The changing face of Charlotte

The 2010 Census highlights the growth and diversity of North Carolina and Charlotte over the last decade, the Observer's Jim Morrill reports in Sunday's paper. Among the findings:

• Charlotte's nonwhite population rose above 50 percent for the first time. The same happened in Greensboro and Winston-Salem.
• Once-small suburban towns have exploded in population. Huntersville now has more people than Hickory.
• Indian Trail in Union County and Mooresville in Iredell County, both fast-growing suburbs, eclipsed their respective county seats in population.

UNC Charlotte's Urban Institute looked at population changes in the 11 N.C. counties in the Charlotte region. (South Carolina's numbers haven't come out.) See the Urban Institute's findings here.

Final report of Open Door internal probe

Mecklenburg County on Wednesday released a final report of an internal investigation launched into allegations of misspent money at Mecklenburg Open Door, a contractor that has received millions in government dollars in recent years.

The report said Open Door's former executive director Ed Payton took out more than $147,000 in unauthorized loans from the organization and racked up nearly $53,000 more in unsubstantiated bills on his company credit card.

The report -- which you can read by clicking here -- was prepared by accountant William Barbee by request of the Open Door board of directors.

Payton has repaid about $79,000 of the money he borrowed, but still owes the organization nearly $122,000. -- April Bethea and Ames Alexander

Statements on Mecklenburg Open Door probe

As a story in today's Observer details, Mecklenburg Open Door launched an investigation four months ago into financial allegations, including whether its former director misused the organization's money.

The non-profit, which has received more than $19 million in government aid during the past five years, came under scrutiny recently after a federal housing agency faulted the organization for failing to keep adequate records of one of its housing programs. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also said the county failed to provide adequate oversight of its contract with Mecklenburg Open Door.

The county's Area Mental Health department plans to sever all ties with the nonprofit by Nov. 30.

Below, read statements from Mecklenburg County's Area Mental Health department director; Ed Payton, former Mecklenburg Open Door executive director, and Jim Cook, president of the board of Mecklenburg Open Door, in response to questions from the Observer.

Have information to share? Contact reporters Ames Alexander at aalexander@charlotteobserver.com or 704-358-5060, and April Bethea at abethea@charlotteobserver.com or 704-358-6013.

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Ed Payton, former executive director of Mecklenburg Open Door:
"The DWI experiences and tax liens were from a difficult period in my life while I dealt with episodic mental health issues. Those experiences, although traumatic, gave me great empathy for people, like me, who are consumers of mental health services in Mecklenburg County.

"I acknowledge that I did violate agency policy and, in the opinion of MOD, this action warranted my termination. Since the details of this are personnel issues, I decline to discuss them.

"During my seven years at MOD the agency defined the words innovation, partner, and peer. We made a point to sit around the table with the County and other agencies to solve problems, discuss differences and, most important, to improve our collective efforts to provide better services to adults with mental health issues. During that time, plain and simple, MOD was willing to partner with Mecklenburg County to advance mental health services when few were willing to do so -- during a time when the State of North Carolina was paralyzed in its own inability to transform the mental health system. It wasn’t about money; it was about service.

"I left Mecklenburg Open Door due to my own shortcomings and mental health issues. Leaving such a fine agency and the product of my hard work was painful, but I was proud to leave an agency of merit; I was proud of its value to Mecklenburg County."

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Grayce Crockett, director of county's Area Mental Health department

In late June 2010, the Board Chair of Mecklenburg Open Door notified Area Mental Health regarding some financial irregularities that had occurred in their organization and indicated that they were undergoing a thorough financial audit. AMH took immediate remedial action. A Request for Proposals was issued on September 17th in an open process to select another provider in order to ensure continuity of services for consumers.

Editor's Note: Crockett's statement was in response to the following questions e-mailed by Observer reporters on Wednesday:

Dear Ms. Crockett:

We’re planning to publish a story Friday about Mecklenburg Open Door’s recent internal investigation into financial and administrative problems at their agency. The investigation, which began in May, has concluded that MOD policy was violated. Board President Jim Cook has shared with us information about that investigation and its conclusions, but we think it’s important to get your input as well since your department has contracted with MOD – and since so much public money was involved.

We’ve also heard from a number of sources, including current and former MOD employees, that the investigation examined allegations that Ed Payton misused agency money. We also understand that MOD’s internal investigation into these matters contributed to the county’s decision to sever its relationship with MOD.

Here are a few questions:

-What violations at MOD have you been made aware of?

-When were those violations brought to your agency’s attention?

-In a Sept. 10 email, you told area mental health employees that “problems with MOD have surfaced not related to the Shelter Plus Care program. As a result, we will be terminating our contract with them at the end of November.” Please discuss what those problems were.

-What steps are AMH and the county taking in response to the MOD’s internal investigation, aside from severing its relationship with the agency? Does the county plan to investigate whether county was misspent? And does it plan to refer this matter to law enforcement agencies?

-What else can you tell us about this?

As always, we’d prefer to talk to you in person about this because Mecklenburg Open Door was a major provider for Area Mental Health. But if you need to respond in writing, please send an email to me -- aalexander@charlotteobserver.com -- and to April Bethea -- abethea@charlotteobserver.com. We would need to hear from you no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23.

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Jim Cook, president of board of directors, Mecklenburg Open Door

Early this summer, the Board of Directors (BOD) was informed of an allegation of violations of MOD policies. Staff investigation indicated that these allegations had merit. The BOD immediately began an investigation, and also concluded that MOD policies had been violated. In June, an external accountant conducted additional analyses to which were just completed this week. On June 17, the Executive Director began a leave of absence, and on August 3, the Executive Director left the employment of MOD, with an Interim Executive Director appointed August 4. On August 23, the Chief Financial Officer left MOD; on August 25, a new CFO started work.

In sum, over the past four months, the BOD of MOD became aware of a number of financial and administrative problems. We have investigated and taken appropriate action to address these problems. As a direct result of these investigations, three staff persons are no longer part of MOD. We have taken a number of steps to improve our administrative and fiscal controls. We are cooperating with the county regarding investigation into Shelter Plus Care, and will be working to facilitate the transition of our programs to a new provider, when that provider is chosen. In the meantime, we're working hard to ensure that our consumers continue to be served, with as little disruption as possible.

Despite these serious problems, it is important to note that, throughout this series of events, our staff have continued to serve our clients in the professional manner that has been a standard at Mecklenburg Open Door for over 25 years. We continue to be focused, primarily, on our mission of providing the best services possible. We remain confident that our consumers, citizens of Mecklenburg County with mental health issues, will continue to receive quality care and support.

E-mails show tension between county and library

UPDATED 4:55 p.m.: See Observer Editorial Page Editor Taylor Batten's response to commenters at the bottom of this post.

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This series of e-mails obtained by the Observer shows tension between Mecklenburg County government leaders and the libraries, which had millions slashed from its budget by county commissioners this year. The cuts forced the closings of three library branches, the reduction of hours at other branches and the layoffs of 187 staff.

Harry Jones is Mecklenburg's County Manager. John McGillicuddy is Jones' aide and Mecklenburg's General Manager. And Robert "Bob" Sink is a Charlotte lawyer and vice chair of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

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Read GOP commissioner hopefuls' pledge

As a story in today's Observer describes, Republican candidates for the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners have developed a 14-point "pledge to our citizens" outlining their collective campaign platform. You can read the text of the pledge below.

The pledge was read during a Monday press conference by the GOP candidates for the three at-large commissioner seats: Jim Pendergraph, Dan Ramirez and Corey Thompson. Ramirez said the pledge had been developed over the past few months and was approved by all the Republican commissioner candidates.

Click here to get a full list of candidates on this year's ballot. The election is Nov. 2.

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(Republican) Mecklenburg County Commission Candidates

Pledge to Our Citizens

Fiscal Accountability and Governance:
1. We pledge to govern within our means and not abuse the authority to raise and impose taxes.
2. We pledge to reinstate respect and trust in county government by being open with all commission business not restricted by law.
3. We pledge to identify and eliminate wasteful spending in every county department, to outsource any county service that can be done more efficiently and cost effectively by an outside provider, and to cease unnecessary services and duplication of services.
4. We pledge to establish better working relationships with the six municipalities within Mecklenburg County and reduce duplication of services which waste tax dollars.
5. We pledge to ensure that persons receiving non-emergency services and funding from the county are eligible for those services.
6. We pledge not to forget our Mecklenburg County veterans who have given so much to ensure all of us the liberties and freedom we enjoy daily.


Public Safety:
1. We pledge to work diligently to ensure that our citizens not only feel safe in their respective communities, but are safe.
2. We pledge to work closely with the Sheriff, police and our court system to ensure adequate resources to arrest, detain and prosecute offenders.
3. We pledge to work closely with all law enforcement agencies to identify and remove criminal illegal aliens from our county, who are primarily responsible for importing drugs and gang violence into our county.
4. We pledge, as a board, to pressure the N.C. legislature to provide adequate funding for our district attorney and court system.


Education:
1. We pledge to support our Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) system by providing reasonable funding to accomplish what our citizens expect for the education of our children.
2. We pledge to support Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in their education efforts to train and re-train our future work force.
3. We pledge, as a board, to hold the CMS Board of Education accountable for resources, provided by taxpayers, and expect positive results for the financial support provided.
4. We pledge, as a board, to continue to encourage the Board of Education to privatize segments of the CMS system, including food services, maintenance, transportation, and health services potentially resulting in huge tax dollar savings.

County budget: what would you cut, spare?

With three weeks to go until Mecklenburg County commissioners are expected to vote on a 2010-11 budget, board members have a series of questions to sort out.

Among the biggest ones: 1) Should the county cut less from the libraries, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools or other services? 2) Are there any areas that should be cut deeper than the manager's recommendation?

Tell us what you think. The county has posted the recommended budget on its web site, including breaking down the document in easy-to-digest chunks.

Perhaps the best one is the "Budget Overview," which you can read by clicking here.

It has a line item list of county program and service areas, a breakdown of whether the county has any flexibility in providing that service and/or its funding level, the recommended funding for education and non-profit agencies, and details of what jobs could be cut in the budget.

Are there any expenses that deserve better scrutiny? We're hoping to take a look at your ideas and those proposed in March in the coming weeks.

Commissioners are scheduled to approve the budget June 15. In the coming weeks, they'll host a series of budget workshops and, on Thursday, a public hearing.

The hearing is set for 6 p.m. Thursday in the chamber of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St. To speak at the hearing, call 704-336-2086 or click here. -- APRIL BETHEA

Can the county control CMS spending?

Money for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools makes up the biggest single chunk of the county's operating budget -- more than $300 million this year -- and commissioners have said they want to make sure the money is leading to gains in the district.

But just how much can county leaders control how the school district uses its money?

Assistant Professor Kara Millonzi of the School of Government at UNC Chapel Hill offers an answer to that question and others in a new blog post about local school budgets. You can read the full post by clicking here.

State law, she writes, allows counties to divvy up operating money given to school systems by purpose or function. But county commissioners, acting on their own discretion, cannot appropriate money by line-item for school operating expenses.

That being said, Millonzi said commissioners aren't barred from requesting that a school board not use county money for certain items. "However, any agreement reached by the two boards that is not reflected in the county’s appropriations is not legally binding," she writes.

The Coates' Canons: NC Local Government Law Blog, offers lots of insight from School of Government professors on a variety of topics. Other recent entries discuss whether government employment contracts are open record (which cites a case involving the Observer) and analysis of a suit filed against the city of Kannapolis challenging an Internet Sweepstakes Tax. -- April Bethea

Park and rec, building fee changes loom

Want to play at one of Mecklenburg County's golf courses or rent the historic St. Mary's Chapel for an event? Planning to host a run or other organized event at a county greenway?

Well, you could face new or higher fees starting in July.

This afternoon, county commissioners are expected to hear officials from the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department and the Land Use & Environmental Services Agency discuss proposed fee changes for the 2010-11 budget year.

You can read about the proposed fees, which must be approved by commissioners, by clicking here.

Among the proposals:
1) Implement new fees to reserve facilities for organized walks, runs, bike races, fundraisers or other events at county greenways and park trails. The fees would range between $100 and $610 depending on the number of participants. The parks department said the events require advanced signage and clean up, which are performed by county staff.
2) Increase rental fees for facilities like the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center and St. Mary's Chapel, as well as establish a new charge for the multi-purpose room and gym at Revolution Park Sports Academy.
3) Set a new $4.50 hourly fee to reserve time at the outdoor basketball courts at Clanton and Camp Greene parks for tournaments, leagues and organized events. Open play will continue at a first-come, first-served basis.
4) Create a technology surcharge on commercial building projects to support creation of electronic plan submittal system and other technology.

County commissioners recently signed off on other code enforcement fee increases, including a general 4.75 percent increase on existing building permits based on total construction cost per permit. Code enforcement officials said it was the first across-the-board increase in building permit fees since 2003. You can read about those fees changes by clicking here. -- April Bethea

Proposal: County seeks $95 million in cuts

Mecklenburg County officials said they are planning for up to $95 million in budget cuts, and potentially more than 500 layoffs of workers, for the budget year that begins in July. The cuts are driven overwhelmingly by declines in nearly every revenue source.

County Manager Harry Jones (pictured at right) won't present his recommended budget until May, but has given departments and other agencies targets on how much they could possibly lose. Click here to read the full list.

The potential cuts include:

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools $20.7 million or 6.5 percent less than the current year


• Department of Social Services: $4.2 million, or 6.6 percent less


• Sheriff's Office: almost $9 million, or 11 percent less


• Charlotte Mecklenburg Library: $17 million, or 50 percent less


• Park and Recreation: $18.8 million, or 50 percent less

Jones and Budget Director Hyong Yi stressed Tuesday that the targeted cuts are not final, and will change as Jones and county commissioners craft the budget.

The $95 million figure is about $10 million more than the current estimated budget shortfall. Jones said the extra amount will give him more flexibility in deciding what cuts to enact and also acts as a buffer against any future losses in state money.

But he said next year's cuts will mean layoffs, service eliminations and the closure of some facilities. "There is no purpose in sugar-coating the situation," Jones said.

Commissioners will approve the 2010-11 budget this June.

In the meantime, the county will cut $20 million from the current year budget, including $6.3 million from CMS and $13.2 million from county departments. Central Piedmont Community College will lose about $500,000.

Want to keep up with the budget? Visit http://countybudget.charmeck.org/. APRIL BETHEA

Jones: No thoughts of resigning

Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones has faced intense criticism from some residents on a variety of issues this year, including reported accounting problems in the Department of Social Services and a $38,400 performance bonus given to him earlier this month. Some have even called for his job.

Jones addressed the issues in an interview Thursday on "Charlotte's Morning News with Al Gardner & Stacey Simms" on WBT-AM.

Click here to hear the full exchange. Note: The link to Jones' interview is about midway down the page

Here are some snippets:

Q. Have you thought about resigning?

Jones: "No, I have not given any thought to that Al. This has been a good year. You know along the way you are going to make some mistakes. I did make a mistake in forwarding an email. Harry Lomax and I have subsequently talked and I'm taking his position that it was blown way out of proportion. He and I have had lunch together with each other. No, I have not given any thought to it. But I will say, Al, it's been a tough year. It's been a really tough year. But I think it's also been my best year and I told the board of county commissioners that and I'm going to continue to stay where I am unless they decide they don't want me any longer."

Q. As Al was mentioning, though, other county employees didn't get bonuses at all. And it seems to me that with the email as you said you’ve apologized, you've had lunch with the gentleman, but (it was) big blow to public trust there, and with the DSS situation being what it is, why not say, well, I'll accept the bonus if such and so bears out, an ethics investigation, something like that? Because I think a lot of people would question whether this was the best year for county government.

Jones: "I’m going to say this: I earned that bonus. I think the other issues my board of county commissioners factored all of those things in when they considered my compensation. And the position that I will take is that, yes, the email does raise some questions about people's confidence in government. But Al and Stacey, I will say to you that there was no malicious intent, as I have indicated publicly, on my forwarding that particular email. And in that there was no malicious intent, for those people who want to call for my scalp on that one particular action, (they) don’t know Harry Jones and don't know what Harry Jones has done through his career to try to open up government, to encourage more participation. If you want to judge me on this one action, then I would say you're judging me contrary to the real Harry Jones."

County: Employee repaid $33,776.23

Here's the surprising twist in Mecklenburg County's investigation into alleged misspending at a Christmas charity for children: Officials said a county employee returned more than $33,000 months ago, but auditors didn't account for it.

The county's audit department released this memo Tuesday.

Here's what officials say happened:

In June, county auditors released an audit of the Christmas program. It said they'd collected about $138,978 in receipts of about $162,000 at issue. Here is the first audit memo.

On Tuesday, the auditors released a "follow-up and clarification" to that audit.

It said an employee had returned $33,776.23 in February and March.

On Tuesday, Internal Audit Director Cornita Spears said an employee had been advanced the money and was returning what was unspent or that had been used for personal items.

- Doug Miller

The e-mail behind Jones' apology

Here is the e-mail exchange from County Manager Harry Jones to Bank of America's Betty Turner that came under scrutiny this week:

(We've put in bold the text section of each e-mail, obtained through an Observer open records request.)

_______________________________________________________________

From: Turner, Betty M [mailto:betty.m.turner@bankofamerica.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 10:20 AMTo: Jones, Harry L.

Subject: Re: Tonight's Meeting - DSS Comments

I am embarrassed by his comments, his tone and doing this. I am tracking it down. I don't know him - I have alerted charles. Will be back to you

From: Jones, Harry L. To: Turner, Betty M Sent: Tue Jul 14 09:11:19 2009

Subject: FW: Tonight's Meeting - DSS Comments

See the email below: Do you know Harry Lomax

Harry L. Jones, Sr.
County Manager
Mecklenburg County
704-336-2087 (o)
704-336-5887(f)

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.
Greek proverb


From: Jones, Harry L. Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 8:56 PMTo: Diorio, Dena R.

Subject: Fw: Tonight's Meeting - DSS Comments

Fyi

From: Harry Lomax To: Roberts, Jennifer; Cogdell, Harold; Murrey, Daniel B; Bentley, Karen; Leake, Vilma; Cooksey, Neil; Dunlap, George; James, Bill; Wilson, Mary; Diorio, Dena R.; Jones, Harry L. Sent: Tue Jul 07 20:04:37 2009

Subject: Tonight's Meeting - DSS Comments

All-

I was looking forward to addressing the Commission in person tonight as part of the public forum section of the agenda. It was pretty frustrating to sit there for over an hour watching PSA after PSA on how great the DSS is from your

Mecklenburg Matters video. I finally had to leave to go to the store, feed dogs, get prepped for work, etc...you know...real world stuff. That said, I'd like to give send you my prepared comments and hope that I am not you take these to heart as if I were there tonight.

I'd like to express my displeasure with the recent activities involving the DSS. My comments may be premature pending the upcoming audit results, but I still think they are appropriate. Up until recently, I have been generally pleased with how the county government has performed - but for lack of a better term - I feel duped.

Duped that my company and I have donated time and money to this Giving Tree sham which the DSS has chosens to use as their personal petty cash fund.
Duped by the County Management, Finance Department and past/current DSS leadership's lack of controls (not to mention the cronyism involved with the recent hires within the DSS).

And duped by the flippant, hands-off response by some of the commissioners with regard to the audit and the County Manager's subsequent response.
Commissioner Cooksey encouraged me to speak tonight, and between him and Commissioner James, I feel llike they are the only one who are living in the real world here.

Any honest, non-government entity would have audit controls in place for a $176MM, 1200+ employee department. Regardless of the fact that the DSS Leadership and County Manager failed in their duty to implement these controls, the employees who broke the law should still be prosecuted. I hope the County Commission will support a thourough investigation by the DA and make the decision to prosecute if necessary.

What other organizations are being scrutinized a s a result of the DSS issues coming to light? There seems to be a need for a wholesale cleanup of many county agencies, and I think that starts from the top down.
Thanks for your time and I look forward to some answers not only going forward, but also some accountability/repercussions for those who are implicated in this scandal.

Regards-

Harry Lomax

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Jones apologized today for forwarding the e-mail from Lomax, speaking as a citizen, to his employer.

- Doug Miller

Crowdsourcing: Help us review e-mails

We examined some 1,100 emails from public officials to report our story on misspending at the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.

Now you can, too.

Use the links below to view emails sent by top administrators related to DSS.

Let us know if you spot something that you think deserves further scrutiny. You can leave a comment below or send an e-mail.

The buzzword for this is "crowdsourcing."

But the concept is as old as the notion that two heads are better than one.

(Collective wisdom is illustrated this way by author James Surowiecki: On the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," the lifeline to an expert friend yielded the correct answer about 65 percent of the time, while the studio audience was right 91 percent of the time.)

Here are the links:

Click here for County Manager Harry Jones.

Click here for DSS Director Mary Wilson.

Click here for Finance Director Dena Diorio.

Click here for auditor Cornita Spears.

Click here for administrator Beverly Hinson.

Click here for supervisor Cindy Brady.

Here's a link to an e-mail highlighted in our story, in which Wilson says a senior fiscal administrator has left directors "frustrated with her inability to explain the simplest concepts of revenue and expenses."

- Doug Miller

Gilchrist: 'No charges will be filed'

Here is the statement released today by District Attorney Peter Gilchrist in the shooting death of Marcus Fluker:

"THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE HAS DECIDED THAT NO CHARGES WILL BE FILED AGAINST C.L. MCCLURE IN THE SHOOTING DEATH OF MARCUS FLUTER


The investigation into the shooting death of Marcus Fluker by Mr. C.L. McClure has been completed and turned over to the District Attorney’s Office. The investigating officers utilized a procedure established by this office which allows departments to request that we make the charging decision. This procedure can be followed when investigation indicates probable cause to arrest is present but officers have questions and request we review the evidence they have gathered in order to determine whether charges should be brought.

On August 22, 2009, 76 year old C.L. McClure was sitting in his basement room cooling off after cutting his yard. At approximately 12:30 in the afternoon, he saw a young black male walk past the door of this room. He thought it was his grandson coming by to see him. When he didn’t come into the room, Mr. McClure walked to the door to see what he was doing. He was greeted by a young man with his face covered and armed with a weapon.

Mr. McClure was told to get on the ground. He was duct taped and robbed of cash and jewelry. Another man entered into the basement as well. Mr. McClure was asked who and what was in the main house. Mr. McClure told them his wife was upstairs and to please not hurt her. One man left the other stayed. Mr. McClure’s wife was also a victim of this home invasion when they entered the home and took items from there as well.

After a brief period, the other man left and Mr. McClure got off the ground, retrieved a gun he had in the basement, and went to check on his wife. He saw a number of young men running from his house into the woods. From previous break-ins at his residence he believed that the robbers were running to a vehicle on the other side of the woods. His wife told him she was okay and he got into his vehicle. His intention at that time was to get to their car before they did and to shoot out the tires to immobilize their car until the police arrived.
As Mr. McClure approached the area where he thought a car might be parked, there was no car, and instead he saw all the young men running towards him. At this point he fired a shot in the air in an attempt to scatter them away from him and his vehicle and back into the woods. Instead, they kept running towards him. Some passed in front of his car and some behind. As Marcus Fluker passed his car he began to turn towards Mr. McClure. McClure, an Army veteran, had identified the weapon pointed at him at his house as some type of automatic weapon. When Fluker turned towards him he thought he was about to get “sprayed” by fire from this automatic weapon. He fired at him. McClure did not know if he struck him because Mr. Fluker turned back around and continued to run. At this point, McClure no longer felt in danger and did not fire his weapon again.

After the police arrived they went with Mr. McClure into the apartment complex where the individuals had been last scene. At this point, it was learned that Marcus Fluker had been struck by a single gunshot wound. At the place where he was found there was no gun. This location was not secure until the police arrived.

The investigation of this case recovered two firearms taken from Mr. McClure’s home and it is clear that Mr. Fluker was one of the individuals involved in the home invasion robbery. As a result of these events, Mr. McClure’s 70 year old wife suffered a heart attack.

In making a decision as to whether to charge Mr. McClure in this case, the District Attorney’s Office has considered all of the above facts as well as the law of self defense.

The only eyewitness to this shooting is Mr. McClure. The physical evidence corroborates what he told detectives. His idea to find the vehicle and try to delay the escape of those who invaded his home did not make him the aggressor nor did that take away his right of self defense. Mr. McClure believed that his life was in danger and fired in self-defense. It is the burden of the State in a criminal case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a charged individual did not act in self defense. The State cannot meet that burden in this case as it appears from all the credible evidence that Mr. McClure feared for his life."

- Doug Miller

List of delinquent taxpayers

View the names of property owners who have escaped paying taxes for eight years or longer. The list also includes addresses of the delinquent properties.

Click here to read the list.

The Mecklenburg tax collector's office compiled the report, which details $6.6 million in uncollected taxes, after complaints that bills were going unpaid for years.

The total reflects only a small percentage of the more than $1.3 billion the county collects annually. But some city and county officials say tax collectors should more vigorously try to collect the money.

The report shows 1,299 properties and more than 1,000 names of owners.

You can help us review the report.

Tips, questions, concerns?

Send us an e-mail.

- Doug Miller

Report back taxes to credit agencies?

Mecklenburg County Tax Collector Neal Dixon says he is considering reporting delinquencies to credit agencies if the tactic is found to be legally viable.

The idea is among several outlined in a newly released memo addressing concerns that more than 1,000 property owners have unpaid tax bills at least eight years old.

Click here to read the memo.

Among the other proposals to collect the unpaid $6.6 million in back taxes:

- Equipping tax collectors with more mapping software to locate properties.

- More marketing to raise awareness of delinquent taxpayers.

- Streamlining how the county identifies bidders for foreclosed properties.

Dixon notes the county's tax collection rate exceeds 99.35% for one-year delinquencies, and 99.90% within 10 years. (Each year, the county collects more than $1.3 billion.)

But County Commissioner Bill James asked for the report on back taxes after someone complained about an uptown condominium owner who hadn't paid property taxes for 12 years.

Click here to see a map of properties deliquent more than eight years.

- Doug Miller

Construction money for charter schools?

Charter schools across the state already receive some operating money from traditional K-12 school districts.

But are they also entitled to money for construction and other capital projects?

The N.C. Institute of Constitutional Law believes they might, and could ask the courts to weigh in. But local officials say state law doesn't require or give them authority to share money with the charter schools.

As an article in today's Observer notes, the Raleigh-based advocacy group recently sent a letter to some counties, including Mecklenburg, questioning the lack of capital outlay money given to local charter schools.

Read the institutes's letter here. It is signed by NCICL Executive Director Robert Orr, a retired state Supreme Court justice, and Jason Kay, a senior attorney at the institute who is the lead on the case.


Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman already has weighed in, writing to Orr that school boards currently are only required to share money with charter schools from its local current expense fund. Read Gorman's full letter here.


Mecklenburg County also is preparing a response, though County Attorney Marvin Bethune said Wednesday he doesn't believe state law gives counties authority to give charter schools money from the capital fund.


That assertion is backed by a 1998 advisory opinion from the N.C. Attorney General's Office, though it notes that lacking authority doesn't mean that public money can't be used to support the charters. A spokeswoman said Wednesday that is the only opinion the office has issued on the issue and the language quoted in the 1998 opinion still appears in state statutes.


What do you think? Should the county, CMS give charter schools money for capital projects?

- April Bethea

Meck commissioners: Health reform needed

Mecklenburg County commissioners late Tuesday approved a resolution calling on federal lawmakers to pass comprehensive health care reform.

The resolution -- which you can read here -- cites several statistics, including one that showed about 90 percent of patients to the Mecklenburg County Health Department in 2008-09 reported having no health insurance. It also states the county gave $18.6 million for indigent care to local hospital systems in the last budget.

Chair Jennifer Roberts said the National Association of Counties has asked leaders across the country to pass resolutions calling on the health care reform.

The resolution was approved by a vote of 5 to 2. Voting in favor were Roberts, Dan Murrey, George Dunlap, Dumont Clarke and Vilma Leake. Voting against were Karen Bentley and Neil Cooksey.

Bentley said she is acutely aware of the need for reform, but said there may be some unintended consequences if it doesn't happen effectively. She urged leaders not to rush into making a decision.


You can watch the commissioners meeting here. Click on the link for the Sept. 1 meeting, and on the scroll down menu choose item 33.

- April Bethea

Roberts: No 'Pimps & Hos'

Mecklenburg County Commission Chairman Jennifer Roberts sees no humor in her invitation to an upcoming 'Pimp & Ho' -themed ball at Suite, an Epicentre club.

Roberts sent organizers this reply, which she copied to the Observer and Mike Sexton, co-chair of the Domestic Violence Advisory Council:

"I received your recent invitation to a themed party below, the “Pimp and Ho Ball.” I find your choice of themes extremely harmful for this community.

I hope that you will cancel this event, or at the very least, I hope that you will make this the first and last annual ball with such a name.

As a female leader in this community, I work hard to give young women a positive role model and to support a positive image for women in this society.

In the area of public safety, we spend millions of dollars each year in this community to protect women from domestic violence and rape, and to assist victims of those horrible crimes.

An increasing number of women are victims in our community, and we in the County work continually to educate both men and women as to what is appropriate and lawful behavior in this society as relates to the treatment of women.

We initiated a Women’s Summit two years ago and the community came up with a lengthy agenda for furthering equal opportunity for women, equal pay, increased safety, economic security, and family support.

Mecklenburg County has twice as many deaths from domestic violence as any other county in this state. Prostitution remains illegal in the state of North Carolina and is very often linked with violent abuse of women. I am shocked that you are celebrating it in this way.

On behalf of women everywhere, I am asking you to please cancel or change the theme of this party.

Jennifer Watson Roberts
Chairman, Mecklenburg County
Board of Commissioners"

- Doug Miller

Panel: Remove Jones, McGillicuddy from committee

County administrators should not sit on a panel that oversees management's performance, officials say.

That was one recommendation today from the Audit Review Committee, which is is overseeing an internal county probe into reports of misspending at the Department of Social Services.

The final decision on whether to remove County Manager Harry Jones and General Manager John McGillicuddy from the committee rests with the full board of county commissioners.

The committee studied 9 other large governing bodies in North Carolina and found that none of them included staff members on their Audit Review Committees.

Click here to see their survey.

The committee's makeup came under scrutiny after some commissioners questioned whether having staff members conduct audits on the county's performance presents a conflict.

- Doug Miller