2010 State of the County Address

2011 State Of The County Address
Commissioner Paul Coble, Chair
Wake County Board of Commissioners

November 21, 2011

Vice chairman Matthews, commissioners, County staff, community partners and my fellow Wake County citizens, I am pleased to be with you today to report to you on the state of Wake County.

It has been my privilege and honor to serve as your chair for the past year. Because of the leadership of our commissioners, along with our talented staff and the support of our business community and citizens, we have made significant strides toward maintaining Wake County as a great place to live, work, learn and play.

Each year the Board of Commissioners develops and prioritizes our goals for the year, and at the forefront of our priorities for 2011 were the economy, jobs and investment. In his budget message back in May, County Manager David Cooke talked about the economy and balancing the budget in terms of it being a roller coaster ride. And as we sit here six months later we continue to experience ups and downs. We recognize that employment is down since the summer of 2008. We understand that families and businesses are struggling. But even in these volatile times, we remain focused on our principles of efficient, effective government, and our goals reflect our intentions to keep a long-term perspective. Here’s where we stand financially:

Similar to the past three years, we have a different revenue picture than what we have experienced in the past decade.

Property tax, the County’s largest revenue source, continues to grow, albeit at a much slower rate than before. Three years ago we were seeing about 1,000 new housing units per month. For 2011, we added about 5,000 new units or roughly 415 per month.

As of September 2011, new construction permit activity is quite similar to the permit activity of 2010 at the same point. However, new residential construction permits issued in July, August and September of 2011 is at 1,053 compared to 923 issued for the same three months of 2010.

Business personal property was very weak for 2011 as anticipated, declining by more than $500 million in value. Several things contributed to this value loss: businesses choosing to maintain liquidity rather than investing in new business assets, the failure or bankruptcy of many businesses, and the depreciating nature of this property.

Motor vehicle registrations and corresponding values rebounded in the last six months of fiscal year 2011. Vehicle registrations increased by 8,000 and values increased by $220 million during this six month period.

As we prepare for the future, we understand that the needs of our residents have changed.

Knowing this, again this year the Board of Commissioners’ number one goal was to not increase property taxes, while maintaining – and in some cases increasing – funding for our highest priorities: education, public safety and mental health.

This afternoon, as I discuss the state of Wake County, I want to take this opportunity to let you know about the progress we’ve made in our priority areas, while highlighting some of the people and programs that make it all possible.

While the figures I just revealed show that we’re not immune to the impacts of the economy, people all across the United States still recognize Wake County as a great place to live. And we continue to receive accolades that speak to this. Accolades such as:

The No.1 Place for Business and Careers;
The No.1 Healthiest Housing Market;
The No. 1 Most Sustainable Mid-Size Community;
And the No. 1 Healthiest County in North Carolina.

According to the 2010 Census, Wake County grew by 43.5 percent over the last 10 years to more than 900,000 residents. And with that growth comes important strategic planning for the future. Major accomplishments were made on the 30-Year Justice Facilities Master Plan this past year.

We continued construction on the new Justice Center and held a topping out ceremony to mark the completion of the steel framing in February. The Justice Center is expected to open in the spring of 2013;

The 11^th floor of the existing courthouse, which includes the Clerk of Court, was renovated;

And major progress was made on the Hammond Road Detention Center expansion, which is expected to open next spring.

Another Board of Commissioners’ goal for 2011 was Transportation Planning. The County is collaborating with municipal governments, transit providers and regional transportation agencies to begin discussions about our long-term transportation needs. The focus should be on providing efficient and effective modes of transportation for our citizens. Ultimately, municipalities will be asked to consider entering into an interlocal agreement to support the transit plan and future governance.

As we discuss growth and continue to plan for the arrival of more people in Wake County, our Board felt it was important that we make some needed changes to update some outdated regulations.

The Board established a goal in January to evaluate fees and practices to encourage business investment and re-investment in the community. Staff implemented a process to evaluate fees and regulations and solicited feedback from stakeholders including attorneys, the Wake County Planning Board, surveyors and developers. The results identified several areas in development regulations where it was practical to make changes, including:

The Recreation Land Area Contributions Ordinance. This ordinance was instituted in 2002 and required builders to dedicate land or provide funds whenever a residential development was established. Due to the current state of the economy, and because the ordinance was not serving its original intent of acquiring open space, our Board enacted a text amendment to eliminate this fee and/or property dedication requirement from the Unified Development Ordinance. This was an opportunity to help the development community get back on its feet.
My fellow commissioners and I also amended UDO text to increase the possibility of more commercial recreation facilities, such as fitness centers and recreational fields. By removing a 10-acre minimum area requirement for potential owners of these facilities, we expect more businesses to be able to invest in Wake County.
The Board changed the standards for temporary outdoor seasonal sales for holiday flowers, fireworks and pumpkins, by increasing the time that vendors can sell these items from 45 to 90 days.

While these ordinance changes are examples of the county working to make things easier for citizens and businesses, I want to take a moment to talk about a time when many in our community did their part to make people’s lives easier.

On the 16th of April, a storm cell spawned a tornado that touched down approximately eight times in Wake County. The storm caused four deaths and impacted more than 3,000 homes and businesses in excess of $115 million in damages. More than 600 residents were sheltered after the storm and about 200 were homeless.

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to commend Wake County employees and our resilient residents, as well. The citizens of Wake County should be extremely proud of how our employees responded in this critical situation.

During and immediately after the storm the Raleigh/Wake 911 Center dispatched more than 1,800 emergency calls and answered more than 3,400 calls – three times the normal volume. All calls were answered within 20 seconds of being received. The initial response to the storm required more than 350 personnel from multiple County departments, to work in coordination with the state, FEMA, local towns and private partners.

Following the storm, staff and community volunteers worked to find housing for the displaced, provided mental health counseling, cleared debris and repaired property.

In addition, staff developed interactive maps that showed the path of the storm and allowed residents to enter a street address to find out who was collecting their debris.

Again, a great job was done by all during this natural disaster.

Another one of the Board of Commissioners’ long-standing priority goals is to improve the County’s mental health system. The WakeBrook campus that we dedicated last November began to accept patients in January 2011. WakeBrook allows behavioral health consumers to have access to many levels of care, from outpatient visits to intensive, long-term inpatient treatment. The two-building campus represents Wake County’s priority for quality mental health services.

There were other significant achievements in Human Services.

The County’s Middle Class Express program, which helps individuals and families move into, or sustain, middle class status, continues to be a major part of the County’s plan for Human Capital Development. The program was honored with the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ Prioritization Award in 2011.

The Public Health Committee of the Human Services and Environmental Services Board adopted obesity as its major health priority this year. As a result, more than 125 Wake County leaders, representing business, government and nonprofits, came together in March to take part in the County’s first Health and Wellness Summit, called Winning the Obesity Battle. The event highlighted the work that is currently being done to battle obesity, and provided a forum for resource providers to find ways to collaborate.

Wake County is responsible for the public safety of all its citizens and we’re fortunate to have the leadership of Sheriff Donnie Harrison, who has led the Wake County Sheriff’s Office for the past nine years.

As we were reminded last Thursday evening, the work that Sherriff Harrison and his deputies perform is not routine. They constantly put their lives at risk to protect our residents and too often we fail to appreciate the magnitude of their sacrifices. Let us be reminded that these brave citizens do unusual work. We are grateful that the results of the incident last week were neither fatal nor tragic.

The use of technology is being used now more than ever to keep people safe. The Sheriff’s Office began upgrading its records, crimes and jail management systems to a web-based application and installed cameras in 60 vehicles to improve safety.

The City-County Bureau of Identification trained law enforcement officers from 22 agencies to use the Rapid Identification system – or Rapid ID – in June. Rapid ID allows officers to scan a person’s fingerprints and immediately search CCBI's fingerprint database for a possible identification. The technology, the first of its type in North Carolina, will allow law enforcement agencies to complete their jobs in a more efficient manner.

Another Board of Commissioners’ long-time goal has been to provide timely and life-saving delivery of Fire/Rescue and EMS services, and to continue discussions with contracted service providers to identify consolidation opportunities.

We took another step in realizing this goal and further strengthened our system in May with the consolidation of Six Forks Emergency Medical Services with Wake EMS. These changes continue the excellent service delivery and outcomes that citizens and residents expect from emergency medical services in Wake County.

Wake EMS has maintained an average arrival time of less than 10 minutes to the scene of major traumas for the last two years. This is a testament to the inter-agency cooperation between Fire and EMS, and their dedication to successfully treat trauma patients.

I’d like to recognize Dr. Brent Myers, the County’s EMS Director, who is here with us today… Dr. Myers, you and your excellent staff are another example of why Wake County is such a great place to live. Thank you.

Wake County is also a great place to work, evident by the many programs that help people to find work, help employers find workers and bring new organizations to the community. Throughout the current economic environment we have expanded some of our existing programs and launched new ones to help our citizens cope.

The Capital Area Workforce Development Board – a public, private and community partnership – added four new N.C. SHARE Network Access Points in 2011, bringing the total to 13 sites where job seekers can go in their own communities to look for jobs.

SHARE – which stands for Sharing How Access to Resources Empowers – allows trained volunteers to connect users to the online JobLink system, to help them obtain jobs, create resumes and more.

Workforce Development held their signature event, Collaborate 2011, in June. The event, which raises awareness of the workforce development services available to local business owners and community leaders, attracted more than 150 business owners, workforce developers, government professionals and elected officials.

While the Capital Area Workforce Development Board provides many significant services for our residents, Our Economic Development Program remains one of the best in the nation.

Through the Economic Development Program, 51 current companies have expanded in Wake County, and five new companies have moved to the area since November 2010. These 56 companies account for 5,459 net new jobs, and more than $467 million in investments.

Some of the larger announcements that have happened in the last year include:

Red Hat’s selection of North Carolina and Wake County for the location and expansion of its corporate headquarters, resulting in an additional 540 jobs and $109 million in investments to Wake County.
Biogen, a pharmaceuticals/biotech company, is planning to build a 190,000 square-foot office building on its campus, moving 300 jobs to the Research Triangle Park and making an investment of $45 million.
Other announcements include a new site for Strategic Behavioral Health in Garner and expansions for Lenovo, SAS and Novartis.

Ken Atkins, the Executive Director of the Wake County Economic Development Program, continues to do a great job and we thank him for his efforts.

Wake County Government employs more than 4,000 people and I think our award-winning products deserve recognition, as well.

The County received a Governmental Award for Excellence in Accounting and Financial Management from the State Treasurer’s Office in March for the Wake Accountability Tax Check website. Wake was one of two counties in the state to receive the award for implementing fiscally responsible procedures.

The Register of Deeds’ website was redesigned to make it faster and easier to use, and the site is now smartphone-friendly. The Register of Deeds was recognized with an Outstanding County Program Award from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners for the project. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Wake County Register of Deeds Laura Riddick for her outstanding leadership.

Wake County and City of Raleigh GIS departments together received the 2011 Hebert Stout Award for Visionary Use of Technology, given in honor of former County Commissioner Herb Stout. The agencies were recognized for their collaborative approach in rewriting the iMaps application, which provides access to multiple county and city land records databases.

While finding jobs for our citizens has been a focal point, funding our educational system remains a priority, as well.

Education comprises more than one‐third of the County’s budget. The fiscal year 2012 budget increased the appropriation to the Wake County Public School System to $314.4 million, an additional $908,000 from the previous budget. This was the result of realigning the funding for 4‐H school‐based services and Ready to Learn programs, such that those dollars are now directly provided to the school system. In addition, the County funds a variety of programs in support of the school system, including School Resource Officers and School Health Nurses.

We are nearing the completion of the School’s building program approved by the voters in November 2006 and we’ve identified $99.4 million in savings, which will allow us to build another high school and provide more seats for students than we originally projected.

At the same time, we have funded the school system's budget requests in full over the last three years, while the County reduced its total budget by more than $30 million. Of the largest counties in the state, we are the only county that has increased funding for schools over the past three fiscal years, without increasing the property tax rate.

Finally, in an attempt to reduce administrative costs and save taxpayer money, Wake County reached agreements with the School Board so the County now performs all legal work on acquisition services for new school sites and new contested workers’ compensation claims involving local dollars. We’re also reviewing the possibility of combining the County’s risk management program with the School’s program. These changes allow the school system’s resources to be used more efficiently, while letting the School Board focus on its primary objective – student achievement.

We still have some unfinished work in this area. We’ve had some discussions about assuming the school system’s real estate work involving the construction of new schools. I hope we can continue to work with the School Board and eventually find a more efficient process where the County can accept the responsibility of building schools, which would save taxpayer dollars, and lessen the School Board’s burden in the process.

One of the most important pieces in our higher education system in Wake County is Wake Technical Community College.

Wake Tech, the second largest community college in North Carolina, is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state – and will soon become the largest. Enrollment was up another 10 percent last fall and the college now serves more than 64,000 people each year.

With cost savings from the 2007 bond referendum, the college purchased an additional 10 acres at its Research Triangle Park campus, bringing the total acreage there to 93.9 acres. Another bond referendum would be needed to acquire the funds to build on that site.

On Main Campus, Wake Tech renovated its Early Childhood Education Building to add a Physical Education wing that includes a new gymnasium, which is the college's first athletic facility in its history.

Wake Tech was also named one of the Best Colleges to Work for in the U.S. by the Chronicle of Higher education, and was one of just nine two-year institutions to make the list.

We were pleased to be able to fund Wake Tech at the same amount in the fiscal year 2012 budget, and I want to thank Dr. Stephen Scott for his outstanding leadership.

While we’ve talked about why Wake County is such a great place to live, learn and work, allow me to take just a few minutes to explain why our County is also a great place to play.

The County’s Open Space program continues to acquire property for outdoor recreation and conservation. In 2004, we identified the Marks Creek area in eastern Wake County as a priority preservation area and we’ve purchased 14 tracts of land in this region. In October, we received a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant for $240,000 that will help us purchase more property to continue with our plans for the future Turnipseed Nature Preserve.

In February, we entered into a partnership with the city of Raleigh to build the Neuse River Greenway Trail, a 28-mile trail that will run along the Neuse River from Falls Lake dam to the Johnston County line. The plan is for the trail to become a segment of the state of North Carolina’s Mountains to Sea Trail, which will run 1,000 miles across the state.

I think we’re all aware of the love affair shared between the Carolina Hurricanes and Wake County. This past January, the Hurricanes, city of Raleigh and the entire County laid out the red carpet for the world. The 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend was one of the largest events – sporting or otherwise – to ever come to Wake County. It brought nearly 19,000 visitors to the area and generated more than 10,000 hotel stays. Total attendance figures for the weekend's events was estimated to be 138,000.

The event generated an estimated $11.4 million in direct visitor spending for Raleigh and Wake County, and produced $49 million in media value for the area, based on more than 685,000 domestic and international media impressions.

Our entire community came together to make the NHL All-Star Weekend in Wake County a tremendous success. It is clear from the comments from people who attended from all around the world that Raleigh, Wake County and the entire region put its best foot forward.

As we look to the challenges facing us in coming years, it’s pretty clear what our priorities need to be. Even in our current economic environment, our County is still growing. We must continue to develop our workforce and provide for our citizens, while prioritizing our resources to meet the needs of a growing County.

It is now more important than ever that we stay on course with our economic development efforts with the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, and remain focused on attracting businesses from all over the world, providing quality employment for our citizens.

As I close, I would like to sincerely thank you for the honor of serving as your chairman for the past year. As we look to the future, I know that our county is ready to face the challenges that lie ahead, while capitalizing on the opportunities that present themselves.

On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, I would like to commend our excellent County employees for the great work that they continue to provide to our citizens on a daily basis. I thank County Manager David Cooke for his excellent leadership and County Attorney Scott Warren for his guidance and counsel. I also want to thank our clerk to the Board, Susan Banks, for her dedication to our entire Board.

And I must say thank you to the many volunteers who serve our County so passionately.

Finally, as we close out another year and prepare for what lies ahead, we recognize that the needs of our citizens have changed. As I mentioned earlier, we understand that families and businesses are struggling to maintain their quality of life.

In the face of all these challenges, the state of Wake County remains strong. We will continue to meet these obstacles head on, maintaining a long-term perspective, while doing the necessary things to make life better for our citizens.

Thank you.

Commissioner Paul Coble, Chair