popular being an unlimited ride pass for $35 a month -- Greensboro is the ONLY CITY IN THE US to offer this option. There is no state or federal funding for SCAT -- fares and local taxes cover the operating costs. Fare revenues cover 6-8% of the operating cost of the service.

The main issue with SCAT is the rapidly increasing operating costs driven by a 27% increase in the number of miles driven due to the enlarged service area and a 39% increase in average monthly hours. The SCAT costs now consume 30% (and still growing) of GTA's total budget although the 135,126 trips taken by its users in 2005 are only 5% of the fixed route's 2.6 million trips. This has resulted in a $750,000 shortfall this fiscal year that is projected to escalate an additional $475,000 next year.

The task force recommendations to address this issue are as follows:

* Increase the SCAT base (trip) fare to correspond to the fixed route base fare increase (twice the fixed route fare) over the next three years -- $2 to $2.20 to $2.40 to $2.60. Even at the increased amounts, fare recovery of operating costs is still less than 10%.

* Discontinue the unlimited monthly ride pass for SCAT. This is one of the most contentious issues, but is the main "budget buster" that absolutely MUST be addressed. Some riders are taking 90-100 trips per month on that $35 pass, sometimes as many as three or four in one day, meaning that those users are paying only 57 cents for a $25 dollar trip.

* Charge all SCAT riders on a per trip basis. While we fully understand and respect any person's desire to function independently, the task force felt riders might be more conscious of the true costs and be more selective in deciding how many trips to take.

* Offer discounted multi-ride SCAT passes (10 and 40 trips). Discounts would range from 20-23%, double the discount being offered to regular GTA rider passes. The 40-trip pass currently costs $56, but would rise to $70 in the proposal.

* Allow certified SCAT riders to use Fixed Route service for free. Personal Care Assistants who are certified for SCAT would be allowed to accompany their client for free as well. Some disabled persons might be capable of occasionally riding the regular GTA bus in certain circumstances. Even if this person rode the GTA bus at no cost, the city would realize a $25-34 saving for each SCAT trip not taken.

* Modify the SCAT standing order policy. Standing orders are not required by federal law, but are offered as a courtesy to SCAT riders who need to schedule transportation on a daily basis. Instead of having to schedule each and every trip with a separate appointment, these clients can arrange to be picked up every morning at 8am to travel to work, for example. Unfortunately, these standing orders are the main culprit for costly cancellations or no-shows (to be discussed in the next point) -- Greensboro has a no-show rate of 25.5% compared to the national average of 15%, costing us $267,000 a year in non-productive costs. We have proposed that standing orders be limited for work, medical, and education trips only with discretionary trips for shopping and/or entertainment scheduled on an individual appointment basis.

* Modify the SCAT cancellation and no-show policies. A cancellation is defined as a client failing to cancel a scheduled trip at least two hours before the van is to arrive. (If an appointment is cancelled in a timely manner, the van can be rerouted and/or rescheduled to serve another client who may have been denied a desired trip due to no space being available.) A no-show is when the client is not present when the van arrives. In both cases, staff makes contact later with that client to determine the reason for the missed trip; if he/she has a legitimate explanation such as sudden illness, there is no penalty. For riders who are using the unlimited ride monthly pass, there is no way to assess a financial penalty. The only recourse is to ban that person from using SCAT when excessive violations occur, the federal recommendation for dealing with this problem.

Task force members were unanimous and adamant that such a ban would be counterproductive and inhumane, possibly depriving a person of the ability to get to work or to travel to necessary medical services such as dialysis. Our recommendation is that the "violator" be assessed the regular fare cost for that missed trip the next time he/she takes a SCAT trip. In other words, the driver would punch the 10- or 40-ride pass twice, once for the missed trip and once for the trip about to be taken. It is hoped this minor monetary penalty would foster more diligence to make sure it didn't happen again. As a last resort for excessive violations, standing order privileges would be revoked.

Funding Recommendations

All these shortfalls, increased costs and possible service upgrades will, of course, cost money. Here's a breakdown at what we are facing.

* The existing GTA (2005/06 - this year) budget shortfall is $1,275,000 -- $750,000 for extra SCAT service, $425,000 in unanticipated fuel costs, and $100,000 for overcrowded buses (in addition to the $200,000 allocated earlier in the year). Additional federal and state grant money totaling $658,125 was allocated by city council last night, leaving a balance of $616,875 for this shortfall.

* The projected extra GTA funding need for 2006-07 (next year) is $800,000 -- $475,000 for projected growth in SCAT service and $325,000 for extra fuel and labor costs.

* Service needs requests total $2,100,000 -- $1,800,000 for 30-minute service to begin on January 1, 2007 and $300,000 for the South-Town Connector Service to begin on September 1.

The grand total equals $3,516,875 with an assumption that the recommended cost containment measures for the SCAT service are approved. The task force recommends increasing the transit tax by 1.5 cents (generates $3,150,000) to add to $366,875 generated by additional rider revenues to cover that cost.

A series of public information meetings and public hearings will be necessary in July-November before(and if) the policy and fare changes are implemented so there will be ample opportunity for the public to respond to these suggestions.

The task force identified other issues that need further examination and assigned those to the GTA board for further study. Those include:

* Review the SCAT eligibility and certification process. Right now, such certification is done on paper only with no face-to-face meeting between potential clients and staff.

* Review taxi service/use options. Some cities (Raleigh, for example) require taxi companies to participate in paratransit services. Some clients who are not wheelchair-bound might be able to take subsidized trips in taxis at less cost to the city than the SCAT vans.

* Examine available technology options that may enhance service and reduce costs.

* Prioritize other outstanding service requests.

* Review frequency of evening and weekend service (60-minute vs. 30-minute).

* Review vehicle registration tax status and determine possibility and need to increase it.

* Review the condition and accessibility of bus stops (suggested by Councilmember Bellamy-Small at last night's meeting).

WHEW!!! Now you know one of the contributing factors to my stress and overwork burnout for the last two months! I'm glad this task is complete and our recommendations are officially in the hands of the GTA Board and city council for their consideration and action.

Another neighborhood association

This morning, I had the pleasure of attending an organizational meeting of a new neighborhood association being formed in District 5 -- the Mayflower Avenue area just west of UNCG. Citizens there are concerned about increasing pressures from "commercial creep" intruding into their residential area and negatively impacting their quality of life there. They also have the usual concerns about crime and deteriorating housing.

Donna Newton from the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress is guiding them through the formation process. Judging from the commitment demonstrated by the enthusiastic people in attendance, we'll soon have another active neighborhood association. It sure makes my job as a councilmember so much easier when there is an organized group of residents working together to identify their community's needs and find solutions for them.

Welcome aboard, Mayflower Avenue Neighborhood Association!

Tournament Town, indeed!

Fantastic news about the Greensboro Coliseum landing most of the ACC's basketball tournaments for the 2011-15! The economic impact generated by these events is another big win for local businesses and the city. Competition for the right to host these games is intense (that's putting it mildly), so today's decision speaks volumes about the quality of Greensboro's facilities and volunteers. Congratulations to the whole "team" for submitting a winning proposal!

Here are more details from the Associated Press story:

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. - . . . the [ACC] league said its men's basketball tournament will return to Greensboro, N.C. -- site of the league's headquarters and this year's tourney -- in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015; while the women's tournament would extend its stay through 2015...

ACC commissioner John Swofford said tradition -- the city has hosted a league-high 21 men's basketball tournaments -- and the Greensboro Coliseum's 23,500-seat capacity was a strong selling point for bringing the tournament back.

The women's tournament was already slated to be in Greensboro through 2009. "From a women's standpoint, I think the tournament's really found a home," Swofford said. "It's consistently grown there each and every year." . . .

A promising week ahead

Finally! I get a break and some breathing room this week with meetings scheduled only on two days (for now, anyway)! I don't have any Committee C , PTA, or charter school committee meetings this week for a change. Maybe I can FINALLY tackle my yard work and get my flowers planted before summer is over.

On Monday, May 15 there is a (hopefully final) meeting of the GTA/SCAT task force to finalize our upcoming presentation to the full city council. I'll share our recommendations and explain the details after my fellow councilmembers have heard the information.

The city council will hold a work session at 4PM on Tuesday, May 16 to further discuss the potential items to be included on the fall bond referendum. I am hopeful we can come to agreement on what will be included so that this can be our last meeting on this particular issue.

The regular council meeting begins at 5:30PM. The city manager will officially present the 2006-07 city budget to the council for review (which of course will trigger a series of budget work sessions over the next month) followed immediately by our GTA/SCAT task force presentation and recommendations.

The rest of the agenda is fairly routine, but the following issues might be of special interest to some:

* Item #31 will allocate the remaining $1+ million in federal grant funds to perform upfits to some of the remaining spaces in the Depot. (I predict Tom Phillips will exercise his usual "no" vote on this Depot item.)

* Item #32 might be misleading to some citizens -- appropriating an additional $700,000 for the coliseum. However, this is an accounting procedure for $700,000 in extra revenues from all the basketball tournaments and NO extra city funds are involved.

* Item #33 highlights the problem we are experiencing with the GTA and SCAT services due to increased fuel costs and demand for services; it allocates $634,356 of additional state and federal funds to cover increased costs in THIS budget year. Unfortunately, the total deficit is $1.275 million; part of the task force recommendations will address the need for additional funding to cover this shortfall.

That's it until Friday, May 19 when I plan to attend the National Peace Officers Week Police Memorial ceremony at noon, honoring fallen law enforcement officers in Guilford County.

Not bad at all!

Thank you, Ed Cone!

What a nice way to begin my Sunday morning by finding such a flattering article about my blogging endeavor written by Ed Cone in the News & Record! That unexpected "pat on the back" helped convince me that I should find the time and energy to continue this "conversation" with constituents, so here I am at the keyboard at a late hour again. Oh well, I can sleep in tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the encouragement, Ed. I really appreciate it!

Gone again

I have to be in Raleigh by 9AM Thursday morning for two days of Charter School Advisory Committee meetings and interviews for potential new charter schools. Then I've been asked to babysit three of my grandchildren the same evening I return (and Grandma can never say "no."). Needless to say, I don't expect to get any blogging or responding to comments done for the next several days.

Not so good transportation funding news

The business at this morning's PART board of trustees meeting was fairly routine. We honored retiring NCDOT Deputy Secretary for Transit David King for his 32 years of service and adopted the PART operating budgets for the 2006-07 fiscal year. Executive Director Brent McKinney reported that our ridership numbers are up 30% in April 2006 compared to April 2005, likely due to the increase in gasoline prices.

All three members of the State Board of Transportation who represent the Piedmont region were present for the meeting -- Doug Galyon, Nancy Dunn, and Andrew Perkins. I asked Mr. Galyon to give us an overview of the transportation funding situation and was then sorry for doing so after seeing the bleak picture he painted for us. Here is some of the information he shared with us.

• Re the gasoline tax: While North Carolina does have one of the highest gasoline tax rates, that is because the STATE, not the counties, maintains all the highways. NC is number two in the nation with the most miles of state-maintained highways, second only to Texas. NCDOT Division 7 which consists of Alamance, Caswell, Guilford, Orange, Rockingham counties has more state roads than the entire state of Tennessee. When Mr. Galyon asked the county commissioners who were present if they would like to take over this responsibility and fund it through the property tax, he received a big "no thank you!"

• There is a $750 million deficit for this fiscal year in the transportation budget due to decreased federal funding, a 2% drop in revenue from the state gasoline tax due to decreased consumption, and a 6% drop in highway use tax revenues (sales tax on new vehicles) due to decreased sales. The return to NC of federal gasoline taxes sent to Washington has decreased from 90.5 cents to 86 cents, one on the lowest return rates in the nation. To deal with this funding shortfall, NC must reduce its transportation budget $920 million over the next three years. That's not good news for us in Greensboro who have watched some of our key projects such as the eastern leg of the urban loop from US 70 up to US 29 drop off the TIP (Transportation Improvement Program).

• Construction costs have risen 45% in the last three years, 14% of that occurring this past year. Mr. Galyon stated that the state board has not taken any action yet, but one solution may be to freeze the awarding of any new construction contracts for four months. He does not want to do what Virginia did -- a total shutdown -- and damage the economy further by negatively impacting the road construction companies.

• Needs: Mrs. Dunn chaired the transportation needs study that identified $30 BILLION in transportation construction and maintenance needs by the year 2025 based on 2001 dollar values. Those same needs will cost near $100 BILLION in today's dollars.

So what does all this mean to you and me? I would say, "Don't be looking for any new road construction any time soon, and get used to the potholes!"

City Connections

Read about Greensboro's activities for National Peace Officers Week and see the fantastic designs for "the HEAT" created by talented area students at City Connections.

Focusing on the important things

The News & Record's Eric Swensen was very diplomatic when he quoted me in an article last week as being frustrated with the focus of the newspaper's recent reporting . I would characterize my response more as I "blasted him" -- his poor ears are probably still ringing from my angry tirade. Eric incurred my wrath when he hounded me for the umpteenth time to inquire about the release of the polygraph results -- when, by whom, what'll it say, how much information in it, and on and on and on -- even after I'd stated repeatedly we council members had not discussed that aspect yet.

In all fairness to Eric, I understand that he does not get to select which stories he covers, and he must follow up when his editors ask him to provide additional information/clarification. He was the unlucky one who had to deal directly with an upset me.

Here's the essence of what I unloaded on him: It was utterly ridiculous that Wednesday's huge front page spread highlighted the change in location of the polygraph testing when the city council had spent so much time that very day conducting the public's business which received little coverage.The very same day this "musical chairs event" occurred, I had spent two-and-a-half hours in a Committee C review of the Finance and Administrative Services Department (no reporters present at all). The city council had debated the fall bond referendum in excess of an hour (perfunctory media coverage). There was a three-and-a-half hours regular city council meeting where a number of key zoning cases (including a huge new shopping center for the South Elm-Eugene Street/I-85 area) and the adoption of next year's CDBG programming were acted on (received little mention). That adds up to 7+ city council hours spent in ONE day on city business that were glossed over.

In addition, Councilmember Florence Gatten and I have been meeting with the GTA/SCAT task force weekly since March, and the three council budget committees began meeting weekly back in April for 2+ hours at a time. How many media reports of those meetings or discussions have you seen or heard? We council members have been working our butts off taking care of business and performing our duties as usual, but that doesn't seem to warrant coverage. It was obviously horrible timing on my part to have to cut back on my own blogging/reporting and leave you totally in the dark, but that's just the way it has to be for now.

No wonder the general public has the ERRONEOUS impression the city council has lost its focus! You have only seen what has been sensationalized -- a disservice to both the city council and to you, the public. We council members ARE indeed focusing on the important business of this city and I'd love to see the correct focus on THAT news.

Another busy week

I'm trying to catch up after a couple of days of hard but enjoyable work at the NC PTA convention down at RTP last Thursday - Friday. In a 36-hour time span, I put 10,300 steps on the pedometer all delegates received in a health-awareness promotion. I thoroughly enjoyed the event and being with good friends, but after being away like that, I always feel a half-step out of sync until I can catch up on accumulated newspapers, mail, phone messages, email, housework, etc. My schedule will take me out of town for an additional two days later this week, so I guess I'll be playing "catch-up" again next weekend.

Monday is the only clear day I don't have any meetings, but it will be taken up with reading documents and doing paperwork in preparation for the rest of the week.

Tuesday, May 19 will begin with an 8:30AM meeting of Committee C where we will hear from the Budget and Evaluation Department. That will be followed by our annual luncheon at the Greensboro Historical Museum; this is always a wonderful event hosted by the museum's board of directors and guild. Immediately following that, I will attend the (hopefully final) meeting of the GTA/SCAT task force. This day will conclude with the monthly meeting of the East Hunter Hills community watch.

The PART monthly meeting will be held at 8:30AM on Wednesday, May 10. We will be honoring David King, Deputy Secretary for Transit, who been an unwavering supporter of PART from the very beginning; David is retiring from NCDOT and will be sorely missed. Key agenda items include approving the 2006-07 budgets and consideration of a contract to complete our travel demand model.

I have an afternoon meeting to discuss some upcoming transportation issues. That will be followed at 5:30PM by the executive committee meeting of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments where we will review the budget for the upcoming year.

I'll be in Raleigh all day Thursday, May 11 and most of Friday, May 12 attending the Charter Schools Advisory Committee meeting. We are conducting interviews with the nine applicants for new charters that made it past the first cut based on their written applications. There are openings for five new charter schools, but we do not have to recommend to the State Board of Education that five be approved if we do not feel the quality is there.

Then it's back home for another attempt to catch up again -- seems like an endless cycle these days. It's about time for another beach trip to Oak Island!

PTA-ing

I'm on a quick break before the NC PTA convention officially opens here at the Sheraton Imperial at RTP. As a consultant to the board, I'm here working and presenting a couple of workshops and serving as an advisor.

Irony of ironies -- I ran into fellow city councilmember Dianne Bellamy-Small in the hallway of the convention center. She is one of the exhibitors down here at the convention. Small world!