Continue – Project is continuing as scheduled.

Delay – Project is not moving forward as scheduled. All appropriations remain in the project, but all project spending is on hold until further direction is received from the Town Council. Work can continue by Town staff (design, planning, etc.) but only where the work does not spend project funds or obligate the Town to additional project spending.

Postpone – Project is not moving forward. All appropriations are being removed from the project, and the project is closed. The project may be submitted for reconsideration through the annual capital budgeting process where it will compete with other future capital needs.

“When each of these projects was created, each was considered important to our community, so it’s unfortunate that we’ve had to choose among them,” said Town Manager Ben Shivar. “That said, setting new priorities was the right and responsible approach, especially during these unprecedented economic times, and we’re much better off than many other local governments experiencing the same pressures.” Shivar added that the 39 postponed projects are still important and ones he hopes can be given consideration in the future as conditions improve.

Reviewing and reprioritizing projects came at the direction of the Town Council last summer, and the effort included several work sessions. Then at the December 15, 2009 work session, staff returned to the Council with recommendations on those remaining 125 general government capital projects, recommendations that the Council adopted unanimously.

As a result and in total, the Town now has 326 general government and utility capital projects ($413 million) moving ahead while 19 are delayed ($68 million) and 39 are postponed indefinitely ($20.6 million).

Public safety and preserving and protecting existing infrastructure were important goals of the staff when developing their recommendations on project priorities. Other considerations included reducing and/or eliminating the use of debt for existing projects and assessing the out-year funding needs of a project: larger funding needs for nonessential projects typically lowered a project’s priority. In contrast, many annually funded projects such as sidewalks were recommended to continue since they are in various stages of design and close to moving forward. And projects with approved grant funding were generally favored.

Over the last two years, Cary has experienced a significant drop in sales tax revenues. Building activity is also down, and the value of what is being constructed is less than in previous years, which means slower tax base growth. As a result, the Town now has about $13 million or 10 percent less to work with than it would have had under normal economic times – equal to about 7 cents on the property tax rate.

For more, including the status of specific projects, visit the Capital Spending Prioritization section of www.townofcary.org.

PRIMARY CONTACTS:
Ben Shivar, Town Manager, 469-4007
Scott Fogleman, Budget Director, 462-3911
Deanna Boone, Deputy Public Information Officer, (919) 462-3908
Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, (919) 460-4951

Credits:

Interviewer: Vickie Maxwell
Producer: Lindsey S. Chester
Director & Editor: Hal Goodtree
Production Crew: Tyler Bennett, Leslie Huffman, Matt Young
Production Support: SteadyFilm LLC and Southeastern Camera

©2009 CaryCitizen. All rights reserved.

Credits:

Interviewer – Vickie Maxwell
Producer – Lindsey S. Chester
Director & Editor – Hal Goodtree
Production Crew – Tyler Bennett, Leslie Huffman, Matt Young
Production Support – SteadyFilm LLC and Southeastern Camera

©2009 CaryCitizen. All rights reserved.

Credits:

Interviewer – Vickie Maxwell
Producer – Lindsey S. Chester
Director & Editor – Hal Goodtree
Production Crew – Tyler Bennett, Leslie Huffman, Matt Young
Production Support – SteadyFilm LLC, Eastern Camera

©2009 CaryCitizen. All rights reserved.

Credits:

• Interviewer – Vickie Maxwell
• Producer – Lindsey S. Chester
• Director & Editor – Hal Goodtree
• Production Crew – Tyler Bennett, Leslie Huffman, Matt Young
• Production Support – SteadyFilm LLC, Eastern Camera

©2009 CaryCitizen. All rights reserved.

Credits:

• Interviewer – Vickie Maxwell
• Producer – Lindsey S. Chester
• Director & Editor – Hal Goodtree
• Production Crew – Tyler Bennett, Leslie Huffman, Matt Young
• Production Support – SteadyFilm LLC, Eastern Camera

©2009 CaryCitizen. All rights reserved.

We’ll be releasing the additional interviews in this series over the next few days.  In case anybody is interested, we’ll be releasing them in the order they were videotaped:

• Catherine Evangelista
• Jennifer Robinson
• Jack Smith
• Terry Thorne
• Lori Bush
• Cindy Sinkez

Thanks to all the candidates for their participation.

Credits:

• Interviewer – Vickie Maxwell
• Producer – Lindsey S. Chester
• Director & Editor – Hal Goodtree
• Production Crew – Tyler Bennett, Leslie Huffman, Matt Young
• Production Support – SteadyFilm LLC, Eastern Camera

©2009 CaryCitizen. All rights reserved.

~ The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. ~ John F. Kennedy

We are all inundated with information about national elections. Pundits and reporters spout facts and opinions, and the candidates release soundbites every day.

Where it hits us close to home is often overlooked. The people of Cary walk into voting booths not sure where the candidates stand on issues that affect us – the citizens of Cary. We talk amongst ourselves about issues regarding our services, roads, greenways and parks, taxes, schools, and our environment. But do we really spend the time we should getting to know those who may represent us? Many don’t know the names of their district representative.

What a candidate stands for in our local elections is driven less by a “party platform” and more on the candidates’ personal views and experiences. It is vital now – more than ever – to know the candidates in our upcoming Cary election.

We will be rolling out a series of short, informal videos called “Coffee and Politics” over the next month. We ask the candidates questions about their background, their beliefs and the issues that face us in Cary in the upcoming years.

Vickie Maxwell, a former candidate for Town Council, will be conducting the interviews.  Vickie has been an active member of the Cary community for many years, lending her time to various charity, social and political events including InterAct.

As always, we look for your involvement. Send us your thoughts on what you would like to see. Send us any questions that you would like us to ask the candidates. Most importantly, watch for the Town Council Coffee & Politics interviews exclusively on CaryCitizen.

Together, we are going to put the “candid” back in “candidate”!

Matt Young is the Managing Editor of CaryCitizen. Staff photo by Hal Goodtree.