On the morning of February 22 I rendezvoused with town manager Josh Ward at the Ingles parking lot in Franklin. He pulled up, and I put my suit bag in his car. We began the five hour drive to Raleigh to attend the North Carolina League of Municipalities 2023 Town and State Dinner.
The reception and dinner provides municipal officials the opportunity to meet with their legislative delegations to discuss local needs and requests. The event is always scheduled at the start of the legislative session.
The dinner is a multifold event in that elected officials, such as mayors and town managers, have the opportunity to get together to discuss common interests and concerns. Municipal officials also talk with the North Carolina League of Municipalities staff in an attempt to get the “low down” on what the legislature will do in this long session. During the reception before the dinner questions abound about the budget and potential laws that will impact municipalities.
At the reception and at the formal dinner we all get a chance to converse with our representatives and senators about more specific local needs. Over a nice banquet dinner we express our hopes and concerns.
I appreciate the legislators who attend and are willing to listen to constituents. While I sat at the table with Senator Corbin communicating Highlands’ needs, the mayors from Murphy and Andrews were also at the table expressing their needs. That’s the way the system works. Those other mayors made compelling cases for support for their communities. Hopefully, I did the same for Highlands. Let me share some of the requests I made.
First, I put in a good word for some level of state funding for the Mirror Lake restoration project. I am optimistic that request will happen.
Second, I reported to Senator Corbin that state did not award Highlands the water plant pre-clarifier tank grant. Both Senator Corbin and Representative Gillespie been helpful in our grant submittal. Unfortunately, Representative Gillespie had a death in his family and was not at the dinner, but I will keep him posted on our requests. I asked Senator Corbin to keep us informed about other potential state funding in this session for the pre-clarifier project. I emphasized that any level of support will be helpful. I also asked about any impending STR or zoning legislation. Senator Corbin told me he would keep us posted on all these issues.
After the dinner several town officials gathered at local watering hole and met with a veteran legislative staff member. He informed the group that there will be a lot of money available for statewide, regional, county and municipal projects in this long legislative session. The challenge for legislators will be to track down funds for their constituents. He likened it to a mad scrabble to find funding that matches the needs of a particular community. Our representatives in remote and lightly populated Western Carolina face huge, competitive challenges in securing state funding. As always, large population areas have the advantage.
On Thursday morning Josh and I departed Raleigh for that long ride back home. Our favorite part of the trip is eating lunch at Chick-Fil-A!