Congratulations to the Remaining Candidates

Well, the City Primary Election has come and gone, and there are 18 of us remaining.  Congratulations to those who survived the Primary.  To those who did not make it to the General Election, thank you for caring enough about the City of Greensboro to take the time, apply the effort, and spend the money necesary to give the voteres of the City a choice about who would govern their city.

To those who remain, I look forward to running with you and against you.  Let's all pledge to make it a civil contest about ideas and issues facing the city, not about personalities and mud-slinging.  Let's provide the voters with factual information about our backgrounds and support and our views about how the city should be governed, as well as honest proposals for how to deal with the city's problems.  Doing that will allow the voters to make informed decisions that fit their interests.

My best to each of you.  May the best candidates for a bright future for Greensboro win.

Please feel free to comment.

TAX INCENTIVES FOR EXPANDING BUSINESSES

The Chair of the Guilford County Commission has announced a desire to give some type of a ‘break’ on property taxes to existing businesses to give them an incentive to make improvements or expand the size of their businesses.   He points out that making such changes usually increases the value of the property and causes property taxes to go up, which serves as a disincentive to business growth.  So, he proposed something like a “rebate” to offset the increase in property tax.  But that word caused the county’s lawyers to cringe, because “rebates” are prohibited by state law.  Still, the idea, by whatever name it is called, has merit.  It makes good sense to encourage existing businesses to grow and expand, because they have already proved their worth to the community and they should be given encouragement to stay in the city.  I hope the County Commission can find a way to implement this idea.

I believe that the City of Greensboro should follow the progress of this proposal very carefully; and if the county can find a way to implement it legally, Greensboro should immediately follow suit with a similar plan for its expanding businesses.  Even if the county cannot implement its plan, the city should continue to find a way to implement the general idea of the proposal.

The real value of the proposal is that it would automatically apply to any existing business that makes legitimate improvements to or expansions of its business property.  It would not take a resolution of the Commission or Council to grant a specific incentive to a specific business, which can take time and involve political issues other than business development.  The business would have only to report the improvement or expansion to the tax office in its regular filing each year.

Business development and growth leads to job creation, which leads to a healthy economic outlook, increased sales of goods and increased property values, which leads to greater tax revenues for the city without raising tax rates.   It is a win, win situation.

I will propose that the City of Greensboro implement some plan that gives an incentive to all existing businesses that legitimately expand their operations or improve their facilities in the city.  This will encourage them to stay in the city and also encourage them to create more jobs for our citizens.

I welcome your comments.

ETHICS RULES FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

As I have stated previously, I believe that a member of City Council has a fiduciary duty to the citizens of the City of Greensboro.  That means that, if a member has a conflict between what is best for the citizens of the city as a whole and what is best for the council member personally, the member should be disqualified from taking action on the matter involved.  Since no one is able to read the mind of another to determine that person's true motives, we must rely on the appearence of propriety (that is, would a reasonable person think that a conflict of interests exists in the circumstances) to determine what types of situations would disqualify a council member.  For instance, a member would obviously be disqualified from voting to approve a contract between the city and a business in which the member owned stock.

An area in which I believe conflict exists is that of council members taking large campaign contributions from PACs established by those who have considerable dealings with the city; from executives and other agents of firms that do business with the city; or from executives or other agents of not-for-profits that receive funding from the city.  At-large City Council candidate George Hartzman has proposed a prohibition on candidates accepting such contributions.  He and I, as well as some of the other candidates for City Council seats, have made it known that we will not accept contributions to our campaigns from PACs or from those doing business with the city.

Voters, the ball is in your court.  How important do you believe it is to have a City Council whose members are independent of the special interest groups who make a great deal of money doing business with the city?  How important is it to you to have City Council members who act in the best interest of the city as a whole and not in the best interests of a few?  How important is it to you to have your voice heard in the City Council Chambers.  How important is it to you to have the city be accountable to you, the citizens of the city?

If you want an independent council member who acts in the best interest of the city as a whole, listens to the voters' desires about the direction the city takes, and reports back to you about how the city is accomplishing its goals, then vote for and support Art BOYETT for City Council, District 5, on November 3, 2009.

Art BOYETT - Your Voice on City Council

• email me at boyett2009@gmail.com to get campign literature
• send donations to Boyett for City Council, P.O. Box 18361, Grensboro, NC (Include name, address, phone number, email, and for amounts over $50 - employer and job title)
• look at my web site at boyettforcitycouncil.com

I would really like to see your comments.

CITY COUNCIL CHOOSES CITY MANAGER

I saw in the Rhino... Times today that the Greensboro City Council had chosen the current City Manager of Dayton, Ohio, and offered him a contract as the Greensboro City Manager.  According to the report they had a boistrous closed door session at the O.Henry Hotel last week before they made the final decision. 

They supposedly considered inviting two or three candidates to be presented to the public before making the final choice, but then decided not to do so, because this candidate was so much more qualified than the others in the pool.  In essence they said "We knew this was the right candidate, and we didn't want to waste your time in confirming our opinion."  Of course, we don't know whether he was much more qualified because we don't get to know even the names of any of the other candidates.

Once again City Council hides the public's business from the public.  The next question will be what are the terms of the contract.  The Times said they offered him $175,000, but it didn't say anything about the length of the contract or any "golden parachute" provisions.  Are the terms going to be kept secret as well?  Why should we know, it's only our money that's being used.

I welcome your comments.

CITY COUNCIL CALLED MEETING

I attended the 8:00 called meeting of the City Council this morning at the O.Henry Hotel. Before attending, I learned from the News & Record this morning at breakfast that the Council members had already had personal interviews with the top candidates chosen by the consulting firm. The stated purpose of today's meeting was to discuss the results of the interviews and the package of infomation amassed on those top candidates.

When the meeting was called to order, the mayor informed us that non-Council members would not be allowed to speak prior to the closed session. The Council voted unanimously to not audio tape the closed session after consulting with the City Attorney and the consultant. The Council then voted unanimously to go into closed session to discuss the candidates.

A stated reason for having a closed session and for not taping the closed session was that some of the City Manager candidates did not want their current employers to know that they were applying for this position. I can understand why candidates might not want their names divulged in the early phase of the search process, when they might not have a realistic chance of being chosen. But candidates who are far along enough to have personal interviews with Council members should be willing to have their names released and allow contact with their curret supervisors.

Since it is entirely possible that a majority of the current City Council members will be replaced in November, and the City Manager works for City Council, I call on the current City Council to postpone the choosing of a City Manager until the new City Council is sworn in later this year.

If the current City Council is unwilling to do this, I call on them to introduce the final group of candidates for the job to the public in one or more sessions where the candidates make presentations and answer questions posed by citizens. Following those sessions, those participating would present Council with their ratings of the candidates and comments on their qualifications. Then the Council can make a more informed vote on who should be the new City Manager.

I welcome your comments.

See my web site at www.boyettforcitycouncil.com.

CITY MANAGER SEARCH

The Greensboro City Council has called a special meeting for 8:00 A.M., Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at the O. Henry Hotel, “for the purpose of discussing and defining the [city] manager search process, conducting a discussion and vote on audio recording of this meeting[,] and adjourning to closed session to consider the qualifications, competence, character, fitness, and conditions of employment of prospective city manager applicants pursuant to N.C.G.S. … [,] and returning to open session for further discussion and action related to the city manager search.”

In my opinion, since we are only a few months away from an election for Mayor and City Council, at which all seats are heavily contested, the current City Council should defer taking action on the appointment of a new City Manager. The task would be better left to the newly elected Council that takes office late this year.

As a candidate for City Council from District 5, I call on all of the other non-incumbent City Council candidates to be present with me at the special meeting Tuesday and protest the action being taken by the current City Council to select and hire a City Manager at this time.

If the current City Council is unwilling to postpone the selection process, then they should at least open the selection process to the public and give an opportunity for the non-incumbent council candidates to provide input concerning “the qualifications, competence, character, fitness, and conditions of employment of prospective city manager applicants.”

ISSUE - MERGING COUNTY AND CITY SERVICES

ISSUE – MERGING CITY AND COUNTY SERVICES

This is the fourth in the series of answers to the questions raised by News & Record Editor, Allen Johnson.

The easy part of the answer to the question about which city and county services should be merged is that we should merge all services where both the city and county can improve efficiency and save money. This, however, is an answer that may be too simplistic. There are services that might be merged but would require changes in state law, or even constitutional changes. An example of this is any proposed merger of the policing duties of the Greensboro Police Department and the Guilford County Sheriff.

There are other services that could be merged through simple cooperation between the city and county governments. I believe that a good starting point would be making a list of all of the services that both governments provide to residents. Once that list is made, some sub-lists could be made. One sub-list would include all services where there is any overlap in the provision of the service, such as common water sources, shared sewer lines, common solid waste facilities, etc. This sub-list would probably include the services that would produce the largest savings from merger as well as the ones that would take the least effort to accomplish. A second sub-list would include those services where there is no overlap in services but where the services provided are virtually identical. Once again, merging these services could produce sizable savings, but the effort to accomplish the merger could be more difficult. A third sub-list would include services, such as policing, where there are known obstacles, other than the level of inter-government cooperation, that would add difficulty to merging the services listed.

The items on the first and second sub-lists should be scheduled for talks with the county in the immediate future. The items on the third sub-list should be tabled until mergers of some of the other services have been accomplished and proven to be real cost savers and efficiency producers for both the county and city.

I believe that the time is well past for animosity between Guilford County and the City of Greensboro. There are many areas where cooperation between the two produces many benefits to both. Economic development is the most obvious. Fortunately, there are a number of examples where cooperation in this area has been beneficial.

Other services provided by the city and county can enjoy comparable cost savings and efficiencies. One party needs to take the initiative. I propose that the City Manager start preparing lists of services of the types that I outlined above (I’ll bet he already has such lists), discuss these with City Council, and make overtures to the Guilford County Manager about engaging in a formal study of merging some of these services. Once the first service is merged, others will follow in due course. But the key has to be cost savings and efficiency – not just merging for the sake of merging.

I welcome your comments.

Also see my web site at www.boyettforcitycouncil.com.

OPEN GOVERNMENT

I wrote an item a few days ago stating that I believe strongly in "government in the sunshine." At the special City Council meeting held on Tuesday, July 28, Council determined the process by which they would choose the new city manager. The consultant hired to help the city with the selection recommended that the process be open to the public. Council voted, without a dissenting vote, to keep the process closed to the public. The reason seems to be that some candidates for the position might not want their names released.

I strongly disagree with the position taken by City Council. The city manager is the chief operating officer of the city. Although he/she is chosen by, and serves at the discretion of the City Council, the city manager must deal directly with the citizens of the city. Therefore, in my opinion, the citizens of the city should have some input into the process.

I understand that around 130 people applied for the position. I do not believe that making public the names and resumes of all 130 would serve the best interest of the citizens - as the young people say, "TMI." The City Council, with the help of the consultant can easily pare the list to a group of perhaps ten to twenty candidates whose references may be checked more thoroughly and about whom additional information may be obtained. Based on the additional screening, three to five serious candidates can be chosen. At this point, the names and all information obtained about these candidates should be made public, and these candidates should be interviewed publicly. The public should be allowed to participate in the questioning and to make recommendations to the Council before an open vote on the selection is taken by Council.

Such an open process would give the citizens a feeling of confidence that the person chosen for the position was the best fit for the city, not a crony of some political faction.

I welcome your comments here or at boyett2009@gmail.com.

Also, please see my web site at www.boyettforcitycouncil.com.

ISSUE: City Planning

This is the third of my communications responding to the questions posed to candidates by Editor Allen Johnson of the News & Record. This one is about City planning.

Business Management and Public Administration training courses all emphasize the importance of PLANNING as a key element of operating any organization. Planning involves setting goals and objectives concerning what is to be accomplished, determining what specific actions need to be taken to accomplish those goals and objectives, determining how to pay for the performance of those actions, using the plans to periodically evaluate performance toward reaching the goals and objectives, and then revising old plans and making new ones.

Cities utilize different types of plans for meeting different needs. Annual budgets provide plans for income from taxes, fees and other revenues as well as spending for city services and operations in the coming year. Capital budgets address plans for making major building and infrastructure improvements that often require selling bonds that will have to be paid off by use of future tax revenues. Business development plans deal with strategies for recruiting outside businesses to relocate or encouraging existing businesses to expand and new businesses to start up in the city. Land-use (Zoning) plans deal with planning city infrastructure to meet the needs of the citizens, but also restrict citizen’s use and allow them to plan how to use their property. All of these planning areas must be addressed in a rational and systematic manner and communicated to the people on a timely basis.

In my view, annual budgets should flow from the monthly, quarterly and semiannual reviews of the variances that occur between actual and budgeted income and spending. These reviews should point out what areas are in need of increases and which ones can stand reductions. Every five years, the entire budget should face a “Zero-Base Review.” This would require each department and program to justify itself as if it were a newly proposed program. The review could be staggered so that all of the city’s programs would be covered in each five-year period.

Land-use planning (zoning) is one area of city planning that often generates heated disagreements between various elements of the community. City zoning sets limits on how private property located in the city can be used by the owners. It is undertaken to provide for an orderly development of land and to protect certain property owners (particularly single-family home owners) from having undesirable uses located in their neighborhood. Once a piece of property is zoned in a particular category, the owner can use that property for the zoned purpose without consulting the neighbors or city planners or city council. (Of course, if any structures are erected, they must meet building codes, etc.) Neighbors can also use their property assuming that no undesirable use will be allowed to take place on neighboring property.

But what if a property owner wants to use his/her land for a purpose other than that for which it is zoned? Then the owner must seek a “zoning variance” or a “rezoning” before the property may be used for the desired purpose. The process is spelled out in the city’s zoning ordinance and involves a formal application procedure, notification to neighboring landowners, public hearings, votes to approve or disapprove by the planning commission and finally City Council. Until recently, Greensboro residents were at a disadvantage, compared to residents of other cities in North Carolina, when they tried to oppose zoning changes, because, no matter how strong the opposition from neighbors, rezoning could be approved by a simple majority of the City Council. Now, if neighbors sign a protest petition in sufficient numbers, a super majority of City Council is required to pass the zoning change.

Greensboro is currently nearing the end of a long process of adopting a completely new “Land Development Ordinance (LDO).” The draft proposal is available free on line at the city’s web site and in hard copy for $22. The City has had two public hearings to show its contents. The public comment period will begin soon.

I attended one of the public hearings and was impressed by the amount of work that has gone into the process. The new LDO has many good features. In my opinion the method and the amount of time required for notice to be given by a property owner requesting a rezoning to neighboring property owners is not sufficient for the neighbors to be able to mount an effective objection to the rezoning.

I strongly urge all concerned citizens to look at the proposed LDO, attend the public comment sessions, attend the public hearing at the City Council meeting, and express their opinions on the ordinance before it is adopted.

I encourage your comments.

Please visit my web site at www.boyettforcitycouncil.com.

THE SOLID WASTE DILEMMA

I attended the City Council Briefing on Friday, July 24, dealing with solid waste at the White Street facility. The briefing was not what I had expected, but it was very informative.

It turned out that the briefing consisted of a proposal by a private start-up company for the City to form a partnership with the company to build and operate a plasma gasification facility at the White Street location. The proposed plasma gasification plant would use both current solid waste collections and waste that is already in the land fill as the input to the process that converts the waste into gas that can be sold as an energy supply to companies or used by the city to meet its own energy needs.

The presentation was very informative concerning one possible way for the City to solve its solid waste problem. The problem with the presentation was that it outlined only one approach to solving the solid waste problem and gave only a single possible company for the city to partner with. As Council member Perkins pointed out, the City probably needs to hire a consultant to look at all possible solutions, give the City the benefits and drawbacks of each, as well as the costs and savings associated with each. This approach would allow the City to choose the best alternative and then request that competing companies prepare proposals for a partnership, or other arrangement with the City.

I'm glad that I attended the briefing. I knew before I went that the City had a problem with handling solid waste. I recognized that solving that problem must be a priority for the City Council in the next year. I am now committed to an immediate plan of action. The City must hire a consultant immediately and charge him/her with identifying the possible solutions to our solid waste problem, along with the costs, difficulties, payoffs, and benefits of each one, and report the findings to Council by July 31, 2010. At that time, I will push City Council to choose the best solution for Greensboro and call for proposals from companies to implement the planned solution. Once the proposals are in, we must choose a provider and get the process started as soon as possible.

I believe that this is an area where Greensboro can lead the state, if not the nation, in solving a problem that has been plaguing virtually all cities for a number of years.

I welcome your comments.

See my web site at http://www.boyettforcitycouncil.com/.

ISSUE: City Communications

This is the second of my communications responding to the questions posed to candidates by Editor Allen Johnson of the News & Record. This one is about City communication with citizens.

Mr. Johnson specifically asked about Greensboro’s communication as it related to the Urban Loop (and I will address that); but the issue of communication with citizens goes much deeper than just the Urban Loop.

“Open government is good government.” “Sunshine improves government.” “It’s the public’s business.” These are quotes or paraphrases that state what is intuitively obvious about any democratically elected governing body. Elected officials are the representatives of the People. Government employees are employed by the People. Both groups are performing the People’s business, on the People’s behalf. They are accountable to the People for their actions. They must keep the People informed about what is going on.

Information that is known to elected officials or government employees should be widely disseminated on a timely basis. The government should not wait until items have been voted on in final form to disclose them to the public. Recommendations, agenda items, proposals and plans should all be disclosed as soon as they are put forward. Disclosure can be accomplished by holding press conferences or briefings, issuing formal published reports, establishing and posting on web sites, using Blogs, FaceBook, Twitter, etc. Such disclosures allow citizens to express opposition or support, offer alternatives, decide to support different candidates, or take personal actions, based on the disclosed information.

Information collected by the government that is not made available to the public should be severely restricted. Certain personnel matters, certain aspects of active criminal prosecutions and active contract negotiations are examples of these. Everything else should be made public, so that individuals can act in their own best interest and assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation of the government.

I believe that the City of Greensboro is doing a better job of providing citizens with access to government information today, but this has not always been so. The Urban Loop project is a terrible example of the City’s failure to inform its citizens fully (and also its own boards) of the projected course of the highway. Property was rezoned and people bought residences in the path of the road, because the planned location of the road was not adequately disclosed. This should not have happened. Thankfully, the City has now placed a map of the project on its web site and set up a device to allow individuals to determine the distance from their property to the roadway. This should have been done long ago.

I pledge that, if I am elected to City Council, I will demand that all public information be disclosed in its entirety, and on a timely basis. If the appropriate parties do not disclose it, I will disclose it myself. I will be available to citizens and to the press on a regular basis to discuss what is going on at “City Hall.”

I would like to hear what you think about what I have said. Please respond.

ISSUE: A Local Government Code of Ethics

As a candidate for the District Five City Council seat, I believe that I, owe it to the voters of Greensboro to provide full disclosure concerning where I stand on major issues affecting the City of Greensboro.

In the Sunday, June 19, News & Record, Allen Johnson, Editorial Page Editor, posed some questions to the announced candidates for Greensboro City Council. In this and future communications, I will specifically address those questions, as well as others that I think are important to the residents of this city. First I will talk about a “Local Government Code of Ethics.”

In my view, holding an elective office, such as a seat on City Council, puts the elected official in a fiduciary position relative to the citizens of the jurisdiction from which the office holder was elected. A fiduciary is one who is placed in a position where he/she is entrusted with duties to be performed on behalf of another person or persons. Under the law, a fiduciary is required to act “with the highest level of good faith, loyalty and diligence on behalf of” the party for whom the fiduciary acts. The fiduciary is required to place the other party’s interest ahead of the fiduciary’s personal interest. Since I believe that holding a seat on City Council places the Council member in a fiduciary relationship with the citizens of the city, I strongly support a Greensboro Municipal Code of Ethics.

The primary emphasis of a Greensboro Municipal Code of Ethics, as it relates to City Council members, should be on avoiding conflicts of interest by Council members. The Code of Ethics should include rules to require that Council members shall not participate in action taken on any matters in which they have a conflict between what is in their business or personal best interests and in the best interests of the citizens that they represent. There are a number of examples already written into law that prohibit various parties (such as judges, lawyers, CPAs) from performing certain duties when they have conflicts of interest. Most of these require a person to recuse him/herself from acting when even the appearance of conflict of interests exists. The appearance of conflict of interests exists in a situation in which an average person looking at the situation would likely determine that a conflict exists.

There is a difference between conflicts of interest and political philosophy. Suppose a candidate for City Council who is a business person runs on a platform of unlimited growth for the city, because he/she believes that city growth will help his/her business in general. If this Council member is elected and votes for every city expansion proposal, and his/her business flourishes as the city grows, this does not constitute a conflict of interest. If that same Council member promotes and votes for building a new city hall, that his/her construction company is going to bid on constructing, that is a conflict of interest.

The Greensboro Municipal Code of Ethics should also include other elected officers and employees of the city as well. For administrative officials the Code should include provisions to cover fraud, misappropriation, malfeasance and misfeasance in office. As a member of City Council I will foster and support an effort to write an effective Greensboro Municipal Code of Ethics that covers all elected City officials and City employees.

I welcome responses to my position.

Also, see my web site at www.boyettforcitycouncil.com.

Triad Community Forum

I attended the Triad Community Forum on Growth and Infrastructure at the Volvo Communications Center yesterday. The forum was developed by the NCSU Institute for Emerging Issues and was sponsored by UNCTV, the Piedmont TriadPartnership and the Bryan Foundation. A number of business and government leaders from throughout the Piedmont Triad attended and took part in the discussion.

The major things that I took away from the Forum that could help me as a City Council member are the following:

1. The awareness that "Infrastructure" is made up of the whole system of water reservoirs and lakes, water mains, sewers and waste treatment plants, garbage and solid waste disposal systems, schools, roads, bridges, airports, ralroads, bus systems, electric power grids, communications interfaces, and others. It is the backbone, skeleton, and neural network of our societal organism.
2. Some agency, or more likely groups of agencies, is going to have to spend a tremendous amount of money in the near future to repair our existing infrastructure just to meet current needs.
3. The same agency, or groups of agencies, is going to have to spend even more money to update our infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing populaion and changing demands for goods and services by our society.
4. Profit-seeking companies in the private sector will maintain and extend the infrastructure that directly relates to their production of goods and services demanded by their customers.
5. Governmental entities will be left to meet the needs for maintaining and updating the remaining infrastructure components.

Governmental entities (federal, state, county, municipal) must plan now for how they are going to meet those needs in the future. The long-range planning that must take place to meet our future infrasture needs by governments will involve the following:

• Determining what infracture components we want to build and why. This could entail looking at desired quality of live issues as well as an assessment of current resourses available, ad deciding what types of industries we want to have.
• Determining what sources of funding to use to finance the chosen components. Long-term projects could be financed on a pay-as-you-go basis using current tax revenues or by issuing long-term debt that will be repaid using future tax revenues. Raise taxes now - or raise future taxes?
• Determining what collaborative arrangements can be formed with other governments. These could range from consolidating cities and counties to setting up regional cooperative agreements.
• Partner with private sector entities. An example would be a government issuing debt to finance a corporate office building which also contains a government office.

Meeting the challenge to provide the needed and desired infrastructure for the future will require concerted planning efforts from all governmental entities. That planning should include major input at evey step from citizens. Elected officials must demonstrate that they are listening to their constituents and chosing those projects and funding options that best meet the needs and respect the values of their constituents.

As your City Council member, I will seek your opinions, listen to what you say, and vote in accordance with your wishes.

Art Boyett

New Ideas

I'm Art Boyett. I'm running for Greensboro City Council from District Five. This is the first time that I have sought an elective public office. I'm sure that some people will look at my being a newcomer to the political arena as a detrement. I see it as an asset.
Some will say, "You don't know how we do things in Greensboro." I say, "Is the 'old Greesboro way' the best way to get a job done?" By being new to Greensboro's City Council, I can bring a different perspective to solving the city's problems. I have heard that some aeornautical engineers said that it is impossible for the bumble bee to fly. But since the bumble bee doesen't know that, it flies merrily along. I am too inexperienced to know that I souldn't ask about certain things. So, I will ask probing questions and demand factual and reasoned responses. I will suggest that we look at the experiences of other cities of similar size, both inside and outside North Carolina, in dealing with similar problems to ours, and then choose the best approach from among those surveyed.
We can make Greensboro a city of innovation and change, but we can still maintain its finest traditional qualities. I want to make Greensboro a model of governmental effectiveness and efficiency, while maintaining its culture and heritage. Effective governments meet the needs of their citizens. Efficient governments meet those needs without excessive spending because of waste and a lack of clear goals and proirities to be reached.
I believe that there are no topics that should not be open to public sctutiny. We must bring the discussion of all issues affecting the City into the light of day and discuss them openly and honestly. We must establish a clear set of priorities for city action and follow them until such time as we determine that they should be changed.
In the four years that I have lived here, I have developed a deep love for Greensboro and its citizens. I will serve it to the best of my ability. Please give me the chance to serve by electing me, Art Boyett, your City Council member from District Five.

Living the Good Life in Greensboro

I’m really excited about Art’s candidacy. He definitely shares my enthusiasm about Greensboro as a place to “live the good life.”

I was born in Honolulu before Hawaii was a state. That’s sounds exotic, but my folks moved back to “the mainland” before my first birthday and I spent all my growing-up years in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. That was a great experience because the area offered beaches (both remote and resort-like), big cities, the military, marshes and rivers, and plenty of rural space, too. It was big-time blue collar and I loved the homey closeness of neighborhoods where just about every kid’s parents worked at “the shipyard.”

Moving to Greensboro in 1978 was a definite change. Right off the bat, I’d say I missed water more than anything. Not so much the beach, but the many rivers, creeks, streams, and bays where I’d lived before – so many bridges to cross (literally). None of that in Greensboro. Also, no naval base, naval shipyard, naval hospital, naval air station, or coast guard. I think the population was about 150,000 then – far less than what I was accustomed to.
Despite the differences, though, I loved my new Gate City home from day one. The area offered plenty to do; and the downtown even at that time had its own charm. Woolworth’s was still open in 1978, and I thought it was amazing to eat at the already renowned lunch counter. Four Seasons, Carolina Circle, and Friendly Center offered great shopping. Oh gosh – and the airport. Right there. No driving for hours! My first assumption was that Greensboro got its name from being green.

It’s not hard for me to feel appreciative every day for the good life in Greensboro. I’ve lived in three neighborhoods since I’ve been here, and every one of them has been full of friendly and caring people. I feel at home and among friends just riding down the street. And those streets and roads are fantastic. Yeah, I act spoiled sometimes during rush hour on Battleground, but all I have to do is go to Charlotte, or Raleigh, or back to Hampton Roads to realize how fortunate I am to get around so easily. Admittedly, I’m not crazy about the noise from the new urban loop down West Friendly, but I hope our officials find a way to make that better. And I was very concerned about the Fed-Ex and airport expansion, not only because of the noise, but because so much land looks wounded and desolate. It’s a done deal, though, so again I hope our officials do their part to heal the land and see that we can coexist happily with PTI.

All things considered, Greensboro offers an array of educational, cultural, spiritual, ethnic, and entertainment choices hard to find elsewhere. I think Art will do all he can to protect our “good life” in Greensboro, even in the midst of change, so that we have a dynamic future that preserves what we love.

Why I'm Running for City Council

When I retired from teaching accounting in college last year, I enjoyed being idle for a time. But then I started thinking about ways I could spend my time helping my community. After reading that the time for registering as a candidate for the Greensboro City Council was fast approaching, I did some research on my district and the necessary qualifications for office. I also asked my neighbors if they thought I’d make a viable candidate and if they’d support me. With their positive responses, and with the encouragement of my family, I’ve decided to seek election to the Greensboro City Council as the representative from District Five.

This is my first foray into our city’s political arena, and I realize that serving on City Council is an ambitious goal. I have heard the public dissatisfaction with recent council decisions and the way public business is being conducted, as evidenced by news articles and letters to the editor, and I tell myself “we can aspire to more than that.” I know that responsibility for change rests with good citizens like my district neighbors and me. I think we share a vision that Greensboro can be an example of municipal efficiency, effectiveness, balanced economic growth, as well as civility, racial harmony, and beauty. I believe that Greensboro can cultivate a reputation as a desirable place to live that makes the rest of the state, and nation, take note of how we do things.

I have the advantage of seeing Greensboro with the eye of a recent transplant – I’ve lived here four years. In that time, I’ve seen the wonderful features that prompted many of us to move here from other places and make this our home. Because of the city’s, and its citizen’s, hard work in the past, features such as beautiful public parks, street improvements, residential neighborhoods, revitalized downtown, multiple institutions of higher education, and cultural arts programs available to all have attracted new talent and ideas that can strengthen our economic base. We owe a lot to long-time residents, and to their families going back generations. We thank them for making Greensboro the very desirable place it is to live.

But Greensboro also has some things that need to change so that what’s great about our city doesn’t get overshadowed by what may be seen as a backward slide into neglect and poor policy. There is a pervasive lack of trust between racial and ethnic groups that make up our citizenry. There has been an erosion of our economic base that cannot be blamed in its entirety on the state of the U.S. economy. Both short and long-range planning efforts for orderly growth and expansion have been weak. The lack of civility among elected and appointed officials threatens our government’s credibility. Finally, the lack of openness and accountability between government and citizens serves only to escalate mistrust.

As a member of the City Council, I will work tirelessly to maintain those features that already make Greensboro the great place it is. But I will work even harder to improve the way we do business, respond to our citizens, and plan for and made sound decisions to create a great future. I will begin my work for the city as a candidate with these commitments:

1. I believe the citizens need a Council member who is independent:

• I will not take campaign contributions from any special interest group or PAC - only from individuals, and only in small amounts.
• I am not, and will not become, affiliated with any group that wants to influence city business.
• I will represent all constituents who want a government that cares for the needs of its citizens. This means I will welcome opinions, advice, and reason from anyone. I will make decisions based on facts and feedback, and will exercise reasoned judgment when it comes time to vote on what is in the best interest of the city and its residents.

2. I believe that the basis of government is civility:

• I will campaign in a civil manner; that is, I will not engage in negative campaigning.
• I will treat my fellow City Council members, city employees, citizens, and others dealing with the City with the respect to which all are entitled.

3. I believe in open and accountable government:

• I will share information that becomes known to me as a member of City Council with my constituents, either directly or through the news media. I will keep lines of communication open at all times.
• Using my accounting background, I will make sure that all City departments report all of their activities and expenditures in a timely manner and in a way that allows the citizens to determine whether the City is meeting its goals and objectives and is operating effectively and efficiently.

4. I believe that Greensboro must have a strong and effective Police Department:

• I will work to get the problems that many citizens perceive to exist in the Police Department corrected.
• I will support the adoption of a plan of action to have the best and most well-respected police force in the state.

5. I believe that Greensboro must have a strong economic base:

• I will work to improve the economic condition of the city by doing what it takes to attract new industry.
• At the same time, I will encourage and support the growth of existing businesses and creation of new small businesses.

6. As an accountant, I believe in strong long-range and short-range planning for City activities:

• I will oppose haphazard rezoning, but I will support well-thought-out changes that provide for responsible development that includes consideration of all environment impact and changes to city infrastructure.
• I will support annexation and expansion of the boundaries of the city only in those cases where it is well planned and can be accomplished without putting excessive strain on city infrastructure and services, and where those citizens to be annexed are in agreement with the plan.
• I am in favor of performing a “zero-base review” of all city programs and services within the next two years to identify those areas that may not be performing as well as they should be, and to prioritize those things that the city spends the tax-payers’ money on.

In the next few days and weeks I will attempt to meet with as many of the people in District Five as I can. I will also attend any candidates’ forum or community meeting to which I am invited. I believe that it is important that I get my message across to as many voters as I can.

I ask you, if you see or hear something that you like in my campaign, please join my campaign, and vote for me, Art Boyett, for City Council from District Five. If you see things that you dislike, feel free to discuss them with me and give me the reasons why you think I should take a different tack.

Welcome bloggers!

On Monday, July 6 2009, I filed for the Greensboro City Council race in District #5. I'm just now creating this blog and hope to use it so that I can get to know you and you can get to know me.

Get in touch with me by clicking on the email link.

Art