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/742437
26 OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 1, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM is responsible are directives by the State of North Carolina and we are required to fund, staff and maintain the program. Over the past few years, the Board of Com- missioners has initiated a "Business Intelligence Committee" to investigate proto- cols and procedures within county departments and transform them to be more efficient, customer friendly and more economical. This has been a great success, saving the taxpayer millions of dollars in work hours and unnecessary paperwork. UCW: Crime is growing in the community how can the county work with the Sheriff's Department to address security in the county? The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office is responsible for enforcing law in the unincorporated areas of the county and in small communities. There is a very healthy relationship between the Sheriff's office and the municipal police depart- ments in the county. As county government, we have increased the capacity of our detention center to keep more criminals off the street while awaiting trial and have worked with the court system through Veteran's Court and Drug Court to help individuals receive counseling that do not need to be detained. We have one of the most aggressive programs in the state of North Carolina to work with trained law enforcement, mental health providers and our hospital sys- tem to help person with mental health issues. None of these programs will fix our crime issue by itself, but a program of education rather than incarceration seems to be successful in our community. James K. Keefe UCW: Specifically outline your ideas to bring economic development to the community. I have been disappointed in the results of our economic development efforts in Cumberland County. I believe there have been some struggles in the structure of the organizations and there has not been a clear understanding or focus from their leadership or the leadership of the elected bodies. We need to re-focus our core strategy for marketing to specific companies and organizations that can increase the average wages. Currently, we have one of the greatest needs in the medical field and struggle to find qualified nurses and medical personnel in our region. Our military neighbors have a large number of qualified individuals leaving the service every month that have leadership, technical and human services skills that are highly needed in the civilian work force. I am very excited about the residency program that we have established between Cape Fear Valley Health Sys- tem and Campbell University. This will be one of the most significant programs in many years for additional job opportunities. FTCC has continued to be a real asset to our community and plays a major role in providing educational training for individuals and new compa- nies requiring specific skill sets. Finally, we need to market ourselves and let potential companies know what a great community we are and that we have a lot to offer them. UCW: What issue do you think is most important to the county over the next four years? There is no more important issue in our community than obtaining jobs and employment opportunities to the citizens. We have struggled with a cycle of pov- erty in our community that affects families and neighborhoods for generations. Communities that thrive and grow economically have jobs and opportunities for every person who wants to work. Regardless of their educational level or skill set, there are options for employment. In order for any community to grow and prosper, there needs to be balance of jobs and opportunities. Non- and Low-skilled workers will need opportunities for employment, just as blue collar, technical, administrative, professional and corporate personnel. If there is not the option in a community, the government must provide services for these individual and fami- lies. Cities and counties with low employment almost always have low crime, bet- ter performing school systems, higher quality of life, more arts and entertainment options and see significant increases in companies and organizations relocating and growing their business here. UCW; How can the county better work with the city? Cumberland County works very well with the City of Fayetteville and all of the other towns and municipalities in our county. A very good example is the coopera- tion between each of the elected government bodies during the hurricane and its aftermath. There are many other examples of working together that have been successful; Parks & Recreation, the Red Light Camera agreement, the new baseball stadium and economic development. The idea that we do not work well together is really not true. UCW: How can the county address the homeless issue? Cumberland County and the city of Fayetteville have dedicated funding and resources to address homelessness in our area. To simply take a broad brush and say, " we need to fix homelessness," is not compassionate, smart or fiscally re- sponsible. Personally, I believe that we need to take the issue of homelessness and break it down into four categories and measure ourselves on this parameters; Eco- nomic, substance abuse, mental health and choice are all reasons for homelessness and we need to address them individually. Frankly, persons that are homeless for economic reasons are the easiest to address, but they get lumped into all the other groups and are quickly lost in a government programs that do not focus on getting them back on their feet and economically stable. UCW: What are the sacred cows in the county budget that cannot be touched and why? There should be no sacred cows. In fact, many programs are outdated, archaic and do not use technology to its fullest extent. A number of mandates that the county is responsible are directives by the State of North Carolina and we are required to fund, staff and maintain the program. Over the past few years, the Board of Com- missioners has initiated a "Business Intelligence Committee" to investigate proto- cols and procedures within county departments and transform them to be more efficient, customer friendly and more economical. This has been a great success, saving the taxpayer millions of dollars in work hours and unnecessary paperwork. UCW: Crime is growing in the community how can the county work with the Sheriff's Department to address security in the county? The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office is responsible for enforcing law in the unincorporated areas of the county and in small communities. There is a very healthy relationship between the Sheriff's office and the municipal police depart- ments in the county. As county government, we have increased the capacity of our detention center to keep more criminals off the street while awaiting trial and have worked with the court system through Veteran's Court and Drug Court to help individuals receive counseling that do not need to be detained. We have one of the most aggressive programs in the state of North Carolina to work with trained law enforcement, mental health providers and our hospital sys- tem to help person with mental health issues. None of these programs will fix our crime issue by itself, but a program of education rather than incarceration seems to be successful in our community. Paul Lawrence Taylor UCW; Specifically outline your ideas to bring economic development to the community. Get with FECDC (The Fayetteville Cumberland Chamber of Commerce) as well as FSU and local Colleges to develop a vocational training program for Young Adults either in or coming out of High school, and offering Certifications. These education alternatives will include core areas already being offered as certifications, such as Carpentry, Emergency Readiness, UCW: What issue do you think is most important to the county over the next four years? The most important issue is bringing industry to our county that offers Living wages Jobs to our residents UCW; How can the county better work with the city? The County and the City can work together by coming together to address top is- sues of Cumberland residents, identified by conducting a comprehensive feasibil- ity study. Once the issues (Such as Homelessness and Education) are recognized, Fayetteville and Cumberland should form an alliance and develop an MOU (Memo- randum of Understanding) that stipulates the roles, responsibilities and shared financial investment. UCW: How can the county address the homeless issue? If the County was to look at an MOU designed to connect city and nonprofits UCW: What are the sacred cows in the county budget that cannot be touched and why? One of them is the Cradle2Prision pipeline or (Prison4Profit) and the over invest- ment in the correctional system. Another is the allocation of surplus income. In the future when there are surplus funds, they should be allocated to progressive community initiatives and UCW; Crime is growing in the community how can the county work with the Sheriff's Department to address security in the county? I believe non profit programs and county elected officials need to work more closely with Law Enforcement to provide programs that help unite the people and give those in power a better understanding of the criminally prone population we serve. With greater comprehension we can create more successful solutions and increase the attract-ability of industries and factories to our county North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Michael Morgan UCW: What are your qualifications to serve in the Court System? I decided to pursue a seat on North Carolina's highest court because I believe I am unusually seasoned and qualified to capably address the variety of legal mat- ters which come before the Supreme Court. I shall continue my judicial commit- ment to steadfastly strive to promote society's well-being through the fair and impartial administration of justice, while enhancing the people's confidence in and respect for the effectiveness of North Carolina's system of jurisprudence. I began my professional career on the legal staff of the North Carolina Depart- ment of Justice where I was employed for ten years. In that role, one of my duties