Plenty of news this week. Weigh in on what you wish, readers.
Read more articles in:
NewsSubscribe to XpressMail. Free Sneak Peek. Every Week.
Want to know what's coming out in Xpress this week before the paper even hits the stands?
We've got your free sneak peek, along with deals available in XpressMail, our weekly email newsletter. (It's the best we can do without time travel.)
-
Comments
-
Related Articles
-
Comments
Make a comment
According to our new "most viewed" tabulator, most-viewed #avlnews = cesspool http://bit.ly/rno62q Sunday open thread http://t.co/d5byCFIz
By Margaret Williams
09/18/2011
And most commented-on newsblog = our report about the top-two finalists in the city-county's search for a new community-media project: http://bit.ly/qwjdjP
By Margaret Williams
09/18/2011
Rep. Tim Moffitt introduced a supplementary bill in the State General Assembly that would make the A-B Tech sales tax revenue binding, which it presently is not. That is, it would require that the revenues realized by the sales tax increase must be spent on A-B Tech infrastructure improvements only and nothing else. Sen. Martin Nesbitt killed the bill through parliamentary procedure. Why? Discuss.
......................................
By timothypeck
09/18/2011
That's an interesting twist.
By Margaret Williams
09/18/2011
Simple answer about corrupt Nesbitt killing the revenue specific tax bill...Nesbitts crowd wants to be able to spend the money anyway they please without regard to the voters. Typical democrat
M.O.D. last 140 years in NC!
By OceanofWisdom
09/18/2011
Link to Scribd account on Buncombe County Commissioners Compensation. With Comparisons to other Counties;
http://www.scribd.com/doc/65419828/Buncombe-County-Commissioners-Salary-Totals-and-Comparison-1
By D. Dial
09/18/2011
You would think that someone would have written something along the lines of "all changes in compensation, perquisites, and other forms of remuneration for elected officials of Buncombe County shall go before the people in a general election."
Oh, wait. No. You wouldn't think that at all.
By mat catastrophe
09/18/2011
How about the Buncombe County Economic Development Commission, which has seventeen members, only two of whom are elected by voters, and gets to dole out property tax revenues in the form of corporate incentives?
By sharpleycladd
09/18/2011
Or the TDA...that Board needs some close watching.
By D. Dial
09/18/2011
This board? http://www.buncombecounty.org/governing/commissioners/ArchivedAgenda/20101207/documents/EDCREZDRAFT113010_000.pdf
By Margaret Williams
09/18/2011
Yes, that board, enabled by NCGS 158.
By sharpleycladd
09/18/2011
Where's the reporting on the New Belgium story? I've heard from a number of sources that it's a done deal...
By Ricky Party
09/18/2011
Why were there no new cartoons from Molton & Brent Brown this week?
By Chip Kaufmann
09/19/2011
Good question! I'll alert the Web team.
By Margaret Williams
09/19/2011
Where's the reporting on the New Belgium story?
Do you mean the possibility that New Belgium (beer) is considering an Asheville location and/or that the company may be seeking an economic-development incentive from the city of Asheville and Buncombe County? Only rumors so far. But ... both City Council and County Commissioners have met in closed session recently to discuss an unnamed economic-development incentive.
By Margaret Williams
09/19/2011
Here's Buncombe County's economic-development incentives policy: http://www.buncombecounty.org/common/Admin/EconomicPolicy.pdf
And the city of Asheville's: http://www.ashevillenc.gov/uploadedFiles/Business/Business_In/Economic_Development/IncentivePolicy.PDF
By Margaret Williams
09/19/2011
Economic incentives, noun: a set of tax breaks used to entice businesses into an area into which they would have moved to anyway, in an effort to shift the tax burden onto the working class, where it clearly belongs.
By mat catastrophe
09/19/2011
Mat, I sense a little cynicism :)
By Margaret Williams
09/19/2011
WOW, Margaret....you are SOOOO perceptive. <;-)
By D. Dial
09/19/2011
Me? Cynic? Noooooooooooooooooooo.
Seriously, though, I've tried to look at New Belgium's "triple bottom line" silliness online. A lot of it talks about the "people" and "planet" but not much about "profit".
In my opinion, companies that are posting profits have little business asking for or receiving tax breaks and incentives - especially when the burden of those are passed onto the very people supposedly being "helped" by new jobs being created.
But I understand my old-school notions in this arena are being pushed to the wayside by our new "global economy".
By mat catastrophe
09/20/2011
I assure you, the New Belgium deal is a lot more than just a rumor at this point. Where's the dirt digging investigative reporting?
By Ricky Party
09/19/2011
Digging in process, but no official, on-the-record confirmation from primary sources.
By Margaret Williams
09/19/2011
Don't these secretive, behind-closed-doors meetings violate open meetings laws? Especially if they're basically subsidizing the New Belgium venture with tax dollars...
By Ricky Party
09/19/2011
Council has 9 matters of business that allow it to go into closed session; no. 4 relates to economic incentives:
Chapter 143 of N.C. General Statutes:
§ 143?318.11. Closed sessions.
(a) Permitted Purposes. – It is the policy of this State that closed sessions shall be held only when required to permit a public body to act in the public interest as permitted in this section. A public body may hold a closed session and exclude the public only when a closed session is required: ...
4) To discuss matters relating to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the area served by the public body, including agreement on a tentative list of economic development incentives that may be offered by the public body in negotiations. The action approving the signing of an economic development contract or commitment, or the action authorizing the payment of economic development expenditures, shall be taken in an open session. ...
By Margaret Williams
09/20/2011
And here we are again: why are "incentives" a trigger for closed meetings?
Do they just not want the people to know how the tax burden is being shifted to the working class and off of companies that are posting profits, quarter after quarter; year after year?
By mat catastrophe
09/20/2011
I do like the new open thread addition. Lot's of mind bending stuff, on here. Keep it up.
By Illuminatti_01
09/20/2011
House Bill 326
2011-2012 Session
Buncombe Local Sales Tax for Comm. Colleges.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/HTML/H326v2.html
............................
By timothypeck
09/20/2011
Mat, I've often wondered why econ-incentives trigger closed sessions. I can kind of understand some of the other rules — like gov't officials needing to talk to their lawyer about a lawsuit, or dealing with a personnel issue (ALL kinds of rules there).
And if a company is going to get spooked form the deal just because people know one is being discussed ... not sure I follow that logic, either.
By Margaret Williams
09/20/2011
Closed sessions that center around "incentives" sounds a lot like "good ole boy & girl" sessions. I s'pose the legal talk could be used as the reasoning. But still closed sessions to discuss incentives, has a stench to it.
By D. Dial
09/20/2011
Sales tax money goes into the county's general fund. Voters should be aware that voting for the sales-tax increase is giving the county commissioners a blank check to spend in anyway they choose.
.............................
By timothypeck
09/20/2011
Doesn't the city of Asheville get a cut of sales-tax revenue?
By Margaret Williams
09/22/2011
Yes, Margaret, the City gets a cut. There are two ways that the percentage given to the City can be determined (under law) and the County consistently uses the one which gives the City less money. About 75 percent of the sales tax collected in Buncombe is collected in Asheville, but we get about 19 percent of what the state hands to Buncombe.
I concur that economic incentives should not be discussed behind closed doors. It is a rule entirely concocted to "protect" insider information. The result is that Staff consults with businesses and with County Staff and with the state government and with the Economic Development Commission, and all of the other secret players, and concocts a deal ... which Council then rubber stamps. The argument is made: "If we vote 'no' after all that good-faith negotiation, we'll get a reputation for being unfriendly to business." Bunch of B.S.
By cecilbothwell
09/29/2011
Cecil, perhaps dents can be made in the "good ole boy/girl system. Do you have any suggestions???
By D. Dial
09/29/2011