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NCCBI News

Utilities Begin 'Powerful Campaign' for New Members

Volunteers from Duke Power Co. and Progress Energy are off and running in a contest to see who can bring the greatest charge to NCCBI’s annual membership campaign. The campaign is under the leadership of Bill Coley, group president of Duke Power who is second vice chair of NCCBI this year.

Coley decided to launch the annual new member recruitment drive during the late spring and summer. It usually occurs in the fall but often conflicts with holiday events.

“I’m excited about the membership campaign,” Coley said, “because I know that there is strength in numbers, and NCCBI needs to grow in numbers to continue to exert its influence for us in Raleigh and Washington.”

Coley knew he needed volunteers working in every part of the state, not just in those areas served by Duke Power, so he sought the assistance of Progress Energy CEO, Chairman and President Bill Cavanaugh. To fill in the gaps of the state not served by either Duke Power or Progress Energy, Coley obtained the support of Dominion North Carolina, the utility serving Northeast North Carolina, and the N.C. Association of Electric Cooperatives, some of whose members serve Northwestern North Carolina, as well as counties across the state.

Tony Almeida, vice president of customer services, will lead the Duke Power team. Duke volunteers serving with him are Winston Kelley, vice president of business and communications; and district managers Sandy Tallant, Dave Hart, Joanie Davis, Gary Laws, Bob Allen, Randy Britton, Jim Kelley, Randy Welch, Scott Gardner, and Fred Alexander; and customer service managers Chip Wood and Tim Proctor.

Members of the Progress Energy team will be announced soon and will be listed here next month.

Membership campaign volunteers will be doing a lot of face-to-face marketing of NCCBI to business people they know. Plus, the campaign will stage several recruitment events around the state. Events already on the calendar include a reception on Thursday, June 6, at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro; a Tuesday, June 11, breakfast at Cleveland Country Club in Shelby; a June 11 lunch at Gastonia Country Club in Gastonia; a June 11 reception in Hendersonville, at the country club; a Wednesday, June 12, reception at Lowes Motor Speedway Club in Cabarrus County; and a Tuesday, June 18, reception in Winston-Salem.

NCCBI Vice President of Development Rosemary Wyche said “the enthusiasm of the volunteers working in this year’s campaign is absolutely electrifying.”  But it will take that level of commitment to top last year’s campaign led by Sue Cole of U.S. Trust Co., Wyche added. Cole, the association’s current first vice chair, “did a tremendous job and gave many hours of her time to the campaign and has set the bar high for us to shoot at this year,” Wyche said. NCCBI President Phil Kirk will speak at each event.

NCCBI Opposes Higher Taxes: With NCCBI coming out squarely against higher taxes, leaders in the General Assembly now seem firmly committed to cutting spending or taking other steps to balance next year’s budget.

A tax increase wasn’t on the table when members of the General Assembly’s six budget-writing subcommittees assembled in Raleigh to eyeball spending for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Getting down to business a month ahead of the start of the General Assembly’s short session, the budget panels worked on spending-reduction targets totaling more than a billion dollars.

A few days before the lawmakers came to Raleigh, NCCBI announced its no-new-taxes position following a vote on the issue by the Executive Committee. Following the vote, NCCBI issued a news release that said the association believes the budget shortfall should be addressed by reducing spending and that a tax increase would have an impact on a recovering economy. See complete story below.

“Our belief is that the very best way to fix the budget shortfall is to reduce spending,” NCCBI Chair Jim Hyler said in the news release. Hyler added that increasing taxes would impede an economic recovery. “There are signs that North Carolina is beginning to climb out of the recession. Any tax increase now will make an economic recovery harder to achieve,” he said.

Latest estimates are that, because of overly-optimistic revenue growth estimates and rising Medicaid costs, the roughly $15 billion state budget for the coming year — which was written last fall — is at least $1.2 billion and possibly as much as $2 billion out of balance.

NCCBI is also calling for the General Assembly to give two blue ribbon commissions time to do their work. The panels, appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to address the state budget crisis, are the Commission to Promote Government Efficiency and Savings on State Spending and the Commission to Modernize State Finances. Several NCCBI members are represented on both panels including Hyler, who chairs the efficiency commission.

Both commissions will make reports to the governor prior to the short session that starts May 28 and a final report by year-end.



New Board Member: McKay Belk of Charlotte, president of the Merchandising and Marketing division of Belk Inc., has been appointed to the NCCBI Board of Directors. He will complete the term of Hank Miller of Wilmington, who resigned. Belk, a past chairman of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, and has spent his entire career in the Belk family’s retailing business. He sits on the boards of Belk Inc., Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and the National Retail Federation. He is on the board of visitors at UNC-Charlotte and is a former member of the board of visitors at UNC-Chapel Hill.



NCCBI Committee Update: In a flurry of activity in the run-up to this year’s legislative session, several NCCBI policy committees held meetings recently. Here’s a brief account of their actions:

Education Committee: Jeff Davies, vice president for finance in the UNC System, told the committee that $3.1 billion university and community college bond referendum has had a huge economic impact on the state economy. In some areas, it is estimated that more than 2,000 jobs will be created from projects currently under contract. Other speakers at the April 18 meeting were John Poteat, director of research for the Public School Forum, who discussed the recent Leandro decision and possible implications for the state; Mike Aheron with the N.C. Department of Commerce, who reviewed recommendations from the Workforce Development Summit held in February; Ann McArthur, teacher advisor to Gov. Mike Easley, who discussed the governor’s education initiatives; and Henry Helms with the N.C. Business Committee for Education, who talked about professionals entering the teaching profession through lateral entry.

Legal Issues and Workplace Policies: Attorney General Roy Cooper asked for input from the committee regarding the development of a model policy for addressing domestic violence in workplaces in North Carolina. The policy would provide guidelines, not mandates, for businesses in the state.  At its April 8 meeting, the committee also reviewed amicus briefs recently filed on behalf of NCCBI and discussed session limits as NCCBI’s number one legislative priority for the short session.

Economic Development Committee: Erik Stromberg, executive director of the State Ports Authority, told the committee at its April 22 meeting that the harbor deepening project in Wilmington is critical. Appropriations Committee decisions at the federal level will be made soon. Full funding is necessary to ensure the 42-foot channel reaches the port by 2003. The final contract bids have already been received and work is scheduled to begin this summer. Adequate funding is crucial to continue the contract and avoid jeopardizing the state and federal funding that has been spent to date. Ted Abernathy, executive vice president of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, discussed a recent study of the Research Triangle as a “cluster of innovation.” Secretary of Commerce Jim Fain provided an update on economic development initiatives taking place at the state level.

Health Care Committee: Lanier Cansler, deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, discussed the challenges facing the state Medicaid program at the group’s April 25 meeting. An increased number of eligible individuals, increased utilization of services and the increased cost of services continue to drive Medicaid budget growth. Because of the increased needs and the state’s current budget crisis, there are three choices: The U.S. Congress increases participation, the state General Assembly increases revenue to cover rising Medicaid costs, or the General Assembly decides to reduce or eliminate optional services. J.B. Kelly, general counsel with the Attorney General’s office, provided an update on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Conversion.

Transportation Committee: Bob Morgan with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and Smedes York, representing the Raleigh Chamber, explained their regional approaches to transportation issues at the committee’s April 29 meeting. The Charlotte Chamber has established the Business Coalition for Regional Transportation Solutions and the Raleigh Chamber has developed the Regional Transportation Alliance. Charlotte and Raleigh are collaborating with surrounding communities to study regional transportation solutions for roads, transit and land use planning. Others speaking to the committee were N.C. Highway Administrator Len Sanderson; Wayne Stallings, chief financial officer with the N.C. Department of Transportation; and Ricky Ward, chair of NCGo!

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