Garrison Says He’ll ‘Continue Seeking Relocation of DHHS’ to Granville County

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As stated by NC House District 32 Representative Terry Garrison in his recent newsletter message:

Passing a biennium budget during a long session and odd year of the North Carolina General Assembly is the most important work that this legislative body will do while in session. During this 2019-2020 session of the General Assembly, both chambers of the NC House and NC Senate passed its version of a biennium budget in June.

The two budget versions had differences which then required them to be referred to a Conference Committee to develop a consensus budget. A consensus budget was completed and approved largely along political party lines. As Republicans hold majority memberships in both the House and Senate, they also largely comprised the Consensus Committee. As a result, the Consensus Bill, HB 966, 2019 Appropriations Act was also approved along political party lines, on June 27, 2019.

HB 966 (Appropriations Act) did not include Medicaid Expansion which was the number one budget priority for Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and the Democratic Party. Additionally, the conference budget did not allow citizens a choice on deciding whether to invest in a bond for much-needed school construction as desired by the Governor.

Further, the conference budget provides an average of 3.8% teacher pay increase as opposed to 9.1% sought by the Governor; gives all state employees a $1,000 raise as opposed to 2% or $800 raise, whichever is greater; and provides a 1% cost of living increase for state retirees as opposed to a 2% cost of living increase sought by the Governor.

A few differences between the conference committee and the Governor’s budget are shared here, but there a number of other differences between the two budgets which were objected to by Democrats in both the House and Senate as well as the Governor.

The Republicans included a number of perks within the conference bill which mainly benefited their constituents.

The relocation of the headquarters of the NC Department of Health and Human Services to Granville County was included in the conference budget by the Senate without any special conditions. However, the House changed the relocation to the Triangle North Granville Business and Industrial site in Oxford on condition of my commitment to override the Governor’s veto of the budget. While I fully support the relocation of DHHS to Granville County, and particularly to the Triangle North Granville site, I cannot in good conscience vote to override the Governor’s veto.

Governor Cooper vetoed HB 966 as expected. The state is currently operating under a continuing budget resolution, or more specifically, operating under the 2018 budget until a new biennium budget is passed. A vote on the override of the Governor’s veto is pending and has not occurred as of this time. If an override of the Governor’s veto of budget does not occur, then the budget will have to be renegotiated until a consensus budget can be achieved.

It is my plan to continue seeking relocation of DHHS to Granville County, and particularly to the Triangle North site. While the Governor is leaning toward a study bill for the relocation of DHHS, I am optimistic that Granville County will remain the target site for consideration of such project relocation.

Further, it is my goal to advocate for more jobs and related initiatives promoted by the state within Granville, Vance and Warren Counties within this upcoming biennium.

Granville County Commissioners Sworn Into Service

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-Press Release, County of Granville

At the December 3 meeting of the Board, three Granville County Commissioners were sworn into service. With the November election of David Smith, Tim Karan and Edgar Smoak, the makeup of the Board remains unchanged as all incumbents were re-elected to represent their respective districts.

Comm. David Smith, District 2, is pictured with his family as Granville County’s Clerk to the Board, Debra Weary, administers the oath. (Photo Credit: County of Granville)

Comm. David Smith, representing District 2, is a retired Granville County Sheriff. He will continue to serve on the Audit Review Committee, the Board of Equalization and Review, the Human Relations Commission, the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments Board, the Oxford Downtown Economic Development Commission Board, the Senior Services Advisory Committee and the Triangle North Board. In addition, he will continue to serve as Finance Liaison for the Board and is an ex-officio member of the Granville Health System Board of Trustees.

Comm. Smith was sworn into office by Debra Weary, Granville County’s Clerk to the Board, with his family by his side.

Comm. Karan, District 6, is a “stay at home dad.” His committee/liaison assignments include the Board of Equalization and Review, the Digital Infrastructure Planning Committee, the Economic Development Advisory Board, the Extension Leadership Advisory Council, the Greenway Advisory Council, the Fire Services Committee, the Opioid Advisory Council, the Granville Health System Board of Trustees, the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority (SGWASA) and the Private Industry Council.

Representing District 6, Comm. Timothy Karan is shown with his family as he is sworn in by N.C. House Rep. Larry Yarborough. (Photo Credit: County of Granville)

Comm. Karan also serves as a School Administration Liaison and the Granville Athletic Park/Recreation Committee Liaison and is an alternate for the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO).

N.C. House Representative Larry Yarborough officiated the swearing-in ceremony for Comm. Karan, as Karan’s family looked on.

District 7’s representative, Comm. Edgar Smoak, is the former Board Chairman. Retired from military service, his committee/liaison assignments include the Area Mental Health Board, the Audit Review Committee, the Board of Equalization and Review, the Opioid Advisory Committee, the Granville Health System Board of Trustees, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority (SGWASA) and the Transportation Plan Work Group. He will also continue to serve as Public Safety Liaison, as well as a liaison for the Soil and Water Board and for Water Sewer Matters.

Comm. Edgar Smoak, District 7, is pictured taking the oath from Rep. Larry Yarborough as his family looks on. (Photo Credit: County of Granville)

With his family alongside, Comm. Smoak was also sworn in by N.C. House Representative Larry Yarborough.

All three Commissioners have served since 2010.

Comm. Zelodis Jay, District 1, was elected to serve as Chairman for the upcoming year and Comm. Smith was elected to serve as Vice-Chair.

To reach any member of the Board of Commissioners, call 919-693-4761.  A County Commissioner Directory is available at https://www.granvillecounty.org/government/county-commissioners/commissioner-directory.

 

City of Creedmoor & Granville Chamber Present Govt. Sunrise Forum, Oct. 12

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— Information and flyer courtesy Granville County Chamber of Commerce | Ginnie Currin, Executive Director ~ 919-693-6125 ~ ginnie@granville-chamber.com

The Granville County Chamber’s Sunrise Forum will be hosted by the City of Creedmoor on Friday, October 12, 2018. A light breakfast will be served at 7:45 a.m.; program to officially begin at 8 a.m.

The forum will be held in Creedmoor City Hall’s Boardroom located at 111 Masonic St., Creedmoor.

Those in attendance will discover how the City of Creedmoor is working to make life better for those who live and work there.

Respond to Toni Anne Wheeler – 919.528.4994, tawheeler@granville-chamber.com or Wanda Garrett – 919.693.6125, wanda@granville-chamber.com.

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Granville County Logo

Granville Co. Commissioners to Take Bus Tours of Districts

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-Granville County Public Notice, Debra A. Weary, Clerk to the Board

PUBLIC NOTICE

A quorum of the Granville County Board of Commissioners may be present on September 6, 11, 18 and 19, 2018 for bus tours of the Granville County Commissioner districts. Bus tours will begin at 9 a.m. or shortly after and leave from the Granville County Administration parking lot located at 141 Williamsboro Street, Oxford, NC. For more information, please contact the County Manager’s Office at 919-693-5240.

City of Oxford, Upcoming Public Works & Personnel Meetings

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Information courtesy of Cynthia Bowen, City Clerk, City of Oxford

The Public Works Committee for the Oxford Board of Commissioners will meet on Monday, May 7, 2018, at 1 p.m. The meeting will be held in the 1st Floor Training Room City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the paint for the City of Oxford Water Tanks.

The Personnel Committee for the Oxford Board of Commissioners will meet on Monday, May 7, 2018, at 2 p.m. The meeting will be held in the 1st Floor Training Room City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street.  The purpose of the meeting is to discuss Personnel Evaluations of the City Manager and City Clerk.

All those interested are invited to attend.

 

Granville Chamber of Commerce Sunrise Forum – Friday, May 11

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-Press Release, Granville County Chamber of Commerce

You are invited to the Granville Chamber Sunrise Forum on Friday, May 11, 2018, at 7:45 a.m. featuring guest speaker Anthony M. Copeland, N.C. Secretary of Commerce. The forum is hosted by the Town of Butner.

Location: Butner Town Hall – 415 Central Ave., Butner, N.C.

Light breakfast items will be served!

Please RSVP by Friday, May 4 to Butner Town Hall – 919-575-3032 or Granville County Chamber – 919-693-6125 or 919-528-4994 or by email – wanda@granville-chamber.com or tawheeler@granville-chamber.com.

ANTHONY M. COPELAND, Secretary of Commerce, the State of North Carolina

Tony Copeland became North Carolina’s Secretary of Commerce in January 2017, named to the post by Governor Roy Cooper and marking a return to the agency for the experienced business executive. Earlier in his career, Mr. Copeland served as Assistant Commerce Secretary, leading the recruitment of nearly $12 billion in investment and the creation of 100,000 jobs. In this capacity, he worked with numerous international companies in China, Japan, Europe, South Korea and Israel, as well as a variety of domestic companies. 

 

Tony Copeland’s experience spans a wide range of economic development and business leadership roles. During the past decade, as a partner of a major law firm and owner of his own firm, Mr. Copeland has brought significant new corporate investment into North Carolina from both domestic and international sources. He brings an insider’s knowledge of the ways corporate investment and site decisions are made.

Mr. Copeland also served as executive vice president, secretary and general counsel of a telecommunications company, where he led the company’s growth from $38 million in revenues to more than $250 million. He led the senior executive team that secured $500 million in equity financing and planned, financed and installed more than 5,000 miles of fiber optic cable in the Carolinas and along the eastern seaboard. A native of Perquimans County, Mr. Copeland is a graduate of Duke University and the Western Michigan University School of Law.

Oxford Board Joint Committee Meeting Jan 17, 2018

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CITY OF OXFORD

JOINT MEETING OF THE PLANNING, BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY COMMITTEE AND THE PROPERTY, BUILDINGS AND REAL ESTATE COMMITTEE MEETING

There will be a joint meeting of the Planning and Property Committees for the Oxford Board of Commissioners. They will meet on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at 1:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the First Floor Training Room, City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street.

The purpose of the meeting is to review Chapter 20 of the City of Oxford Code of Ordinances and to discuss the Armory property.

All those interested are invited to attend.

Cynthia Bowen
City Clerk
City of Oxford

Jan 2 and Jan 9 City of Oxford Board of Commissioners’ Meetings

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The City of Oxford Board of Commissioners will hold an agenda meeting on Tuesday, January 2, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. It will take place in the Commissioners’ Board Room at City Hall.

Oxford Commissioners will hold a regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 beginning at 7 p.m. in the board room at City Hall.

At the agenda meeting on January 2, consideration will be given to adopting the franchise ordinance with Waste Industries as the second of two required adoptions.  The term of the ordinance will be January 2, 2018 until December 31, 2022.  Oxford’s present agreement for solid waste collection, transportation and disposal with Waste Industries expires December 30, 2017.  The first adoption was passed in a 6 to 2 vote during the December 12th regular board meeting.

The agenda meeting will also serve to set the proceedings for the January 9th regular meeting.

A couple of known agenda items for the January 9th regular meeting include considering acceptance of the annual financial report for FY 2016-2017 as well as considering renewal of on-call engineering contracts.

Terry Garrison

Terry Garrison NC House 32 December 2017 Update

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North Carolina House Representative for District 32 Terry Garrison has written and released his latest from the NC General Assembly.  In Volume 1, Issue 5 for December 2017, Garrison and his office released the following text.

Since being sworn into office of the House of Representatives for District 32 (Vance, Warren and Granville Counties) of the North Carolina General Assembly on January 11, 2017, serving as a legislator has been a tremendous learning experience. The session was action packed with a limited time for newcomers to learn the legislative process. My 28 years of experience as a Vance County Commissioner was quite helpful with trying to adjust to this level of governance.

Serving on committees was where the real work occurred on legislative bills to be considered for approval. My committee appointments included Appropriations, Appropriations-Transportation, Education-Community College, Environment, Judiciary IV, State and Local Government I, and Legislative Redistricting. Additionally, I served on House Democratic Caucus Work Groups of County, Housing, Rural and Indian Affairs. I was also selected to serve as a vice chair of the Freshman Democratic Class.

Learning how to get a bill introduced was challenging. I did, however, manage to sponsor five bills— H372-School Calendar Flexibility, H390-Counties/Internet Infrastructure, H603-Small Farms to Healthier Schools Initiative, H638 Public School Construction & Lottery Changes, and H804 Add Additional Assistant District Attorney District 9B. Also, I co-sponsored nine bills.

During this legislative session, 1,551 bills were introduced; 214 were adopted. Governor Roy Cooper vetoed 13 bills and the General Assembly overrode all of them. Some of the most egregious bills vetoed and overridden were H100-Restore Partisan Elections for Judicial System, S68 Bipartisan Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement, H239-Reduce Court of Appeals from 15 to 12, H576-Allow Aerosolization of Leachate, and 656-Electoral Freedom Act.

The legislative session this year was termed a long session because it was the year to approve and adopt the biennium budget. Approving a budget is perhaps the most important action a government can take. The NC General Assembly adopted a $23 billion biennium budget on June 28. Although the budget contained many positives, it could have provided more funding for education, particularly for K-3 grade levels to meet the legislative mandate for class size.

Legislative Redistricting remains the #1 hot button issue to be addressed for the NC General Assembly. Currently, the District 32 design contains little change. A final decision on redistricting is likely to occur in early 2018. Democrats will need to gain six seats in the House or nine seats in the Senate to prevent veto override by Republicans who currently hold super majorities in the House and Senate. Judicial Redistricting is the #2 hot button issue with final decision also likely in 2018.

It was my privilege to sponsor four youths as Legislative Pages—Ashton Murphy and Jabriel Steed of Vance County and Jordon Page and Tonia Hunter of Warren County. A Granville County high school student will be sponsored to attend the Legislative Youth Leadership Assembly in February 2018.

Several citizens within the House District 32 contacted my office during the year with questions, concerns, or requests for help with issues. I have tried to be as responsive and accommodating as possible. In particular, it has been gratifying to support various local programs, services, special occasions, and other activities where possible.

I wish to express my sincere thanks to supporters and voters for electing me as State Representative for District 32 for 2017-2018. I look forward to returning to legislative session on January 10, 2018.

OXFORD PUBLIC WORKS, WATER, & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING

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— courtesy City of Oxford, NC

CITY OF OXFORD
NOVEMBER 27, 2017
PUBLIC WORKS, WATER, & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING

The Public Works, Water, & Infrastructure Committee for the Oxford Board of Commissioners will meet on Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 10:00 AM. The meeting will be held in the First Floor Training Room, City Hall, 300 Williamsboro Street. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the solid waste removal proposal.

All those interested are invited to attend.