Cary’s State Legislative Agenda Committee met again this week to finalize our agenda and discuss a few outstanding issues that we had requested more information about from our staff. Most of the discussion however focused on whether or not Cary should support a number of items agreed upon by all Wake County cities and towns, and the North Carolina League of Municipalities’ (NCLM) legislative agendas. My concern pertained to NCLM’s position on annexation, which other municipalities were endorsing as well.
I cannot support the NCLM’s position on annexation for the following reasons:
· The League does not believe affected residents deserve a vote in the process.
· The League believes annexed residents should bear the cost of water and sewer hook-ups instead of the annexing municipality.
· The League does not support legislation that requires county commissioners also approve the annexation (county commissioners are the only unincorporated resident’s locally elected officials) *NOTE – if unincorporated residents were allowed a vote in the process this probably would not be necessary.
· The League has yet to define what they believe to be “meaningful services”.
After hearing my reasons for opposing the League’s position on annexation, the committee agreed to not include support the NCLM’s position on annexation on Cary’s State’s Legislative Agenda.
I do value much of the support that the NCLM offers to cities and towns throughout North Carolina, but we must always keep in mind the League’s primary goal is to assist municipalities – not those citizens residing in the unincorporated areas. Those folks have rights too.
I had the pleasure of attending the Friends of the NRA Banquet in Raleigh this past Wednesday. I saw a number of old friends and even made some new ones – which is pretty easy to do when everyone in the room shares the same values of liberty and freedom. This was a lot of fun and everyone had a great time.
I also attend the North Carolina Heroes Fund Breakfast at the VFW this past week. U.S. Senator Richard Burr and State Senators Neal Hunt and Richard Stevens were also in attendance.
The North Carolina Heroes’ Fund was created in 2007 with the mission of aiding North Carolina servicemen and women, or those serving at one of North Carolina’s many military installations. The vision of the Fund began with its founder, Scott Stone, and his drive to help those that are defending our freedom. It was devastatingly clear to Stone that many of our men and women were returning from active duty and facing very difficult transitions as well as financial hardships.
The support is primarily centered on hardships in which these men and women, or their families, may be enduring as a direct result to their service overseas. In addition to financial hardship assistance the Fund has established an educational grant process to assist the dependents of our military men and women with the cost of continued education. For more information about the NC Heroes Fund please visit http://www.ncheroes.org/ .
Other events I attended this past week included the Republican Women of Cary and Southwest Wake’s monthly meeting and the Civitas Poll Luncheon in Raleigh.
I took a break from work and our campaign this weekend to celebrate Easter with family and friends. Good times! I hope your Easter Holiday was as joyful as ours!
Well that’s about it for this week – Thanks for reading!
