From Carolina Public Press:
RALEIGH — Deep disagreement within Asheville’s legislative delegation on two bills that that would strip the city of its extraterritorial jurisdiction and its right to annex and that would eliminate a funding stream for capital improvements were front and center at a meeting Thursday of the House Government Committee.
The bills passed on a voice vote of the committee, but not before their chief sponsor, Republican Rep. Tim Moffitt, was grilled by Democrats on the committee, including Democrat Rep. Susan Fisher, who complained that neither she nor Asheville City Council were given a chance to see the legislation ahead of time. Both bills now move to the House Finance Committee.
“Why is it that just about every bill we see coming from Rep. Moffitt has to do with ending Asheville’s authority?” she said during one back-and-forth exchange with Moffitt.
Fisher said that, in the past, local bills would only be introduced if local delegations had reached a consensus on them, a process that she said, helped preserve local rule.Read the full article
RALEIGH — Deep disagreement within Asheville’s legislative delegation on two bills that that would strip the city of its extraterritorial jurisdiction and its right to annex and that would eliminate a funding stream for capital improvements were front and center at a meeting Thursday of the House Government Committee.
The bills passed on a voice vote of the committee, but not before their chief sponsor, Republican Rep. Tim Moffitt, was grilled by Democrats on the committee, including Democrat Rep. Susan Fisher, who complained that neither she nor Asheville City Council were given a chance to see the legislation ahead of time. Both bills now move to the House Finance Committee.
“Why is it that just about every bill we see coming from Rep. Moffitt has to do with ending Asheville’s authority?” she said during one back-and-forth exchange with Moffitt.
Fisher said that, in the past, local bills would only be introduced if local delegations had reached a consensus on them, a process that she said, helped preserve local rule.Read the full article
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“Moffitt defended the move to take away the transfers, saying that when the water system was created in the 1920s, it was envisioned as a joint county-city system.
“The city of Asheville has tried to erase that bit of history,” he said.”
FALSE. The City of Asheville can’t “erase that bit of history” because it never happened. Moffitt is attempting to rewrite history to bolster his own narrative and lend legitimacy to his immoral seizure of Asheville’s water system.
The city’s first water bonds were issued in 1883. Asheville (not the county) started construction of a damn in 1903. Over the next 20 years the City of Asheville made many improvements to the nascent water system culminating in the 1927 purchase of 22,000 acres creating the North Fork Watershed, giving Asheville the fourth-largest municipally owned watershed in U.S.
All of this was done solely by the City of Asheville and never in concert with the county.
http://www.mountainx.com/article/18687/Like-water-for-Asheville
I hope Moffitt is called out loudly for his attempt at revisionist history.
By RavenRavinoff
03/15/2013
Crazy as Moffitt is, he would appear even less credible if we had a city council that didn't make the Keystone Cops look competent.
The pack Square debacle and the inability to manage manage funds (like the Navitat gift) are examples of their incompetence. hell, they can't even run a street festival.
No wonder they are being reigned in.
By indy499
03/15/2013
Ah, but who in Raleigh will call him out?
Look, Tim Moffitt proves every day that he is a pathological liar. Truth has no currency for him. That is not going to change, whether he's called out or not. And, unfortunately, the mindless Republicans in the State House will rubber stamp every one of his legislative proposals, to the detriment of Asheville, Buncombe, and North Carolina.
By Jake
03/15/2013
Buncombe County paid for and built its own water system. During the Depression, the County
transferred its water system to the city
of Asheville due to financial straits. This
is fact!
By Meiling Dai
03/15/2013
Buncombe County paid for and built its own water system. During the Depression, the County
transferred its water system to the city
of Asheville due to financial straits. As regards Rep Moffitt proposing an Asheville specific bill, it is common practice for lawmakers to introduce bills that do not pertain statewide.
HB224 is a local bill. It does not require a signature by the Governor of this state.
By Meiling Dai
03/15/2013
Speaking of Asheville's water system, the water it receives comes from outside the city limits involving six legal entities: Buncombe County, Asheville, Biltmore Forest, Woodfin, Henderson County and Mills River. If and when the water merger bill is approved by the N.C. General Assembly, representatives of the various entities on the Board of the Metropolitan Sewerage District (including Asheville) will have "equal say" and "equal vote" on issues pertaining to the former Asheville water system. Currently, there is only one voice calling the shots as regards the water system and that is Asheville.
By Meiling Dai
03/15/2013
Mr Moffit and Ms Dai are spokespeople for a dependent class that expropriates hard-earned assets from the productive people and governments in our society.
By sharpleycladd
03/15/2013
"Buncombe County paid for and built its own water system. During the Depression, the County
transferred its water system to the city
of Asheville due to financial straits. This
is fact!"
Thank you for outlining why Asheville owns the system.
If I save enough money to buy a car, I own that car. Then if I fell on hard times and could no longer afford the car, I would transfer that car to someone else, let us say a man name Steve. Who owns that car? Steve
By JMAC
03/16/2013
The fact that Buncombe County built and paid for its own water system before transferring it to Asheville is the reason that the N.C. General Assembly approved Sullivan Acts II, III. These Acts prevent Asheville from charging differential water rates - lower rate to city residents; higher rate to county residents. At the time of the transfer during the Depression, Asheville and Buncombe County had an agreement that differential water rates would not be charged to water users. Since then, the city broke this agreement in order to charge differential water rates, and thereby enabling it to implement voluntary annexation, using water as a "tool for annexation." Sullivan Act I was approved to re-establish this agreement which was subsequently broken by the city in recent years.
Sullivan Acts II, III prevent Asheville from using water revenue for any other purpose than maintenance and repair of the water system. In 2009, Asheville received a dispensation from Raleigh that allowed it to spend 5% of water revenue to repair damaged streets and sidewalks due to water line repair.
By Meiling Dai
03/16/2013
@ Meiling Dei
The water comes from the various properties that the City of Asheville OWNS. Therefore residents of the city are part owners. However, people that live outside the city are CUSTOMERS. They have entered into an agreement to purchase water from the City of Asheville. If they do not like the terms then they can procure water from another source. To say that they deserve a say in how things are managed is like saying I deserve a voice in how Progress Energy or PSNC conduct their affairs.
By RavenRavinoff
03/16/2013