In a recent NC League of Municipalities presentation, a financial
advisor told the Board that 22.5 million jobs had been added since 2008, but 26
million jobs have been eliminated in the last five weeks. WRAL announced that more people are
unemployed in North Carolina than people employed in the Raleigh-Cary metro
area. With these concerning
statistics, it is no wonder that some people are questioning
shelter-in-place policies.
A few people have asked the Council why the Town is not
setting its own COVID-related rules and policies. The reason is based in how
government is organized in North Carolina.
In NC, counties are charged with overseeing social and health services
while cities oversee the provision of urban services such as water, solid waste
collection, and building permits. The
Town of Cary does not have anyone on staff with medical training or experience qualified
to be making calls about the health of our citizens. For this reason, the Town
of Cary defers health related policy and rulemaking to the County.
Similarly, some people are asking whether Cary is keeping a
record of the number of COVID cases within our municipality. We do not collect health-related data and the
County does not provide to its municipalities a breakout of cases in each
municipality. Therefore, we cannot say
how many individuals in Cary have tested positive for COVID.
Although we do not have oversight over the COVID health policies
and rules, the Town of Cary has been operating an Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
which has been addressing COVID-related issues within our municipal limits. According to our Town Manager, Sean Stegall, our
response to COVID has cost approximately $1m since mid-March. In addition to unexpected expenses, the Town
anticipates losing approximately $10m in revenue as a result of COVID.
Many of the government agencies and authorities that serve
us are also financially impacted by COVID.
Our regional transit organization, GoTriangle, announced last week that bus
boardings are down 85% from last year. With
the loss
of gas tax and other revenues, NC DOT is facing a $300 million shortfall. And, all
levels of government are expecting a major loss in sales tax revenue and/or
income tax revenue.
As many of you are aware, the federal government released
funds to states and larger local governments in CARES Act 3. The State of North Carolina has received
over $4 billion, of which $3.5 billion will be appropriated by the General
Assembly. According to NC House Speaker, Tim
Moore, in a webinar hosted today by the Raleigh Chamber, the Legislature will address
the appropriation of those funds when it reconvenes tomorrow. Funds will be directed at stabilizing hospitals,
nursing homes, schools, and government agencies as well as advancing research and
the development of treatments and a vaccine.
Is everything doom and gloom? Moore cited the economic health of the state
before COVID as well as the surplus in the state unemployment fund as two
reasons why North Carolina will be able to pull itself out of the COVID-induced recession
better than most states. In Cary, most of our operations have been running as
usual so we will not have to face the re-opening of government as some of our
peer cities are.
While all is not doom and gloom, we are facing major
economic uncertainty. If you have time
to watch an excellent presentation on the potential scenarios of COVID’s economic
impact, I recommend this webinar produced by the National Association of
Regional Councils: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG_kjDpKLZg.
Want
to know more about what is going on in Cary?
Join my Town Council colleagues and me at our first-ever Virtual Town
Hall on Thursday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m., which will be broadcast on the Town of
Cary website, YouTube, and Cary TV. We'll
update citizens on Cary operations during COVID-19 and answer your questions.
If you have a question, please email it to virtualtownhall@townofcary.org or
online at www.townofcary.org/virtual
before noon on April 30.
I
look forward to your hearing what's on your mind!