Items from across the Triad and Beyond
Council holds line against landfill reopening
The liberal-centrist faction of Greensboro City Council won the latest skirmish in the garbage war on June 16. Council voted 8-1 to approve a motion by at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins, who proposed “that we study the solid waste alternatives as they relate to our best alternatives in terms of cost, societal and technology aspects.
And that way we can get all the facts on the table and come up with the best decision. I would not want to structure it as reopening the [White Street] Landfill.
I think that brings too many negatives to the table. That is not my goal. My goal is to have Greensboro be the leader in how we dispose of municipal solid waste.”
The lone dissenting vote came from District 4 Councilman Mike Barber, who proposed that the council receive budget information about how much money
the city would save by
adding 50,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste with an eye
towards allocating the money towards the library system and the
homeless day center. Barber’s motion did not receive a second. The
discussion took an ugly turn, with Barber calling District 2
Councilwoman Goldie Wells, whose district encompasses the landfill, “the perpetual victim.”
In
two separate actions, council voted to request the NC Department of
Environment and Natural Resources and the Guilford County Department of
Public Health to assess whether the nearby EH Glass Landfill is a
public health threat. — JG
Complaint review committee wants to see cops’ disciplinary records
Greensboro’s complaint review committee is asking for an amendment to the city ordinance and legislative action to give it more wide-ranging authority to investigate allegations of officers mistreating citizens.
Wayne Abraham, the
committee’s chairman, told city council on June 16 that “the volume and
complexity of the complaints coming to us has increased substantially.
In
2008, the committee had 13 complaints appealed to it. This year, by the
end of May, we’ve already had 20 complaints.” The council tabled the
item until July 21, so that police Chief Tim Bellamy would have an opportunity to outline any concerns. In the meantime, Assistant Chief Anita Holder hinted
at points on which the department is likely to put up resistance. “My
concern is that the one change that the department had asked to come
out of that proposal is the notion that the CRC would be able to look
at past performance issues, past disciplinary issues.” Rank-and-file
officers have vociferously objected to efforts to grant the complaint
review committee additional powers in the past, but some have viewed
the committee as ineffective and irrelevant. The proposed changes would address those perceptions on three fronts. “We occasionally need to
access an officer’s personnel record,” Abraham said. “Sometimes we need
to establish whether or not a pattern of complaints is occurring…. We
need to know if any officer is having the same kinds of complaints
reported by various people, and how those complaints are being handled.
As you know, when a person calls in, there are different
classifications that they can be given. Not all are officially
classified as a complaint, so it’s important to be able to see the full
record rather than only a small portion. We also need to be informed
about what specific disciplinary actions have been taken when it has
been determined that an officer violated the law or policy. Since
personnel records are barred from being made public it is important
that we, on behalf of the public, know that proper actions were taken.
This way the public knows that we can and are reviewing this on their
behalf. Currently, we know what determination has been made regarding
an officer when we review an incident, but not what happens as a
result.
Therefore our information is incomplete. I believe
Ronald Reagan termed this, ‘Trust but verify.’” A second proposed
change has been considered the most controversial in the past, but may
end up being the least contentious in this battle. “Subpoena power has
been a hot-button item for some time,” Abraham said. “We may need to
meet with someone directly who is reticent to meet with us and tell his
or her version of events. While we can already compel a police officer
to come meet with us because he or she is a city employee we cannot
compel a citizen or resident.” A third proposed change grapples with
the reality that many residents who believe they have been mistreated
by the police do not know they have the ability to file a formal
complaint with the complaint review committee. “Events occur publicly
that are
recorded by the media
or are broadcast over the internet that are directly related to
police-resident interactions in our city,” Abraham said. “Incidents are
also brought to the attention of our staff and sometimes members of the
community itself. currently we cannot initiate an investigation into
incidents unless a complainant files it with us first. Therefore we
need the ability to initiate an investigation into events that are
brought to our attention so that public confidence can be maintained in
the integrity of our city government and police force.”
At-large councilwoman Mary Rakestraw said, “Two or three years ago I probably would not even have considered listening to this. some of the events that have happened in recent months have made me think otherwise.” she expressed reservations about the proposed changes in light of the fact that the city was a defendant in a lawsuit brought by 39 police officers, adding, “I would think a vote on this would be viewed as ‘we’re going after those policemen by doing this.’” city Attorney Terry Wood validated Rakestraw’s concern: “This involves review of police discipline is what they’re actually asking for…. some of the complainants in the charges that have been brought have indicated disparity in discipline as being one of their issues, so I’m not sure that they’re totally separate.” — JG
Council awards no-bid Contract for Greensboro swim Center
The Greensboro city council voted unanimously on June 16 to approve a no-bid contract to Teague, Freyaldenhoven and Freyaldenhoven
Architects and Planners for the design of a planned aquatic center at the coliseum complex. The Teague firm will head up a design team comprised of local companies Davis-martin-Powell & Associates and suttonkennerly & Associates, along with Atlanta-based Rosser International.
The estimated cost of the aquatic center is $17 million, but a successful bond passed by Greensboro voters last november only includes $12 million for the project. at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins asked where the city was going to come up with the money to close the gap. “right now, we’re just about on top of where our estimate is — about $17 million,” engineering & Inspection Director Butch Simmons said. “The last fire station we just bid, Fire station 61, came in, if you take off the contingency, 38 percent below the last one we built. I can expect on this facility — we’re hoping for 15 percent, which gets us down into the $14.4-$14.6 [million] range. so there is a gap.” District 3 Councilman Zack matheny said, “I’m making a plea for the associates with the swimming community to say, ‘Give your dollars and help close that gap on a private basis,’ because we’re going to be put in a tough spot if we’ve got these grandiose plans and we’re like Winston-salem that’s got a ballpark being built and then we come back and say, ‘We need $2.2 million to finish this swimming pool that we want to meet and exceed citizens’ expectations but we as a council have to vote to come up with another $2.2 million of citizens’ dollars.’” — JG
NC stimulus money about one-third spent
north Carolina is slated to receive $6.1. billion in federal stimulus money over a two-year period, nC sen. Don Vaughan (D-Guilford) reports in his weekly newsletter. “since February, north Carolina has used $1.9 billion to help fund our schools and avoid
teacher
layoffs, to provide healthcare to the poor and elderly, and to keep
government open and providing essential services such as public safety.
stimulus funding has also helped lessen the severity of cuts to
education and healthcare in the state budget we are currently
considering.” – JG
