Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1359004
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM APRIL 7-13, 2021 UCW 9 On April 1, the House Finance Committee gave a favorable report to bipartisan legislation (House Bill 83) that will eliminate the state income tax on military retirement pay. "is legislation is yet another important step towards making North Carolina the most military friendly state in the nation," said Rep. John Szoka (R-Cumberland), who is the primary bill sponsor. "It is time for North Carolina to join the majority of other states who provide this tax relief to those who have sacrificed and served our great nation." Currently, military retirement pay is not taxed by the state if the retiree had five or more years of ser- vice as of August 12, 1989. House Bill 83 will extend the tax exemption to all military retirees living in North Carolina. Rep. Szoka explained that, "By eliminating the income tax on military retirement pay, we will also make our state more competitive in attracting and recruiting these highly trained and qualified military retirees. is is an essential component to develop- ing and growing North Carolina's talented work- force." Reps. John Bell (R-Wayne), John Bradford (R- Mecklenburg) and Diane Wheatley (R Cumberland) are also primary sponsors of the legislation, which now goes to the House Rules Committee. April is the Month of the Military Child e Cumberland County School System invites the community to join in support of the more than 13,000 military-connected students in local schools. As part of the Month of the Military Child, CCS has identified April 16 as "Purple Up Day." Community members are encouraged to wear "Cumberland Purple" attire, showing all military students that the community recognizes their tremendous service and the sacrifices they make every day. Why purple? Purple symbolizes all branches of the military. It is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red and Navy blue. "CCS serves the third-largest concentration of military- connected students in the world," said Howard Lattimore, the district's Military Liaison. "Military students are faced with many transitions, changes and hardships. We encourage our school leaders, families, and community members to salute our smallest heroes— military children.'" Learn more at https://www.militarychild. City Manager's team expanded Fayetteville City Manager Doug Hewett has completed a reorganization of his office with the appointment of a chief of staff and a third assistant manager. None of the three assistant managers has been designated deputy manager. Jay Toland has been promoted to assistant city manager having served for the last three years as the city's chief finan- cial officer. "Jay brings extensive experience to us from the finance world, where he's excelled over the past 3 years," Hewett said. He served as an interim assistant manager for the last several months. Toland has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Rebecca Jackson was recently promoted to the new chief of staff position. New Public Library Director hired Cumberland County's Public Library System has a new director. County Manager Amy Can- non has hired Faith Phillips of Durham to succeed Jody Risacher who retired in June 2020. Phillips will begin her new job on May 10. She is currently the manager of the Durham County Main Library. Her experience includes serving in various roles with the Wake County and Durham County Library systems, including youth services humanities coordinator and teen librarian in Durham before being named interim Main Library Manager in October 2016. Phil- lips is a graduate of Duke University with bachelor's degrees in history and religion. She earned her mas- ter's degree in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Public invited to take homelessness survey Members of the public are invited to take an online survey to help Cumberland County develop its ree-Year Homelessness Strategic Plan. e Cumberland County Community Survey on Home- lessness is available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/ CCHomelessness. e survey is open through April 16. e Cumberland County Board of Commission- ers identified homelessness as one of their seven top priorities for Fiscal Year 2022. At their Jan. 19 regular meeting, commissioners approved issuing a Request for Proposal for homeless consulting services to develop the plan. Perspectives from area residents will provide insights on the priorities of the community and the expectations for decision making, resource alloca- tion, and leadership accountability. e survey will help identify areas of need, determine satisfaction with current programs and provide a vision for ac- tion to address and end the homelessness in our community. Cumberland County Community Development is working in collaboration with the Fayetteville/ Cumberland County Continuum of Care to develop the Homelessness Strategic Plan. OrgCode Consult- ing Inc., which was awarded the RFP for homeless consulting services, created the survey. Bill to eliminate state income tax on military retirement pay passes key House committee by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST JEFF THOMPSON, Reporter. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Jay Toland Faith Phillips Rep. John Szoka