New Bern
New Bern residents can expect to see a higher electric bill this month. Starting July 1, the city is enacting a 6% increase in electric rates that will continue for one year. The New Bern Board of Aldermen approved the increase at its June 25 meeting, citing a $3 million deficit in electric operations. City Manager Foster Hughes attributed the deficit to inflation, network expansion, and rate cuts from 2015, 2016, and 2017.
At its June 25 meeting workshop meeting, the Board appeared to have begun considering a bond referendum for next year’s ballot. The Board heard a presentation from a consultancy group on how to go about that process and what additional debt the city could take on. The next step for the board and city staff is to begin identifying projects that could be funded under the assumed bond referendum. The process is in its early stages, but seeing what officials prioritize will be worth watching.
Jacksonville
The Jacksonville City Council heard updates to a proposed sports complex. The city has been in the planning stages for years to build a large, multi-sport park on a 400-acre parcel located at the end of Western Boulevard (NC 53) in northwest Jacksonville. Talks began as early as January of 2020. So far, a master plan has been approved and the Recreation & Parks Department has solicited feedback.
“It’s been a couple of months, and I wanted to provide an update on what we’ve been doing behind the scenes, where we are, and where we’d like to move in the future because the directive that I’ve been given is that this needs to get done,” Anthony Prinz, director of transportation services, said at the beginning of the presentation.
Prinz said they’re now moving into Phase II, which will include land surveys, designs for an on-site housing development, and drafting required stormwater plans. Prinz said this stage is more detailed than previous phases and will help generate cost estimates. The housing development (or planned unit development) will be the city’s first proactive single-family home housing project, Prinz said. Phase II, Prinz said, is estimated to cost $1.9 million.
The council also authorized the receipt of opioid settlement dollars that stem from a case against Kroger. The company agreed to pay $1.4 billion over 11 years to state and local governments across the U.S. and to change its business practices. Kroger does not admit to wrongdoing. Jacksonville is set to receive $32,400 from the settlement, on top of the $1.1 million from other settlements.
Goldsboro
The city of Goldsboro received a clean 2022-23 fiscal audit, and it's the first in years to be completed on time. The report from the outside firm FORVIS shows the city’s fund balance increasing and its assets exceeding liabilities (i.e., the city is in a good financial situation in case of emergencies).
"We are pleased to have achieved this milestone and are committed to maintaining our momentum in staying caught up on our audits," Matthew Livingston, interim city manager, told the Goldsboro News-Argus.
In other news, the city’s Community Relations and Development Department is accepting applications for the Mayor’s Youth Council. The youth council is for students in grades 8-11 who attend a school in Wayne County. Applications are being accepted through July 31.
Kinston
The state Supreme Court is reviving a lawsuit that challenges Kinston on property condemnations. The plaintiffs Curtis Askew and Joseph Washington claim the city's decision to condemn their properties in 2017 was an act of racial discrimination. Their arguments failed to sway both a trial court judge and the state Court of Appeals, but on Friday the North Carolina Supreme Court overruled the lower courts and will allow the suit to move forward. Justice Anita Earls wrote for the majority that even if the plaintiffs win the case, they may not be entitled to a "specific outcome as to their properties" (meaning they may not get them back), but instead receive relief in the form of equal treatment to future residents by prohibiting race-based discrimination by the city.
The city officially launched its downtown social district. The social district allows people to carry and drink alcohol freely anywhere within the district, except for businesses that do not participate. It operates daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. City leaders vaunted the project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 3.
“This innovative initiative marks a significant step forward in enhancing the vibrancy and economic vitality of our downtown area,” Mayor Don Hardy said.
Kinston joins Greenville, Washington, Wilson, and Goldsboro as Eastern North Carolina cities to host a social district.
The city is partnering with the nonprofit Kinston Teens to apply for a $20 million grant from the EPA that’ll go toward housing and infrastructure improvements, community transportation, and building a neighborhood hub in East Kinston. Mayor Hardy said the funds could go toward weatherizing homes and attracting businesses in the area.
In other news, Kinston Teens is receiving $396,000 from the NC Department of Information Technology’s Office of Digital Equity and Literacy. The project is intended to promote digital literacy and provide access to resources for youth and marginalized communities.
Greenville
The Greenville City Council has not met since June 13. Their next meeting is in August and no agenda for that meeting was available at the time of publication.
Carteret County
The Carteret County Board of Commissioners has shaken up its health board. At its June meeting, Commissioner Chuck Shinn made the move to oust three members of the Carteret County Health Board, and it successfully passed 5-2, with Commissioners Ed Wheatly and Bob Cavanaugh in opposition. During the hour-long discussion, commissioners cited phone calls from members of the health board and from the public over the board’s direction. Cavanaugh, who was a member of the health board, resigned from the panel, saying he wasn’t made aware of disagreements from health board members or commissioners. After the vote during commissioners’ comments, Cavanaugh said he was “too disgusted” to say anything.
No specific reason -- other than disagreements over direction -- was cited by commissioners for the dismissal. Reporting by the Carteret County News-Times indicates the issue is over hospital finances, which is still making a profit, though it has decreased. Commissioner Mark Mansfield said he reluctantly voted in favor of dismissal.
“If you were watching, I was the last one to raise my hand,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of highly qualified people who are very good at what they do sitting on these boards, and sometimes they don’t agree, and egos can get in the way.”
In a letter responding to the matter, the former health board chairman Julius Taylor wrote “Your actions will harm the hospital and the recruitment of responsible citizens of the county for the various boards will be jeopardized.” The full letter can be found here.
Turning to schools, nonprofits are filling a $1.3 million gap left by commissioners. The Carteret County Board of Education asked commissioners for a funding increase of $2.8 million in this year’s budget. The Board of Commissioners granted $1.5 million, and now the Carteret County Public Schools Foundation is stepping in to fill the gap, by raising funds to pay for the salary of one teacher. In an interview with WNCT, the foundation said it’s seeking to raise $70,000 to pay for one teacher's salary, something the nonprofit has never done before.
“The foundation has never raised funds to pay for the salaries of educators, and to do so to assist us this year, even for one teacher for one year, the first Big Rock Teaching Fellow to join our staff after graduating on scholarship, is commendable,” Carteret County Schools Superintendent Richie Paylor said.
The district said no teachers will be losing their jobs because of the shortfall, but that several vacancies will not be filled as a result.
Lastly, a Cape Carteret town commissioner is looking to bring western Carteret officials to plan for how to handle the area’s rapid growth. The area has experienced significant population and commercial growth over the last few years and the completion of I-42 is expected to exacerbate that.
“We need to work together to come up with a plan to see where we’re going to go,” John Ritchie, the Cape Carteret commissioner calling for the meeting, said.
Craven County
The Craven County Board of Commissioners approved its 2024-25 fiscal budget. Takeaways include two new fees, no property tax increase, and more funding for salaries.
While property tax increases remain at 0.4448 cents per $100 of valuation, residents will see a new fee schedule for the county’s new stormwater program and an increase for solid waste recycling from $60 to $72. County Manager Jack Veit attributed the increase to inflation. The county also allocated an additional $4.6 million for salaries and budgets. That money will cover 11 new full-time positions, a 4.5% cost of living increase, and price increases for employee benefits.
At its July 1 meeting, the Board backed down from adopting a new ordinance regulating gun ranges. The board received significant pushback from gun owners and firearms business owners.
The County had moved quickly to draft an ordinance regulating gun ranges after some residents of James City raised concerns over a range that is currently under construction there. The proposed ordinance would have required new ranges to be 1,300 feet away from nearby dwellings and have a 20-foot-tall berm around the facility and in between stations. Existing sites would not be affected unless undergoing major renovation. But Monday night, the majority of speakers spoke against the measure saying the regulations are too costly and burdensome.
The county says the ordinance was designed to reduce noise and improve safety, but after an hour of public comment, commissioners chose to table the ordinance to revise its language.
Also on July 1, the Board approved more than $600,000 of expenditures from opioid settlement funds. The adopted resolution indicates $112,914 for collaborative strategic planning; $50,000 for recovery support services; $200,000 for post-overdose response; and $263,500 for recovery support housing.
The Board also authorized the county manager to handle the acceptance of $400,000 in additional opioid settlement funds from the Kroger settlement. The county is expected to receive $15.5 million from all settlements through 2028.
Pitt County
On Wednesday, the Japanese medical device manufacturer Nipro Medical Corporation announced it would construct its first North American manufacturing facility, as well as its North American headquarters, in Greenville. The company makes devices for people with diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The proposed 550,000-square-foot facility is expected to support 230 new jobs and comes with $2.5 million in state incentives.
The announcement comes just months after Governor Cooper hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April, and the announcement of a Vietnamese solar panel manufacturer also coming to Pitt County. State Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders noted that Japan is the state's largest foreign investor and that North Carolina hosts the largest manufacturing workforce in the region.
Pitt County officials are finalizing a security agreement with a private firm following an announcement by the sheriff that the department would no longer cover county meetings.
Sheriff Paula Dance told The Daily Reflector that no deputies were interested in being stationed at the county administrative building.
The change came after commissioners approved the 2024-25 budget that did not include a 12% raise requested by Dance. The sheriff received the same 5% raise that all county employees received.
County Manager Janis Gallagher announced she had reached a tentative agreement with NC Protection Group, a private firm, to cover meetings.
Pitt Community College began construction on a new $17 million welding facility. The program will aim to prepare students for careers in welding anywhere in the country.
“Our part of the state has persistently seen a shortage of skilled welders, but welders are pretty much in demand anywhere you go,” Keith Kinlaw, chair of PCC’s Welding Technology Department, said.
Lenoir County
The Neuse Regional Water and Sewer Authority in Lenoir County will receive $2,160,000 in BIL Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Emerging Contaminants funds for a construction project featuring PFAS treatment. Six tests of the Authority’s water system in 2022 by NCDEQ found levels of PFAS contaminants that exceeded the EPA’s standard for “maximum contaminant levels.”
