North Carolina

NC budget compromise calls for pay raises, gradual tax cuts

Published

11 months ago

September 19, 2023

NC budget compromise calls for pay raises, gradual tax cuts

After months of delays, state lawmakers are releasing a budget that includes new personal income tax cuts and raises for state employees and teachers.

House Speaker Tim Moore confirmed Tuesday that most state employees will get a 4% raise this year and a 3% raise next year. That’s more than what the Senate proposed but less than what advocates for state workers said would be needed to address a major labor shortage.

“Our House bill had even more raises for teachers and state employees,” Moore told reporters Tuesday morning. “But this was a compromise position that we took with the other chamber. What I would like to see happen is, in the second year of the biennium, next year, is to be able to come in and even beef up their second-year raises as well.”

Teachers would get an average raise of 7% this year, a figure that includes the scheduled raises they get based on experience. Starting pay for teachers would increase from $37,000 to $39,000. The top of the pay scale for teachers with more than 25 years of experience would increase from $54,000 to $55,100.

Retired state employees would get a one-time, 4% cost-of-living bonus. An earlier House plan called for making an increase permanent.

The budget compromise also calls for gradually cutting the personal income tax rate from 4.75% this year to 3.99% by 2026. But those cuts would be tied to the state’s revenue levels and wouldn’t take effect if there are shortfalls.

Moore said the tax cuts are one issue that caused budget talks between the House and Senate to drag on for months, because the Senate didn’t like the revenue triggers.

“It allows for tax relief, but it doesn’t jeopardize the fiscal stability of the state,” Moore said.

Lawmakers are planning to vote Wednesday on the budget and on a separate bill that ties Medicaid expansion to legalizing new casinos.

Democrats have criticized that proposal, which surfaced over the weekend after the most conservative wing of the House Republicans publicly rejected a plan to include casino legalization in the budget bill.

Medicaid expansion was passed into law back in the spring and it’s been scheduled to take effect as soon as a budget becomes law. But, in what appears to be an attempt to get Democrats and Gov. Roy Cooper to vote for casinos, Medicaid expansion now won’t happen unless the casino bill becomes law. In addition to four new casinos in rural counties, it would also legalize thousands of video gambling terminals that would be in convenience stores and other locations throughout the state.

Most House Democrats signed a letter Monday that said that Republicans are “cynically using health care as a political bargaining chip to force passage of a casino bill developed in secret and written by casino lobbyists.”

Moore defended that approach to reporters on Tuesday. “At the end of the day, they have a choice whether they want to vote for the bill, or against the bill,” he said. “And get this: if you look at a lot of the folks who voted for the sports betting bill, and if you compare the list of folks who voted for the Medicaid expansion, with a few minor exceptions, they’re about the same, so I don’t see it as being something that doesn’t make sense. There’s a nexus.”

Moore said he was unsure as of Tuesday if the casino-Medicaid bill would have enough votes to pass.

Neither the budget bill nor the Medicaid-gambling bills had been publicly released on the legislature’s website as of midday Tuesday, but draft versions of both leaked to media outlets on Monday night.

Moore said Tuesday that the leaked budget bill was a draft that could still change, but he confirmed that key provisions in that draft will be in the final budget, including:

A new nonprofit called NC Innovation will get $250 million in each of the next two years. The group wants to help research and development projects from the state’s universities become successful start-up companies. The amount is less than the $1.4 billion that the Senate wanted to give the group, but it’s more than the initial proposals from the House and the governor.
“We all realize that this is an opportunity for a great project with great business leaders to try to recruit and keep the intellectual property that is developed in North Carolina,” Moore said.
A major expansion of private school vouchers, known as “Opportunity Scholarships.” The vouchers would no longer be limited to low-income families.
A provision that would allow appellate court judges to carry concealed weapons in the courtroom, a change that prompted a comment from Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham and a former judge:

Big budget provision ‼️. Page 427 proposes to allow our Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeal Judges to carry concealed guns in court. Goodbye bailiffs and good luck to lawyers as justices twirl guns around their fingers during oral arguments. #ncpol #ncga
— Rep. Marcia Morey (@marciahmorey) September 19, 2023

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North Carolina

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

Published

4 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.

MarketWatch Guides, a site that provides “reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions,” focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.

A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.

More: Distracted driving in Wilmington: How big of a problem is it?

North Carolina’s ranking among the most dangerous

According to the study, the states with the most dangerous drivers based on the factors studied are:

Louisiana – 7.55/10

California – 7.21/10

New Mexico – 6.74/10

Hawaii – 6.73/10

Delaware – 6.67/10

New Jersey – 6.53/10

Mississippi – 6.47/10

North Carolina – 6.39/10

Massachusetts – 6.33/10

Maryland and Texas – 6.26/10

According to the study, North Carolina had 32.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers, but only 2.1% of rough roads, which was the lowest percentage out of the other ranked states.

For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.

The most dangerous county for drivers, ranked at No. 1 for the past five years, was Robeson County. The county had 60 fatal crashes in 2022 with 1,136 non-fatal injury crashes. The rest of the total 4,056 crashes were property-damage-only. The county with the best ranking was Hyde County, coming in at No. 100. The county had one fatal crash in 2022 and 10 non-fatal injury crashes. The county had a total of 45 crashes, the rest of which were property damage only.

More: MyReporter: Which intersections see the most red-light camera violations in Wilmington?

Here’s where the Cape Fear region counties ranked.

Brunswick County

Ranked No. 76 in 2022, Brunswick County had 25 fatal crashes and 715 non-fatal injury crashes. The total crashes for that year were 3,146. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

New Hanover County

Ranked No. 58, New Hanover had 19 fatal crashes and 1,313 non-fatal injury crashes, both of which went down from 2021. The total crashes in New Hanover were 5,617. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

Pender County

Ranked No. 47, Pender County had the worst ranking despite having the lowest number of crashes. The county had 12 fatal crashes and 374 non-fatal injury crashes, and a total of 1,156 crashes. The rest of the crashes were property damage only.

Iris Seaton, USA Today Network, contributed to this report.

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North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Published

12 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby already has parts of Florida under tropical storm warnings. The Florida Big Bend is currently under a Hurricane Warning. Debby is forecast to briefly strengthen into a category 1 hurricane as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico where water temperatures are near 90 degrees.

As it continues its path over land it is expected to dial back to tropical storm strength as it reaches the Carolinas mid to late next week. Moderate rainfall is possible for northeast North Carolina and southern Virginia by the end of the week.

Higher amounts of rain are possible for southernmost portions of the Outer Banks but generally models show 2-4 inches for northeast North Carolina and 1-2 inches for southern Virginia through Thursday.

Stay with News 3’s First Warning Weather Team for the latest updates as the storm develops.

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North Carolina

Tropical weather update for Wilmington: What we can expect and when

Published

19 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical weather update for Wilmington: What we can expect and when

The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor a tropical depression over Cuba. It’s expected to become a tropical storm later Saturday, bringing impacts to the Carolinas around the middle of next week.

Heavy rainfall and flooding are the primary impacts expected, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

“Gusty winds are also possible, but it is too early to predict specific impacts in great detail at this time,” the weather service said.

At the same time, there is the potential for heavy rainfall and some flooding associated with front expected to stall inland this weekend.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the center of the tropical depression, which would be name Debby if it becomes a tropical storm, was over Cuba and moving west-northwest near 15 mph. The hurricane center said a turn toward the northwest is forecast for Saturday, followed by a northward motion on Sunday and then a slower northeastwardmotion Sunday night and Monday.

Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph. Slow strengthening is expected throughout the day Saturday. Faster strengthening is possible Sunday, with the storm nearing hurricane strength when it reaches the Florida Gulf Coast, the hurricane center said.

STORM TRACKER: Monitor the latest tropical developments here.

Here’s a look at what we can expect in the Wilmington area, according to the latest briefing from the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Wind

The probability of tropical storm force winds has increased, especially for the South Carolina coast. The most likely time of arrival of for northeast South Carolina is Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, and for Southeastern North Carolina is during Wednesday morning.

Rain

The potential for significant rainfall exists with 8 to 12 inches possible from near Cape Fear to portions of thenortheast South Carolina coast. Flash flooding and urban flooding are possible. Some rivers, including the North Cape Fear River and the Waccamaw River, could exceed flood stage next week.

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