NCCBI
News
Other stories below:
Media
relations seminar coming on Nov. 15
YEF
members learn how to make their voices heard
Small
Business Advisory Board to focus on four issues
An Op-Ed Column by Phil Kirk
Note: This column was written just before the legislature
finally adopted a budget on Friday
 Time to
again launch a government efficiency study
While
North Carolina’s legislature is debating how many services
should have their funding cut and which taxes must be
increased to balance the budget, they also need to develop a
plan to address efficiency in government.
We are three months into this fiscal year, and the state has
no budget. That is inefficiency at its best, not only for
state government, but also for public schools, community
colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and local
governments because of the state funds which they receive.
What business or industry could survive if it handled its
financial affairs like our state government does? While this
year’s budget situation is the worst in anyone’s memory,
the General Assembly has failed to enact a budget by the
beginning of the fiscal year 19 of the past 21 years.
Most North Carolinians would accept a reasonable tax increase
if they felt the Governor and legislature had cut out
unnecessary spending and if they felt government were
operating as efficiently as possible.
Governor Mike Easley was forced to eliminate or reduce
expenditures of nearly $1 billion to balance last year’s
budget shortly after he came into office. The state’s
general fund was in such trouble that there was some concern
that the new Governor might ask for a recount of the final
election results!
On July 27, NCCBI wrote to Governor Easley, Senate President
Pro Tem Marc Basnight, and Speaker of the House Jim Black to
urge them to approve a “comprehensive efficiency study of
state government.”
At least two have been done in the past 30 years. When Jim
Holshouser became the first Republican Governor in this
century, he immediately ordered a comprehensive study of all
of state government.
Eighty business executives from throughout North Carolina were
loaned to state government, and they spent approximately 10
weeks looking into every nook and cranny. Several hundred
millions of dollars in savings were located and implemented.
Eight years ago the General Assembly commissioned the GPAC
study, some of which was implemented. However, many of the
recommendations were apparently not politically acceptable.
Another reason was because tax revenues were growing at a
healthy rate, there was not a financial emergency to motivate
program eliminations or reductions.
There have been some limited experiments with changing a few
burdensome, costly, inefficient state government policies
which are more designed to save state bureaucrats’ jobs. Two
come to mind. The state university system has gained some
much-needed and long-overdue relief from costly and
time-consuming state construction contract regulations and
local public school systems have finally been given marginal
relief from state purchasing policies. However, the paperwork
they must maintain to satisfy state bureaucrats is a
disincentive to use their new flexibility. If this new
flexibility is good for a few, why not expand it and be more
efficient? Those are the type of questions and solutions which
would come from a non-political business look at state
government.
For an efficiency study to succeed and for the business
community to expend resources of time and money, we must have
a commitment to seriously consider every recommendation by the
Governor and the members of the General Assembly.
The commitment from the top must then be extended throughout
state government because without that 100 per cent
cooperation, fact-finding and recommendations will be limited.
The citizens of North Carolina expect their tax money to be
spent wisely, effectively, and efficiently. A thorough study
of all of state government -- including the legislature and
all levels of public education -- and its subsequent
implementation would go a long way toward increasing public
confidence in state government -- a level of confidence which
is certainly not present today.
Media
relations seminar coming on Nov. 15
Another
in the NCCBI series of media relations training seminars will
be offered in Raleigh on Thursday, Nov. 15. The two-hour
seminar will again be taught by Bill F. Hensley, a recognized
expert in media relations.
An NCCBI mainstay for the past five years, the media relations
training seminar is always well received by those who attend.
It is especially recommended for management, public relations
and marketing personnel. The cost is $140 for members of
NCCBI, with $125 for each additional colleague. The fee is
$150 for non-members. The seminar will be held at the Raleigh
Chamber of Commerce building.
During the
session, Hensley will teach participants how to prepare for an
interview, what to say or not say during the interview, how to
build credibility with the news media, how to answer the tough
questions, and how to handle a crisis or adverse publicity.
YEF
members learn how to make their voices heard
NCCBI
members attending the Young Executives Forum (YEF) meeting on
Sept. 14 in Greensboro heard from speakers and panelists who
gave helpful advice about making their voices heard in the
legislature, in the media and in their jobs. Approximately 55
people attended the Forum’s quarterly meeting at the
Grandover Resort.
Patricia
Henry, plant manager with Miller Brewing Co., discussed the
importance of creating a positive vision for ourselves and
others. “Sometimes we don’t think we have control over
ourselves,” she said. “We do have control. All we have to
do is take it.”
She said
visualizing a goal and focusing on that goal leads to
realizing it. “Nothing that happens to us is an accident,”
Henry said. “Before a runner jumps a hurdle, she sees
herself making the jump and clearing the hurdle. That’s what
we have to do in our personal and professional lives.”
Leslie
Bevacqua, NCCBI vice president of governmental affairs, led a
panel of legislators and a political consultant who talked
about the best ways to be effective in the halls of the
General Assembly. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford), Rep. Lyons Gray
(R-Forsyth), and political consultant Ballard Everett told the
group that elected officials rely heavily on input from their
constituents to make decisions in Raleigh. The panelists
challenged the young professionals in the audience to build
relationships with their representatives, to be available to
provide information and input about pending legislation and to
step up and run for public office.
Rachel Perry,
a managing partner with Capital Strategies in Raleigh and
former press secretary to Gov. Jim Hunt, facilitated a
discussion among panelists who provided advice about ways of
dealing with the press. Panelists were NCCBI President Phil
Kirk, Greensboro News and Record Business Editor Dick Barron
and WFMY-TV Vice President of Community Affairs Shirley Frye.
Be honest, be
proactive and be prompt when dealing with reporters was some
of the advice that the panelists provided. When “spinning”
a news item to a newspaper, television station or radio
station, you must let the reporter know what makes your news
item unique and what makes it interesting to local readers.
The panelists also agreed that it is important to get to know
reporters before a crisis occurs.
Ron Mack,
executive vice president and general counsel with the Koury
Corp., provided information about the Grandover Resort and
other Koury facilities. Also speaking at the meeting was YEF
member Garrick Francis with Epley Associates who provided a
company profile on Epley, one of the largest independent
public relations consulting firms in the southeast.
NCCBI’s Young Executives Forum
was formed in 1997, with sponsorship from SouthTrust Bank, to
provide professional development and networking opportunities
for NCCBI members 50 years old and younger. For more
information, call Julie Campbell, NCCBI director of
governmental affairs, at 919-836-1402.
Small
Business Advisory Board to focus on four issues
NCCBI’s
Small Business Advisory Board met Wednesday, Sept. 5, at the
Angus Barn in Raleigh in conjunction with the Triangle Area
Meeting. They were briefed by Leslie Bevacqua, vice president
of governmental affairs, on the legislature outlook and
current budget situation. The board, led by Chairman Steve
Zaytoun, established four areas they will concentrate their
efforts to establish legislative positions: health care,
education of workforce, economic incentives, and tax issues.
Eleven new members were welcomed to the board: Chuck Allen,
Goldsboro; "Bo" Biggs, Lumberton; Wayne Burton,
Mount Airy; John Daniel III, Sanford; Linda Gilleland, Boone;
Richard Gordon, Statesville; Earl Harper, Kinston; Shearin
Johnson, Rocky Mount; Sherrol Lappala, Raleigh; Robert Palmes,
Statesville; Burr Sullivan, Thomasville.
After the meeting the board met with others attending the
Triangle Area Meeting for lunch and presentations by NCCBI
Chairman Gordon Myers and President Phil Kirk. The next
meeting of the small business board will be in Charlotte on
Dec. 12 at Bank of America.
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