THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 28, 1994 TAG: 9407280521
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: By MASON PETERS, Staff Writer
DATELINE: HERTFORD LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Surprised members of the Northeast Economic Development Commission learned this week that in the closing hours of the last General Assembly the legislators gave the group vastly increased spending powers and trimmed some of the authority of Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.
Commission members tested their new authority Wednesday afternoon at a special Hertford meeting called to acquaint them with the hitherto little-known actions in Raleigh this month:
General Assembly revision of the 1992 statute that created the development commission now gives the 15 members sole control over more than $1.6 million in development funds that previously had to go through supervisory funnels at the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
The legislators also eliminated a separate tourism director appointed by the governor to head an autonomous tourism operation within the commission. In the future the commission members will name the tourist director who will answer to them.
For months there have been awkward relations between Bunny Sanders, appointed by the governor to be director of the tourist branch, and some of the other commission members.
Sanders is the daughter of E.V. Wilkins, a Democratic leader who is chairman of the trustees at Elizabeth City State University. After her selection by Hunt last year, Sanders set up her tourist operation in separate Elizabeth City offices - 12 miles from the commission's headquarters in Hertford.
Sanders is expected to continue in her job as tourist leader but under the direct supervision of the full board, several commission members said Wednesday. Sanders was at the hospital bedside of her ailing mother in Greenville and did not attend the meeting.
The first move to revise the economic commission's operational rules came two months ago when the group, by a narrow majority, voted to ask the General Assembly to make all employees directly answerable to the commission or to a director of the commission.
The legislators went considerably beyond that in the final days of the recent session.
By removing the governor's appointive powers for the tourist division director, the General Assembly consolidated authority under the commission members. Then, by giving the commission virtually direct control of pump-priming money appropriated by the legislature, a constraining link to the state's Commerce Department was removed.
The legislators also told the commissioners they could hire and fire employees as they saw fit and set salaries.
``Funds appropriated for the commission by the General Assembly shall be disbursed directly to the commission at the beginning of each fiscal year,'' says the amended enabling law.
Until the change, N.C. Commerce Secretary S. Davis Phillips and his aides handled payrolls and other disbursements for the commission. Phillips sits as a cabinet-level member of the commission, representing the governor, but the recent legislative revisions will limit his influence on commission spending.
When the commission was created, the legislature gave it $600,000 in startup and operational money through the current fiscal year that ended June 30.
``There's about $420,000 of that still unspent,'' said Commission Chairman Andrew Allen, a Washington County businessman.
The legislature also provided the commission with another $1.2 million in operational funds through the 1995 fiscal year.
``Eventually, direct management of the funds will be transferred to us,'' said James Lancaster Jr., the commission's paid director.
Allen pushed through several resolutions at the emergency meeting to enable the commission in its new independence to meet a payroll next month. Previously, the payroll has been handled by the Commerce Department.
``The Commerce Department will send along July checks for the staff but we'll have to meet the August payroll and arrange for bonding for the commission members,'' Lancaster said.
Lancaster and Sanders, who both receive $55,000 annual salaries, and two secretarial workers, are the only paid staff members of the commission.
Several commission members said the regular employees would continue to receive the pay and considerations they now get. The commission members are unpaid but the new statute changes authorizes them to receive $100 for each day they are on committee business.
The job of working out a temporary payroll, insurance and a bonding plan was turned over to Hal Walker Jr., director of the Albemarle Commission.
``Tell us what you need and we'll do it,'' said Walker, whose 10-county agency is also involved in economic pump-priming. The economic commission has been using Albemarle Commission's accommodations for many of its meetings.
Selection of Walker to handle financial affairs of the economic group indicates closer future cooperation between the two agencies, one economic planner said.
Since its creation, the northeastern economic commission has launched few economic improvement projects. Many of the previous meetings have been taken up with organizational details and reports from Sanders and the tourist division. by CNB