[Durham INC] INC-list Digest, Vol 49, Issue 7
TheOcean1 at aol.com
TheOcean1 at aol.com
Tue Jan 6 14:23:03 EST 2009
As Nancy points out, organizations change over time, often effected by how
our method of communication changes.
20 years ago, the primary means of neighborhood communications were
newsletters. Today, much more is done over the neighborhood listservs, and eventually
that may become our primary means of communication.
As a returning board member of INC, I've witnessed the changes INC has
experienced over the past years.
Our new President seems dedicated to a better understanding of the past, and
a more thought out plan for the future. I'm greatly encouraged by his more
holistic approach.
My personal goals include making sure the INC process is better explained
and adhered to. The downside of that process is it is frustratingly slow.
Generally, that would be; an issue is brought up in say May, and a program around
it is planned for (at the earliest) the June meeting. The information would
be gathered there by the reps, who would take it to their individual
neighborhood's next meeting and return in July with that neighborhood's collective
opinion.
Some issues don't allow for that three month minimum process, and such was
the case on the Meals Tax.
In cases like that, the board can provide a provisional vote that can be
ratified at the following meeting, which is what was done for the Meals Tax.
Durham was provided almost no leeway except that it could put the issue on
the ballot. That provided far too little time to inform the general public, and
partly thanks to opponents who muddied the waters calling it a food tax, the
general population cast too many votes under a cloud of misinformation....
and that's why it failed.
The type of people who attend INC meetings are on the most part, better
informed than the general populous, and in my opinion, that's why those present
voted for this progressive effort.
The short window (six week?) might have been enough to inform the voters,
had it not been for all the misinformation that opponents were spewing. If you
doubt this, take your own private poll.
Ask folks how they voted and why. You'll hear a lot of them who thought the
tax was on all food, not just prepared food.
We can only learn from the past, and prepare for the future. Our current
President is doing just that, first by calling a meeting of all the past
Presidents last month. INC's first President was in attendance and provided history
back to the '80s. I've seen incoming Presidents plan for their year in
office, Craigie Sanders is the first President I've seen working on a five year
plan.
If you consider the listservs are a better means of communication, and feel
that careful planning produces better outcomes, then I think great things
should be expected.
Bill Anderson
In a message dated 1/6/2009 11:25:14 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
scrapping.nancy at verizon.net writes:
Randy brings up a thread that I too have pulled at as a new rep for Hope
Valley Farms. I am not allowed to vote because my neighborhood does not
currently have a way to effectively convey information and receive adequate
input in order for me to vote in a representative way.
I would really like us to look at this issue -it is not unique to INC, I'll
give a PTA example. A controversy occurred at a school - PTA leadership
purported to speak for all PTA members but they had not taken a vote and if
they had, they would have needed to share four bits of info - total school
population, how many members they have - how many voted for and how many
voted against the proposal.
As a newbie - I have been very surprised that INC has taken votes before
they have taken the information back to their membership.
Finally, I can imagine there are issues that not all INC members should vote
on -things particular to a region - my beef - no secret here -is the effects
of development on SW Durham and other regions of Durham with rural areas.
This issue's impact just isn't felt to the same degree by someone who lives
outside of SW Durham although I am sure they can and do empathize and of
course want what is best for all of Durham. Nevertheless...
The start of a new year is a good time to revisit mission, goals etc.
Nancy Cox
writing just as me not as rep of HVF
----- Original Message -----
From: <inc-list-request at rtpnet.org>
To: <inc-list at rtpnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 7:43 AM
Subject: INC-list Digest, Vol 49, Issue 7
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. what happened... (RW Pickle)
> 2. Re: what happened... (Reyn Bowman)
> 3. 50% CUTS IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH BUDGETS
> (pinnaclecdc at aol.com)
> 4. Re: County Manager's Proposed Budget Actions (Reyn Bowman)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 03:06:04 -0500 (EST)
> From: "RW Pickle" <randy at 27beverly.com>
> Subject: [Durham INC] what happened...
> To: inc-list at durhaminc.org
> Message-ID: <1162.71.111.250.165.1231229164.squirrel at www.patriot.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Melissa brings up another point:
>
>>> But I do not think this museum needs any additional improvements at
>>> this time, particularly a new and larger gift shop...and many Durham
>>> citizens did not vote for the prepared food tax because they didn't
>>> want the money used toward this end.
>
> This brings up something that has been a topic of conversation for a
> number of people; both associated with INC and outside of it. But I have
> yet to hear it discussed in an open forum.
>
> How could INC reps be bringing information back to the meetings, and vote
> overwhelmingly for the Meals Tax, only to have it defeated by >73%? It
> just doesn't seem like the neighborhoods and their reps are even talking
> about the issues. Otherwise the INC vote wouldn't have been so positive in
> favor of the tax. (I don't believe anyone voted against it when the vote
> was taken). Obviously there is a problem here somewhere in the
> communication paths. Otherwise you'd expect the vote to be reflected
> similarly by INC as it was by the voters. Yet it was so far off, you have
> to wonder why.
>
> Or is it that only the HOA's that are members of INC truly have a
> membership of ALL of their neighbors while some Associations that make up
> INC have as little as 10% (or less in some cases) membership/participation
> in them? For example, INC currently has Board member that has claimed to
> represent a neighborhood for years. Yet, last year when I mentioned them
> to the long-term President of that Association, she didn't even know them.
> Maybe it's that type of lack of neighborhood conversations/involvement
> that led INC to support something that clearly had little support by the
> people it claims to represent. It's hard to believe that INC is that out
> of touch, but the Meals Tax vote is a clear sign that something is wrong.
> The last couple of years INC has moved further away from the core values
> that made it work so well for so long. It has taken on some bedfellows
> that perhaps it's time to kick out of bed. These are hard things to
> think/talk about, but it's necessary if votes are to be taken on issues
> that clearly the community INC purports to represent believes the exact
> opposite.
>
> RWP
> 27 Beverly
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 06:45:35 -0500
> From: Reyn Bowman <Reyn at Durham-cvb.com>
> Subject: Re: [Durham INC] what happened...
> To: RW Pickle <randy at 27beverly.com>, "inc-list at durhaminc.org"
> <inc-list at durhaminc.org>
> Message-ID:
> <1CCD4AA8608B1148A080E953C1A2EEA60F00D820CC at EXCHANGE-2008.durham.cvb>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Here is another viewpoint.
>
> Polls indicate the meals tax failure had everything to do with the
> economy, not popularity of the measure. Prior to the economic turndown
> the measure was more than 2 to 1 in favor.
>
> I wouldn't read too much into it or judge those who had much more time to
> study the pros and cons...voters were given an artificially short window
> for voter education by virtue of the state legislation.
>
> It was also clear in analysis that had the measure been on a local
> election ballot as is more typical vs. forced into a presidential, the
> more than 35,000 votes it received would have given it more than any other
> measure or candidate for that matter on the previous local election.
>
> One thing is clear. If it had passed, we'd see 2/3rds of the costs of
> many things transferred to non-residents, opening up millions in the
> general fund to soften the impact of these cuts on core services.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org [mailto:inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org] On
> Behalf Of RW Pickle
> Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 3:06 AM
> To: inc-list at durhaminc.org
> Subject: [Durham INC] what happened...
>
> Melissa brings up another point:
>
>>> But I do not think this museum needs any additional improvements at
>>> this time, particularly a new and larger gift shop...and many Durham
>>> citizens did not vote for the prepared food tax because they didn't
>>> want the money used toward this end.
>
> This brings up something that has been a topic of conversation for a
> number of people; both associated with INC and outside of it. But I have
> yet to hear it discussed in an open forum.
>
> How could INC reps be bringing information back to the meetings, and vote
> overwhelmingly for the Meals Tax, only to have it defeated by >73%? It
> just doesn't seem like the neighborhoods and their reps are even talking
> about the issues. Otherwise the INC vote wouldn't have been so positive in
> favor of the tax. (I don't believe anyone voted against it when the vote
> was taken). Obviously there is a problem here somewhere in the
> communication paths. Otherwise you'd expect the vote to be reflected
> similarly by INC as it was by the voters. Yet it was so far off, you have
> to wonder why.
>
> Or is it that only the HOA's that are members of INC truly have a
> membership of ALL of their neighbors while some Associations that make up
> INC have as little as 10% (or less in some cases) membership/participation
> in them? For example, INC currently has Board member that has claimed to
> represent a neighborhood for years. Yet, last year when I mentioned them
> to the long-term President of that Association, she didn't even know them.
> Maybe it's that type of lack of neighborhood conversations/involvement
> that led INC to support something that clearly had little support by the
> people it claims to represent. It's hard to believe that INC is that out
> of touch, but the Meals Tax vote is a clear sign that something is wrong.
> The last couple of years INC has moved further away from the core values
> that made it work so well for so long. It has taken on some bedfellows
> that perhaps it's time to kick out of bed. These are hard things to
> think/talk about, but it's necessary if votes are to be taken on issues
> that clearly the community INC purports to represent believes the exact
> opposite.
>
> RWP
> 27 Beverly
>
> _______________________________________________
> INC-list mailing list
> INC-list at rtpnet.org
> http://lists.deltaforce.net/mailman/listinfo/inc-list
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 06:50:02 EST
> From: pinnaclecdc at aol.com
> Subject: [Durham INC] 50% CUTS IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH
> BUDGETS
> To: inc-list at rtpnet.org
> Message-ID: <d43.30f1e350.36949f6a at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
> Hello,
> Many providers of substance abuse and mental health services funds
> received
> cuts of up to 50% before January 2009. This was not about poor
> performers,
> etc. It was an across the board decrease. I am sure that it was not an
> easy
> decision for the Durham Center, but, my first concern was for those
> needing
> treatment. Our funding was cut also, (pending availability and State
> budget
> issues) and we had to become creative quickly. There are still people who
> need
> services.
> NOT ASKING FOR MONEY!!! - MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT - NOT ABOUT MONEY!!
> To that end, I am writing to you on behalf of Durham Together for
> Resilient
> Youth, Drug Free Community Coalition. We are a hard-working coalition
> that
> decided to take action a few years ago after researching the relationship
> between substance use and incarceration, illness and even death. It shows
> that
> substance abuse exacerbates problems such as domestic violence, child
> maltreatment, and homelessness.
> We highly respect and actively support the great work currently being
> done
> by local government agencies, and treatment providers
> Our membership includes parents and youth as well as valued community
> partners. We believe that if we collaborate, we will have a greater
> impact on
> strengthening our families here in Durham and on building resiliency in
> our youth.
> To that end, we would like to invite you to our monthly Community
> Coalition
> meeting on January 9, 2009 at the Durham Public School Staff Development
> Center, located at 2107 Hillandale Rd Durham, NC 27705 from 6:00 PM ?
> 8:00 PM.
> You will hear reports from business, youth, parents, faith, local
> university
> representatives and from North Carolina Prevent Underage Drinking. We
> will
> discuss the Strategic Prevention Framework that guides our work and how
> these
> important steps can lead to substance abuse prevention.
> Please RSVP at _www.DurhamTRY.org_ (http://www.durhamtry.org/) ? click
> calendar. Attendees who join the coalition will receive a binder full of
> great
> information. This meeting is free and open to the public.
> Thank you for all you do to support children and families in our
> community.
> Sincerely,
> Wanda Boone
> Wanda Boone, Chief Executive Director
> Durham Together for Resilient Youth
> Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America MemberNorth Carolina Prevent
> Underage Drinking Grant Award Recipient
> **************New year...new news. Be the first to know what is making
> headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)
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> ------------------------------
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> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 07:41:17 -0500
> From: Reyn Bowman <Reyn at Durham-cvb.com>
> Subject: Re: [Durham INC] County Manager's Proposed Budget Actions
> To: "mmr121570 at yahoo.com" <mmr121570 at yahoo.com>,
> "inc-list at DurhamINC.org" <inc-list at DurhamINC.org>
> Message-ID:
> <1CCD4AA8608B1148A080E953C1A2EEA60F00D820CE at EXCHANGE-2008.durham.cvb>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-7"
>
> I'm not certain but I believe the Museum does all it can to offset
> expenses with earned income like it generates from the gift shop. So
> those who have all the facts are probably making cuts in expenses where
> they know it won't also result in cuts in revenue...
>
> Last information I had the Museum has a very high degree of popularity and
> support from residents and especially important, more than 60% of the
> visitors to the Museum are visitors who are bringing tax dollars into the
> community that help fund other services.
>
> The meals tax certainly wasn't a referendum on the Museum...
>
> From: inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org [mailto:inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Melissa Rooney
> Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 7:14 PM
> To: inc-list at DurhamINC.org
> Subject: Re: [Durham INC] County Manager's Proposed Budget Actions
>
> Our schools cannot afford any more cuts. In fact, they need significantly
> more money to accommodate the supposed increase in people moving here (one
> of the arguments for all the new development we're seeing in the suburban
> and rural areas). Many of our schools are still overcrowded, particularly
> those in the rural and suburban areas, and their trailers are now
> considered permanent fixtures.
>
> Don't mean to be barking up the same tree, but our local gov't needs to
> kick and scream and demand the ability to vote on NEW DEVELOPMENT impact
> fees specifically for public school funding. We citizens have been begging
> our state reps and senators for this ability for years, to no avail.
> Meanwhile Orange County is still benefiting from these fees which Durham
> County is prohibited from imposing. In the meantime a referendum to impose
> land transfer impact fees toward this end should be included on any ballot
> from here on out... even if it is unfair to our long-term and senior
> residents, it's the only thing we've got...there must be some way we can
> offset this unfair effect somehow. Colin, didn't you have some ideas in
> this regard?
>
> I love the Museum of Life and Science, and all the improvements they've
> made. I am in full support of the new outdoor section and the Dinosaur
> trail, which are supposedly already funded via bonds. But I do not think
> this museum needs any additional improvements at this time, particularly a
> new and larger gift shop...and many Durham citizens did not vote for the
> prepared food tax because they didn't want the money used toward this end.
>
> Just my ten cents...
> Melissa
>
>
> --- On Mon, 1/5/09, RW Pickle <randy at 27beverly.com> wrote:
> From: RW Pickle <randy at 27beverly.com>
> Subject: [Durham INC] County Manager's Proposed Budget Actions
> To: fhna-list at fhnanews.com
> Cc: inc-list at durhaminc.org
> Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 6:27 PM
>
> Press release from Durham County.
>
>
>
> Today, the Durham County Board of Commissioners met for their first
>
> Worksession meeting of the New Year. County Manager Mike Ruffin presented
>
> a plan of recommended actions to accommodate the declines in the economy
>
> and its impact on County operations. The report used a decline in key
>
> revenues as the basis for an overall FY 2009-09 Revenue Shortfall of
>
> $14.25 million dollars. To make up that difference, the County Manager
>
> recommends substantive cuts to county departments? budgets to capture
>
> $8,951,100 and proposes 3% cuts to other county funded agencies including
>
> Durham Public Schools, Durham Technical Community College, Museum of Life
>
> and Science, various non profits and more to
>
> make up the remaining
>
> $5,291.587.
>
>
>
> Dawn D. Dudley
>
>
>
> Public Information Specialist
>
>
>
> Durham County Manager's Office
>
>
>
> 919-560-0008 desk
>
>
>
> 919-475-4411 cell
>
>
>
> ddudley at co.durham.nc.us
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> INC-list mailing list
>
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>
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>
> End of INC-list Digest, Vol 49, Issue 7
> ***************************************
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