Public-private partnerships for schools?

With the economy in a bad slump, new construction projects are at a standstill in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools - and probably elsewhere in the state. So we were interested to read about a statewide committee's recommendations today on funding school and other public capital projects.

Here's part of a news release:

At a press conference, the Institute for Emerging Issues Business Committee on Infrastructure (BCI) released its final recommendations, urging lawmakers to make public-private partnerships (PPPs) an available option for state and local governments to meet current and future infrastructure demands.

“For the right infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships can be an effective way to distribute the risks and rewards of not just building or financing public capital projects, but operating and managing them as well,” said Committee co-chair Bill Klein, Bovis Lend Lease Director of Capital Projects for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. “At a time when public resources are particularly scarce, we need to explore innovative finance and delivery methods like these.”

The BCI agreed that PPPs can be an important tool in the financing toolbox for state and local governments and proposed that North Carolina further explore how best to support such partnerships. This would ensure greater accountability and transparency, and provide a predictable path for project development. Coupled with well-informed partners, PPPs have the potential to more efficiently develop infrastructure and achieve better value for the taxpayer.
Virginia is one of several states to pass a public-private partnership statute, and as a result the state has over 100 projects either completed or under review. Similar legislation in North Carolina could make public-private partnerships an option in developing and maintaining the state’s schools, water and sewer systems, roads, and other critical infrastructure.

In 2006, the NC General Assembly passed legislation allowing for the use of PPPs to alleviate the growing need for more public schools. However, no successful school construction projects have been completed under this law to date. The BCI believes that creating a sound regulatory framework for these types of partnerships would better serve the state and its localities in closing its infrastructure gaps.

N.C. Sen. Clark Jenkins announced his intentions to propose a Legislative Study Commission on public-private partnerships during the 2010 legislative session. N.C. Rep. Deborah Ross was also on hand to encourage the creation of a PPP study commission, particularly in exploring how PPPs can enhance our transit options and transit-orientated development.

The Business Committee on Infrastructure was comprised of a very diverse group of high-level business leaders from across the state representing primarily the development, legal and financial sectors. The BCI’s final recommendations incorporate the views and expertise of national experts as well as state and local public sector leaders who were active participants throughout the BCI process.

For more information on the recommendations, go to: http://www.ncsu.edu/iei/

Winston-Salem smoking rules fume some

Here's a change that's got some Winston-Salem smokers fuming: The city is instituting a new policy to save money by raising health-insurance premiums for municipal employees who use tobacco products.

Starting in January, health-insurance premiums will go up by an undetermined amount for Winston-Salem employees unless they take a test to prove they are tobacco-free, defined as having no nicotine in their body, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.

Also, for the first time, people who smoke or use other tobacco products will be eligible only for the city's basic health-coverage plan. They will not qualify for the city's Basic Plus health plan, in which the city covers more costs.

The city banned employees from smoking in city buildings two years ago, and some people said they thought the continued restrictions were unfair to smokers. The city has offered smoking cessation classes to workers but some say even that doesn't work. Jeff Goins, a technician in the city's parts department, has smoked for years, although he's tried to quit several times. He took the first round of classes. "It's a waste of time. I know I have a problem," he said. "I have to go with their policy, but I don't think it's a fair decision."

Martha Wheelock, an assistant city manager, said that health-care costs are still being analyzed and the exact amount of the premium increase is not yet clear, although a preliminary figure of $20 per month was given in the city's proposed 2010-11 budget. "We as a city have talked about smoking in particular for a number of years, at least internally, and I think we're ultra-sensitive to the topic given where we live and the roots of our city,'' she said.

Those roots? Winston-Salem is home for the corporate headquarters of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, and was once nicknamed "Camel City" for the Camel cigarettes manufactured there.
Is Charlotte next with such restrictions? According to the Journal, of North Carolina's major cities, Winston-Salem is the only one adopting such a change, but Charlotte is considering restricting smokers to a higher-deductible plan next year. For more on this story, go to http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/jun/15/paying-more-to-use-tobacco-city-raising-smokers-pr/news-local/

The unedited Etheridge video

There's been some debate on the web as to just how out of line North Carolina Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge was when he was confronted by self-described students with video cameras. Those inclined to defend Etheridge point out that the original video was heavily edited. Here (lifted from Doug Mataconis' 'Outside the Beltway' blog) is the unedited version of the videos, a separate film from each camera. As you can see, Etheridge's defenders lose one line of argument. While it was obviously planned as a set-up of some kind, Etheridge mindlessly seems to fall into the trap (for which he later apologizes). If these students wanted to be another James O'Keefe of ACORN video fame, they couldn't have hoped for a better result.






Update: These videos originally posted at Stephen Gutowski's Eyeblast.tv blog

Teacher merit pay: What do we know? Not much, says report

Is teacher merit pay or pay for performance worthwhile? Well, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Education Commission of the States just released a report that essentially says the jury is still out on the idea - though it's being tried in several states, and is highly touted, including here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The report, called "Teacher Merit Pay: What do we know?" is in the June issue of The Progress of Education Reform, the ECS's monthly news organ.

The paper looks at four places - Iowa, Texas, Chicago and Denver - that has pay for performance projects under way, and doesn't find much evidence that the programs have had any effect on student performance. But the evaluators say that might not be because of the idea but other factors such as the limited implementation of the programs with small student samples in some districts or incentive pay for teachers being too low to make a difference or promote change.

It's interesting reading though not conclusive about the value of pay for performance. But as CMS gets more involved in setting up and implementing its own model, this does give an idea of the potential difficulties in determining success. Find the report at

http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/86/40/8640.pdf

Jobless S.C. senate nominee facing felony charges?!

In case you missed it, our sister state South Carolina just keeps getting crazier. In primary elections on Tuesday, a jobless military veteran who raised no funds and put up no campaign website plus our source says he has a pending felony charge (AP confirms it, reporting that he felony charges for allegedly showing obscene online photos to a University of South Carolina student. The pending charges carry a possible five-year jail term.) won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. senate seat held by Republican Jim DeMint. And he won with 60 percent of the vote!

His name is Alvin Greene. He's 32 and was phantom-like during his campaign. He surprised the S.C. Democratic leadership in March when he walked into the state Democratic Party headquarters with a personal check for $10,400 to pay his filing fee. Democratic Party chair Carol Fowler told him he'd have to have a campaign account. So he left, set up an account and came back with a campaign check. She said she asked him if it was the best use of his money seeing as how he was unemployed. But he said he wanted to become South Carolina's U.S. senator.

Well, he closer to the goal now - though no one expects him to beat DeMint.

There's some speculation that he only won the primary because South Carolina has an open primary - meaning you can choose which party's primary you vote in, regardless of your party affiliation. Some speculate that Republicans voted for Greene since he was less competition than four-term state lawmaker Vic Rawl, 64, who had raised about $186,000 - who Greene handily defeated to Rawls' amazement.

Fowler said this might have been the determining factor: People voted alphabetically - no lie. Our source said that was a likely factor. It was a very low-profile race so voters didn't have any opinion before entering the voting booth. The source also said because Greene was black and he possibly got most of the black vote.

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/06/09/2228130/jobless-vet-beats-rawls-mystifies.html#ixzz0qOoyuJZy

County chairman to the City: Help us, please!!!

What's keeping Mecklenburg County commissioners chairman Jennifer Roberts up at night? The county's budget crisis - and she's looking for help anywhere she can get it. At 1 this morning, she dashed off this missive by e-mail to city council members who might have some bucks to spare:

Dear City Colleagues

I apologize for getting this to you so late, knowing that you will be beginning your straw vote process this evening. It has been a very busy few weeks, to say the least.

However, I would like to ask that you give some consideration to supporting the County in this difficult time of crisis. As you know, we are looking at an $81 million funding gap due to declining sales tax and other revenues. This will hit our libraries, our schools, and other vital programs particularly hard. We have made a commitment, as you have, not to raise property taxes when we are still struggling with unemployment of well over 11%.

I do not know what amount you might be able to support to help become a bigger partner with our library system, for example, which bears both the city and the county’s names, but if you would like to contribute any amount whatsoever, it would be welcome. If you want instead to support teachers in our schools, and help us close the $21 million gap there, any amount there would be welcome as well. I appreciate your exploration of running the safe-light program again, which brought over $4 million to the schools in this fiscal year, an amount sorely needed. Were the City and County one consolidated government, this sharing of resources would be easier. As it is, I know this would be a highly unusual step for the City to take.

I know that the City is also facing a funding gap, and it is presumptuous of me to ask anything; but as an advisor once told me, it is amazing how much more you get when you ask than when you don’t.

As you know, we as a board have not yet begun our straw vote process, and I am not sure where my colleagues stand yet on our budget, or even on my request to you this evening. At this point I can only say I speak for myself as someone who sees great needs in our community. Your employees have worked hard and well and certainly they deserve to feel valued. I do not want to jeopardize your ability to pay them appropriately. I merely ask if there is any funding that you find that could be re-directed to essential county needs, we would welcome it.

Thanks for your consideration and good luck tonight in your deliberations.

Jennifer Watson Roberts
Chairman, Mecklenburg County
Board of Commissioners

That's a heartfelt appeal. What do you think? Should the city provide financial help to the county? If so, what would you like the money used for?

Posted by the Observer's editorial board

GOP playing chicken with D'Annunzio

GOP leaders are all-in on fighting their own Tim D'Annunzio. It's a risky strategy that will either save them headaches or put egg all over their face.
D'Annunzio, an outspoken conservative, faces former sports anchor Harold Johnson in the June 22 Republican primary in the 8th Congressional District. A few days ago, N.C. Republican Party chairman Tom Fetzer categorically dismissed D'Annunzio as unfit to hold any public office, a rare and stark denunciation of a candidate from his own party.
Today, the five N.C. Republicans in Congress came out united against D'Annunzio, saying Johnson offers the best chance for a Republican victory in November against Democrat Larry Kissell. That kind of unity is unusual, and was notable because a few of them -- Reps. Patrick McHenry, Sue Myrick and Virginia Foxx come to mind -- don't exactly represent the liberal wing of the Republican Party.
Two scenarios could play out now. Johnson could beat D'Annunzio. Fetzer and the Republican establishment would let out a long whistle of relief. Or D'Annunzio could ride an anti-establishment mood and a low turnout to victory over Johnson. That would be humiliating for Republican leaders and would give Kissell endless material for 30-second ads in the fall.
Stay tuned!
-- Posted by The Observer editorial board

Other budget strategies? Car taxes, even cutting commish/mayor's salaries

It was all budgets all the time this week as city after city, county after county in North Carolina unveiled their budgets. And though policymakers in Mecklenburg County are skittish about fee and tax increases, some others are tapping into citizen pocketbooks to meet needs. Here’s a look at some:

CAR TAX: Motorists in Raleigh could see a $5 jump in their annual vehicle tax bills, if the city council adopts the $620 million budget proposed Tuesday by Raleigh City Manager J. Russell Allen. The proposed budget doesn’t include a property tax increase or lay-offs of city staff, but does including the elimination of 24 vacant position and tightening of city services. Water rates are also expected to rise by approximately 9 percent this summer.

PROPERTY TAX HIKE: Property taxes in Wilkes County would go up and spending would be cut under the proposed 2010-11 budget presented last night by County Manager John Yates, as the county tries to recover from a financial crisis. The proposed property-tax rate is 65 cents for every $100 of valuation, an 8-cent increase from the current rate of 57 cents per $100. The owner of a $100,000 home who pays $570 in property taxes in the current year would pay $650 under the proposed rate. The county has already made spending cuts, including three furlough days for employees and the postponement of items, including work on plans for a proposed new jail. The proposed budget doesn’t contain any pay increases for county employees. Thirty-two employees have retired recently because of incentives to do so. The county will leave 21 of those positions vacant.

SALES TAX HIKE: Wilkes County officials also decided to put the issue of increasing the local sales tax by a quarter-cent before voters as one possible way to offset sluggish county revenues and help build back the county’s fund balance. The current sales tax rate is 7 3/4 cents for every $1.

DIP INTO SAVINGS: The town of Wendell proposed a budget that keeps the tax rate steady at 49 cents per $100 of property value. But commissioners used $281,250 from the town’s savings to balance the budget. That amounts to just over 8 percent of the money in the town’s savings account. The budget provides no money for employee pay raises, although commissioners have said they will revisit the issue in December and could add raises back into the budget then.

CUT COMMISH/MAYOR’S SALARIES: Commissioners have also agreed to roll back their own salaries to 2008 levels, The cut means commissioners’ salaries will fall from $4,284 per year to $4,000 annually. The mayor’s salary will also take a hit, dropping from $6,482 to $6,000. Mayor Harold Broadwell will retain his $600 annual travel allowance.

SCHOOLS HIT HARD: In Johnston County, schools bear the load of cutbacks laid out in the county manager’s budget proposal. County Manager Rick Hester is calling for a $161.1 million budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. That’s a $10 million drop from this year’s budget. Hester recommends county commissioners give Johnston schools $49.6 million, or $6.6 million less than the schools got this year (a cut of more than 8 percent). The school board agreed last week to ask the county for $56.2 million to hold steady on spending. School officials are already expecting to lose 113 teaching positions and more than $6.7 million to state cuts, Superintendent Ed Croom has said.

Oh, to be Wake County - for budget reasons

This budget season, we wish we could be Wake County. Just for budget reasons, of course.

Today, Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones unveiled his budget and the harsh cuts it will demand to plug a $81.1 million deficit. But just a day earlier, Wake County Manager David Cooke was unveiling a budget that calls for just $2.4 million less than the county spent last year.

Oh, to be in Wake County’s shoes!

Wake's budget involves no property tax increase and the elimination of about 58 full-time positions (Meck is looking at something like 500, more than 8 times as many), 28 of them occupied. There will be no library closings and Wake County schools will operate on the same amount of money as last year.

“I feel kind of fortunate,” said Ron Margiotta, the Wake school board chairman. “It would be wonderful if we could get more, but I’m glad this is what we are getting.”

We've got a feeling that's not a sentiment that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Chairman Eric Davis will be sharing. Mecklenburg County Manager Jones cut $21 million from what the schools are getting this year.

Here’s a look at a couple of other local budgets unveiled, and how officials plan to deal with sluggish revenue due to the recession, this week:

TAX INCREASE: In Durham, City Manager Tom Bonfield proposed a budget Monday night that eliminates 31 staff positions (15 jobs are unfilled) and raises the property-tax rate by 1.19 cents per $100 valuation – an extra $23.80 on a house valued at $200,000. No raises for city employees.

HIGHER UTILITY AND GARBAGE COLLECTION FEES: In High Point, City Manager Strib Boynton’s proposed 2010-11 budget calls for holding the property tax rate steady, but residents and businesses would see higher utility rates and a new garbage collection fee under the spending plan unveiled Monday. The High Point Public Library, which is currently open seven days a week, would close on Mondays and operating hours at five of the city’s six recreation centers would be reduced by 15 hours per week during the school year. A solid waste collection fee might be instituted depending on what happens with state and county shared revenue sources. The budget also would eliminate 51 full and part-time vacant city positions.