Greensboro didn’t do well in the 2023 legislative session.
Giving credit where credit is due, Bo Heath from McGuireWoods, the hired lobbyists for the City of Greensboro, didn’t try to spin a dismal legislative session for the city into a success at the City Council work session on Thursday, Oct. 26. Heath didn’t admit it was dismal, but he certainly didn’t imply that it was an overall success.
And that is not to say that there wasn’t some serious spinning going on to present the facts in their best light.
Much of the presentation was spent on what the state legislature accomplished in the 2023 session, which ended on Wednesday, Oct. 25. One would hope that the members of the Greensboro City Council were already aware that the legislature passed a budget that became law without the signature of Gov. Roy Cooper and that the budget included Medicaid expansion. But in case that slipped past some councilmembers, they had a highly paid lobbyist explain that to them.
Also, the legislature passed 144 bills that have become law. Of those, 19 bills were vetoed by Cooper and the legislature overrode the veto 19 times.
On the plus side for Greensboro, the city requested $50 million for remediation projects, which included Bingham Park and downtown sites, and received $11 million.
The city also received $7 million of the $2 billion allocated statewide for water and sewer projects. The projects are $5.5 million for water and wastewater improvements for the town of Pleasant Garden and $1.5 million for water and sewer service to Peacehaven Community Farm in Whitsett.
Winston-Salem, by comparison, received $20 million for unspecified water and sewer projects. According to the Triad Business Journal, Winston-Salem received a total of $123 million in the state budget. The information about Winston-Salem was not in the presentation given by McGuireWoods.
According to the report, six items on the Greensboro legislative agenda, including the request for remediation funding for Bingham Park and downtown, were introduced as bills.
The only other bill on the Greensboro Legislative Agenda that was passed into law was a statewide bill to allow civilian traffic inspectors. Greensboro had requested this as a local bill, but fortunately for Greensboro, a number of other jurisdictions in the state requested the same thing and it was passed into law.
Guess east greensboro city council clowns got what they deserved. Now go find another cause to waste our tax dollars.
John what did the taxpayers pay for this lobbying firm and much do we pay the city managers liaison that he hired who has NO experience in state affairs to keep up with what’s happening in Raleigh
The State has wised up realizing that once providing money to the city our council puts their nose up and spends it as they wish. Mostly providing to pet project of fellow council members and friends.
What do you expect when you ignore the Legislative Mandate and Law to form a City Oversight Committee. As long as you ignore the legislature they will ignore you. And with you ignoring the need for better policing and our crime rates continue to go up, that’s an even better reason. If you would actually DO Something, perhaps you would get something. Everyone, the citizens and the legislators are tired of watching you do nothing.
No surprise. Just ask any citizen who really cares about Greensboro.
We don’t need anything from the state tell them to shove that little bit of money you need to give to the counties that despite them having state handouts still underperform and shed residents now we may have no money to implement voter id or the abortion ban oh well
“Citizen’s arrest. Citizen’s arrest. “…passed into law was a statewide bill to allow civilian traffic inspectors…” which will eventually lead to innocent citizens being killed at a fender bender or other traffic incident. All one has to do is watch a few videos online of minor traffic stops by police for seemingly simple infractions such as an expired tag or tail light not working that ends in an officer being killed by the driver who had warrants or was transporting drugs to know this idea by government agencies looking to cut policing costs is going to fail. Personal experience is my now 92-year-old dad who still tells people he was a police officer in CA even though he was a volunteer in a local department in a school and senior citizen informational program but was eventually let go because of complaints that he’d chase people around the city waving his badge and police cap for what he viewed as traffic or parking violations. He was arrogant, a danger to others and himself, and violating the law, but continued to claim he was a “police officer” because he wanted to be one although he he had no training and had been told several times the parameters of his duties. This idea is a disaster waiting to happen and will cost local and state governments millions in lawsuits when they should fully fund real police officers. (The same goes for sending “mental health workers” to situations where police need to be involved.)
Um, well, interesting thoughts. However, they aren’t issued guns or even pepper spray. No handcuffs or anything to restrain someone, and I am pretty sure all of their training will reiterate to them that they cannot arrest anyone. So there will be no “citizen’s arrest” which isn’t a thing in NC. There will be no civilians killed by the investigators unless it’s a car crash, but you are right that the investigator could get killed by a civilian who overreacts to them showing up to investigate the crash.
You nailed it. Could not have said it better myself.
I was replying to Deborah.
Is this different from the Intergovernmental Relations Manager hired by our city manager and the synergy she was going to create?
It’s called ‘full employment’ for those who have political links to the entrenched politicians.
If the Intergovernmental Relations Manager is able to get funding for some staff, then the title will become “Director” along with a big pay increase. . . .a status benefitting those with power and privilege of course. Would be interesting to see the political leanings (voter registration) of the employees in government, but I’d be surprised if the conservatives are not even close to the liberals.
As I understand, in the past any lobbying by Greensboro was done by the city attorney. Why would the manager take away a task already being performed by a city employee, hire an unqualified person to do the same task, and then expect a positive result? Some possible explanations, the city attorney is lazy and wanted to lessen his workload; LaToya Caesar-Crawford was known to the manager, and she needed a job, so he hired her; or the hire was part of the reparation movement, one victim at a time. Even though the manager cannot claim the “somebody was a slave” victimhood, he probably has an affinity for those who do. Of course, Greensboro’s failure to fare well in Raleigh could be because Greensboro is unlikeable for a variety of reasons, and this is Raleigh’s way of sending the message. I understand Raleigh’s sentiments.
You are SPOT ON!
Excellent comment! Of course the Manager has no idea…..he’s still visioning.
Civilian Traffic Inspectors: What/Who are the “civilian” traffic inspectors?? What are the qualifications of these invididuals?? What, exactly, are they being given authority to do?? With all the “diversity and inclusion” mandates written into their policies this could spell a lot of trouble ahead. There are a lot of people moving into this country that are looking for jobs (let alone the people who want to be justice police). Will the City hire people because they need “bodies” to fill these positions without really knowing who they are? Greensboro city residents stay on top of this issue.
A minor traffic accident civilian responders’ idea looks good on paper. In reality, traffic accidents, even fender benders, can become very volatile and an unpredictable situation for those involved. Damage has occurred, drivers have been inconvenienced by the accident, and tempers can flare.
Since civilians will be the traffic accident responders, effective training is essential. Body cameras are important, too. What happens if the traffic responder sees what appears to be an illegal substance in a vehicle? What if one of the drivers does not have a driver’s license?
Good luck, hope it works, but be prepared to close up shop if it does not work. Seems best to do a temporary trial run first.