Cumberland County is currently without a Public Defender.  For reasons known only to him, Chief Resident Superior Court Judge, Jim Ammons has failed to exercise his right under North Carolina law to appoint a person to fill the position.

When we look back at how we got here, we’re faced with an intriguing story of courthouse power and politics:

Background

Judge Ammons appointed Bernie Condlin to the Public Defender position in January of 2014.    The length of Condlin’s term of office was four years.

In 2017, lawyers in Cumberland County gathered at the courthouse, took nominations, and voted on their recommendations for the upcoming term.  David Smith, an assistant Public Defender, beat Condlin by a razor-thin margin, but the Cumberland County Bar’s decision was not binding on Ammons. He had the right under North Carolina law to choose to appoint either of the top two vote-getters.

Ammons failed to appoint Smith or Condlin to the position. Instead, he left Condlin in place throughout 2018 in “holdover” status.  Smith continued his career as an assistant, working under Condlin.

Law Changes

To add to the confusion, the law governing appointments was changed in June of 2018, giving the Administrative Officer of the Courts (of North Carolina) the power to nominate a person to be considered for the position.  Here’s the session law.  The underlined portions were added and the crossed out portions were deleted from the books:

So it would seem that once the law went into effect in June, the Administrative Officer needed to “submit a name,” and then Ammons needed to choose from the “list” of:

1. Smith or Condlin; or
2. The AOC submission.

Neither happened, and the issue dragged into 2019.

Condlin Resigns in February, New Names “Floated”

Condlin, apparently fed up with being in professional limbo as a “holdover,” resigned in February, saying he would be going back into private practice:

“I don’t know if I’m out of job in a day, a month, or a year,” Condlin said.

For the past several weeks, Cumberland County has been without a public defender.  The rumor mill has started, as it tends to do at the courthouse, and other names have been floated for the position, including Gerald Beaver and former District Court Judge Tal Baggett.

The problem is that a “new” person would have to be “submitted” by the Officer of the Courts to enable an Ammons appointment. That hasn’t happened. Instead, when questioned by the Fayetteville Observer, the Chief Officer said he was “unaware” until contacted by the paper that Condlin was in “holdover status.” 

Failure to Act

Judge Ammons holds all the cards here, and he’s failed to play a hand. He had ample time to choose between Condlin and Smith prior to June 2018, but failed to do so. It makes no sense to guess his reasons, but it’s a safe assumption that he didn’t want either of them. In that case, a simple phone call to Raleigh, telling the Administrative Officer to submit another name (to his liking) could have been sufficient.

Instead, we’re left with a breakdown that is unacceptable under the plain language of the North Carolina Statutes. The law is clear that the Chief Resident “shall” make the appointment and that is “required.”

As it stands, 15 lawyers, six support staff and two investigators are without a boss, and another important office is void of a leader.

Note:  This post is a personal theory based on circumstantial evidence.  I hope it starts a conversation that needs to be had.  Now on with the show…

Synthetic TIFs and Baseball

Fayetteville is borrowing money to to build our new baseball stadium.  We’re using a “TIF” to pay back the money.  If you’re wondering what that is, here’s an explanation:

What is a Project Development Financing/TIF?

A project development financing (hereinafter referred to as TIF) is a type of debt financing in which a local government establishes a district and borrows monies to fund public infrastructure projects that will benefit (and incentivize) new private development in the district. The unit pledges as security for the loan (and uses as funds to repay the loan) the incremental increase in property tax revenue generated within the district due to the increase in property valuation caused by the new development.

Fayetteville has gone all-in with this TIF thing.  The idea is that economic growth surrounding the stadium will pay for the stadium in the long run, without increasing taxes on Fayetteville residents.  Here’s City Manager Doug Hewett explaining how the parking garage, hotel and office tower under construction next to the stadium will “provide revenue to fuel the synthentic TIF.”

As you can see, Fayetteville needs private development and the increased tax base that comes with it to finance the stadium.   

Problem

The stadium is at least $7 million over budget.

It was projected to cost $33 million.  Unsurprising to anyone who’s ever paid a contractor to build anything, the cost has grown to over $40 million.  City officials are doing their best to encourage you to look the other way:

(Assistant City Manager Kristoff) Bauer said he does not anticipate that the extra costs will require a property tax increase. Bauer said revenues to pay off the bonds are coming from sources such as ticket sales, renting out the stadium, and tax district in downtown where any revenue from rising property values will go toward the stadium debt.

“We’re seeing it happen faster and at a higher value that we expected,” he said.

The city took out limited-obligation bonds to fund the stadium’s construction. Cumberland County is pitching in as well, contributing revenue from downtown property taxes.

There are two possibilities:

1. Bauer is correct and property values are increasing at a higher rate than “expected.”

Or, 2. The City needs to find more money.

My money’s on 2.

The additional $7+ million needed to construct the stadium will have to come from a source not contemplated in the city’s original projections.

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Likely Outcome

Lately, there have been rumblings in local press and radio of City Hall being sold along with the police station next to it.  The justification is that these buildings are now sitting on “prime real estate” thanks to downtown development.

Let me point out that I think that’s an absurd reason to sell a public building.  City Halls are supposed to sit on prime real estate, and they do in most of the cities I’ve been to.

Moreover, Fayetteville’s City Hall and police station are relatively new and modern.  Why waste these buildings and incur the cost of new land and construction???

It’s very simple:  City leaders have put a great deal of political capital into the stadium and the downtown development project.  They can’t afford to let it fail.

And so, City Hall and the police station will be sold to a private developer.  The real estate will be added to the downtown development district where it will “provide revenue to fuel the synthetic TIF,” as Mr. Hewett would say.

And so, we’re selling City Hall to play ball.

Yesterday, the Fayetteville Observer reported on the parking study that was published on Cross Creek Divide a few days ago.  The experts conducting the study encourage our city leaders to charge more for parking downtown.  Read the Observer article here for a primer:  Study Points to Paid Parking for Downtown Fayetteville.

The Observer interviewed the familiar talking heads for downtown, and it seems that all the experts think charging more for parking is a good idea.  95% of the comments to the article from regular citizens suggest otherwise.

What struck me was Jordan Jones’s take on the issue:

Jordan Jones, the project manager for converting the former Prince Charles Hotel into high-end condos with ground-floor restaurants, said this is the right time for the city to move ahead with a detailed parking plan.

“With all of the demand we’re adding, with all the new businesses we’re bringing down there, it is time to really shift over to paid on-street parking,” he said.

First off, why does Jones care?   His parking needs are taken care of.  The City is purchasing a brand new parking deck and then leasing it back to Prince Charles Holdings for insanely discounted rates:

PCH_Amendment_12.13.17

So Jordan Jones and Prince Charles Holdings will get City-owned parking for $50/month or $1.66/day.  Everyone else will be lucky to get $1.66/hour.

Is this fair to every other business downtown?  Their customers will be filling up a running meter to buy a cup of coffee, shop for art, eat a fried turkey sandwich, or stop by for a meeting with their attorney.  Many of these businesses invested in downtown long before “Project Homerun.”

There’s nothing immoral about making money, and we should encourage investment downtown, but when public resources are being used by private businesses to make said money or encourage said investment, I think we should be as fair and transparent as possible.  That hasn’t happened in this case.  If you think it has, ask a random person on the street whether the parking deck will be used for baseball games.  You might be surprised by their response.

I’ll close this one with former mayor Tony Chavonne, who is in favor of more paid parking:

Chavonne said he expects some businesses to be opposed to paid park.

“Undoubtedly, with any kind of change, there will be people not necessarily supportive of this,” he said. “The city just can’t continue to give away its most valuable asset, and that is convenient parking. That just doesn’t even make any sense if you think about it.”

The City is already giving away its most valuable asset, to Prince Charles Holdings.

What doesn’t make sense, if you think about it, is that everyone else is going to pay for it.

If so, you’re old-fashioned.  It’s time to get with the “new paradigm” and pay up according to the group of experts that were hired with your tax dollars to perform a parking evaluation of downtown Fayetteville:

According to these experts, “too much supply is harmful.”  Really??

My favorite:  “Public resources should be maximized and sized appropriately.”  This is a fancy way of saying your local government should make money off of you.  Get ready to pay a lot more to park downtown.

If you want more information, a draft of the study can be viewed here:  parking study report draft 12 28 18 with appendix r revised final draft (002)

At first glance, the study seems to imply that the “new Stadium Garage” can be used for baseball games, which we know is not the case.

It will be interesting to see how the City Council reacts and whether any of the findings are questioned.  I’ll update this post accordingly.

To close, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a parking deck that was open to the public in the middle of the bulls-eye???

The Fayetteville Observer is reporting that our current city council is unhappy with the performance of the Fayetteville Airport.

When I fly, I appreciate the convenience of flying out of my hometown.  It’s nice avoiding an hour-long car ride when you finally land.  The lack of polish and amenities in the Fayetteville airport never really bothered me.  Still, I’ve driven to RDU on more than one occasion for the (often cheaper) direct flight to my destination.

In the end, I think Fayetteville suffers from being stuck in the middle of Charlotte and Raleigh, but I’m curious as to what others prefer.  Please take the time to complete these polls: