General Assembly Considers Legislation to Protect Local Revenues City Leaders Rally Support RALEIGH, NC – Mayors and leaders from some of North Carolina's largest cities were in Raleigh today in an effort to call attention to new legislation. During a press conference here in the state's capital, the mayors threw their support behind several bills that were introduced yesterday in both chambers of the General Assembly that would restrict a governor's authority to withhold local revenues: HB 1490 – Secure Local Revenues. Primary sponsors: Reps. Pryor Gibson, Wayne Goodwin, Phil Baddour, Lyons Gray HB 1491 – Constitution Prohibit Holding Local Funds. Primary sponsors: Reps. Pryor Gibson, Wayne Goodwin, Phil Baddour, Lyons Gray SB 1122 – Constitution Prohibit Holding Local Funds. Primary sponsor: Sen. Eric Reeves SB 1124 – Secure Local Revenues -- Primary sponsor: Sen. Eric Reeves "This is exactly the kind of support we need in the legislature," said Raleigh's Mayor Meeker, "We appreciate the hard work of all the legislators involved in this effort. We look forward to early passage of legislation so our cities can pass their own budgets with a greater sense of security that our local taxes will not be withheld again." The legislative effort to protect future local revenues has been prompted by actions earlier in the year when local taxes that are collected by the state were withheld by the Governor's Office. "We need legislation to protect our local taxes so that we can run our cities effectively, so that we can provide critical services efficiently," said the NC Metropolitan Coalition Chairman, Charlotte's Mayor McCrory. "The local utility franchise tax is collected for cities by the state and has been for decades, but this year the Governor withheld the funds from us and used them to balance the state budget - we need to prevent that from happening again." The mayors were joined at their press conference by three legislators - Rep. Goodwin, one of the sponsors of the House bill, and Senators Metcalf and Gulley, who all spoke in strong support of our state's local governments. "We can't through another year like this," said Greensboro Mayor Keith Holliday. "First the economic downturn hits us, then the state withholds money that we count on to balance our city budgets. I feel strongly that passing legislation to prevent a Governor from withholding our money should be a priority for our state legislators, and I am encouraged by what we have heard today." Established in 2000 and comprised of 20 of the largest cities in North Carolina, the North Carolina Metropolitan Coalition was formed by the municipal leaders to encourage the continued development of the urban areas in North Carolina as livable, environmentally sound, and economically viable centers. For more information, please contact : Beau Mills, Director NC Metropolitan Coalition www.ncmetros.org