Todd Paris, Attorney and Candidate for Salisbury City Council
♦ The relationship between cities and their legislature fall into one of two general legal standards. Home rule cities are allowed by their state constitutions to enact their own laws and own their own property with little interference from the state legislature. NC follows “Dillon’s rule” which basically means that cities have no constitutional status and exist at the will and pleasure of the legislature and have nothing that the legislature may not “take.”
In 2013, owing to numerous citizen complaints, the legislature took Asheville’s water and system away from the city and gave it to a regional authority. The city sued. A superior court judge sided with the city. The NC Court of Appeals reversed and stated that the legislature could do as it pleased and did not need to compensate the city for the “taking.” This is a bellwether event. The NC Supreme Court is generally considered even more conservative. It is unlikely Asheville will prevail there.
In 2011, the legislature enacted a broadband bill making it “difficult to impossible” for municipalities to start their own broadbands. Salisbury and Wilson, after massive expenditures and much debt was undertaken, and due to skillful lobbying by our representatives, managed to have their systems grandfathered. Rowan Commissioner Sides predicted that the City of Salisbury would dip into it’s water and sewer funds to support this system. This did not please our representatives, since Salisbury-Rowan Utilities serves municipalities and citizens outside of the city. The Treme administration assured our representatives that this would not happen and Salisbury was exempted.
Within a year or so, Salisbury would breach this assurance and borrow $7.6 million dollars from the water and sewer fund to begin operations. This breach created much unhappiness in Raleigh. The recent revelation that over $198,000 in legal fees have evidently billed to Salisbury-Rowan Utilities for Fibrant legal fees for the “Run and Gun” by Fibrant constructor Atlantic Engineering Group and that Fibrant employees costs and salaries were “shifted” to the general fund created additional consternation.
Let me be frank. The legislature has the legal right to revoke Salisbury’s legal charter if they wish. The legislature can take any city asset they desire and if necessary shut down this city. That is the law whether we like it or not. And unless there is a constitutional amendment to give municipalities “home rule” that is not going to change.
Continuing to treat the water and sewer fund as a slush fund to prop up Fibrant and creating “Magic Math” videos to pretend that Fibrant is making money when it clearly isn’t. Fibrant is subsidized from the general fund to the tune of $1 million dollars per year is a dangerous business that could cost the City of Salisbury it’s water and sewer system as early as the next “short session” in January of 2016. This would be an epic disaster as more than one million dollars per year are transferred from Salisbury-Rowan Utilities to the general fund each year. Massive employee lay-offs and/or massive tax increases would result. A new council would have no choice but enact massive lay-offs or raise taxes far beyond the average tax-payer’s level of comfort.
It is absolutely necessary for a financially responsible, all-new City Council to be elected to rebuild our legislators’ trust after these financial shenanigans. Fibrant must be sold or it must quickly become self-sustaining. Transparency and honesty best return to this City and a new spirit of trust and openness should prevail. Andrew Brock, Harry Warren, Carl Ford, and Tom McInnis need to be shown respect and trustworthiness concerning Salisbury’s assurances. That is not going to happen with the present incumbents and the two “retreads” from the “used politician junk-yard.”
To quote Saturday Night Live’s Hanz and Franz, “Hear me now and believe me later.” A new City Council is a much required necessity. If you can’t vote for me, carefully choose five new people who have not served previously. Don’t vote for Alexander, Blackwell, Miller, Lewis or Maddox. In my humble estimation this remains the Salisbury voters’ only chance to avoid a guaranteed disaster.
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/?s=asheville
https://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=2&pdf=32975
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1m5wtwm49a5teru/Question8.mp3?dl=0
