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Conservative
Republican News
for
Charlotte-Mecklenburg,
NC
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James proposes FULL
FUNDING for District
Attorney
Proposal placed on
County's 10-18-05
Committee agenda
Would
shift responsibility
for DA funding to County
if State continues to
refuse to act
Plan is to prosecute
backlog of unpunished
felonies
DA to make presentation
to Committee
Would shift County
dollars from
"prevention" to
"prosecution"
Read Observer "Face of
Crime" article at:
http://billjames.org/ListBuilder/listbuilder-email-10-3-2005-The%20Face%20of%20Crime%20in%20Charlotte.htm
For as long as I
have been on the
County Commission
(about 10 years) the
DA (Peter Gilchrist)
has asked for money
from the State and
the State has
ignored the DA. The
DA asks money from
the County and the
County says "its not
our job".
Each year I have
been on the
Commission I have
made various
proposals to
increase funding for
the District
Attorney's office in
some piecemeal
fashion. Most years
the requests have
been ignored as a
low priority item.
Recently the public
mood and anger at
the murders, rapes
and general
lawlessness that has
become Charlotte's
inner-city has drawn
a bead on
politicians who
normally would
blithely talk about
how the "state"
should fund it.
This changed because
of reports of the
surge in murders
(mostly in the
inner-city),
discussion of the
CMS' thug problem,
Judge Howard
Manning's comments
and my concern over
the "moral sewer"
that has become
Charlotte's urban
core.
Overall, reports
show that thousands
of felonies go
unpunished each year
because the DA never
receives the money
for staff and
resources to do his
job. This has been
going on for a long
time. The Observer
did a cover story a
few weeks ago. The
Montognese murder
has been on the
front page of weekly
newspapers. Now the
judges have gotten
involved saying that
perhaps civil trials
should be put on
hold to handle the
massive backlog of
criminal cases.
My summary of the
crime problem (and
Observer article)
can be found at:
http://billjames.org/ListBuilder/listbuilder-email-10-3-2005-The%20Face%20of%20Crime%20in%20Charlotte.htm
Yes, the State
should fund the DA's
office, but the
State won't. Why?
-
In part they
won't because
it would cost
money.
-
In part they
won't because
we are the
"great state of
Mecklenburg"
and are to be
soaked for our
tax revenue but
generally
ignored when it
comes to DA's,
roads and other
vital needs.
-
In part the
State ignores us
because an
increase in the
DA's budget
means the State
would have to
build more State
prisons and
prisons are not
a favorite use
of money for
liberals who
dominate Raleigh
and want to
focus on
"prevention" not
"prosecution".
The bottom line is
that the time for
this to end is NOW.
We have become lax
on prosecution. We
let the bad guys get
away with serious
crime literally
because of money and
State inaction. The
Current County
Commission
leadership has a
chance to either
join in and support
fixing this problem
or once again
ignoring it for
another year.
I am fed up
listening to the
excuses. If the cost
to fully fund the DA
is $15 million the
County should do it.
We could phase it in
over 3 years. No
excuses. No
discussions with the
legislature. No
blue ribbon
committee's.
The net result of
this proposal will
be (If adopted) a
wholesale change in
the funding
structure of the
DA's office.
The effect of this
proposal would mean
that the DA's office
would be primarily
funded with local
dollars and would be
2 to 3 times as
large as it
currently is and
would cost the
Mecklenburg County
taxpayers
significantly more.
The effect on other
branches of
government would be
significant. Those
would include::
-
Significant
increases in
arrests
requiring more
police
coverage/manpower.
-
Increased costs
for the
construction of
additional
future jail
space (a County
responsibility).
-
Increased costs
for the
construction
of prison space
(a state
responsibility).
-
Increased
costs for
new judges,
court support
staff and space
to try the
perp's (a state
responsibility).
If the State
refuses to fund
local judges
then the County
should write the
check for that.
It is clear that
the State has
shown little or
no interest in
either solving
this problem or
assisting with
the melee going
on in
Charlotte's
inner-city
neighborhoods.
As for the tax
implications that
debate will occur
next May. For now, I
have asked the DA to
prepare a detailed
funding summary and
he has agreed to do
so. His initial
presentation will be
next Tuesday. The
goal is to present
this to the County
Commission over the
next few months and
have it included in
the upcoming budget
(starts July 1st
2006). To do that I
have to get "5"
votes.
To place an item on
a committee agenda I
had to obtain the
permission of
Commissioner
Mitchell the
committee chair. He
gave that
permission.
There will be those
that will balk at
funding this.
Some will balk
because they want
money for social
programs instead of
prosecution.
Some will balk
because it is the
State's job.
There will be those
that use it as an
excuse to raise
taxes or blame tax
increases on crime
prevention. I have
heard it all.
The bottom line is
that we are
failing the people
of Mecklenburg
because we ignore
the plight of its
citizens who are
crying out for
justice asking that
criminals are
prosecuted and sent
to prison for their
crimes.
To those who cry
about "taxes" I
repeat what I have
said for 10 years.
"You don't raise
taxes for your
highest priority.
You raise taxes
because you lack the
guts to cut the fat
and pork out of the
bottom of the
budget."
Which is more
important. Fully
funding the DA or
giving money to the
Arts and Science
Council so that they
can subsidize a
nudie play?
Commissioner Bill James
Mecklenburg County Board
of Commissioners
Matthews, North Carolina
http://billjames.org
_____________________________________
Teddy Roosevelt - "It is
not the critic who
counts: not the man who
points out how the
strong man stumbles or
where the doer of deeds
could have done better.
The credit belongs to
the man who is actually
in the arena, whose face
is marred by dust and
sweat and blood, who
strives valiantly, who
errs and comes up short
again and again, because
there is no effort
without error or
shortcoming, but who
knows the great
enthusiasms, the great
devotions, who spends
himself for a worthy
cause; who, at the best,
knows, in the end, the
triumph of high
achievement, and who, at
the worst, if he fails,
at least he fails while
daring greatly, so that
his place shall never be
with those cold and
timid souls who knew
neither victory nor
defeat." - "Citizenship
in a Republic," - Speech
at the Sorbonne, Paris,
April 23, 1910
_______________________________________________
E-mail correspondence to
and from this address
may be subject to the
North Carolina Public
Records Law
"NCGS.Ch.132" and may be
disclosed to third
parties.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Joel Riddle
Sent:
Thursday, October 13,
2005 7:21 PM
Attached
are the agenda and
supporting documentation
for Tuesday's Community
Health and Safety
Committee meeting. The
meeting will be held in
Room CH-14 beginning at
3:00 PM.
Please advise of any
questions.
Thank you,
Joel Riddle
Assistant to the General
Manager
Mecklenburg County
Manager's Office
Meeting Agenda
October 18, 2005
3:00 PM
CH-14 CMGC
I.
Welcome
II.
Approval
of Summary from Previous
Meeting
III. District Attorney
Peter Gilchrist
a. District Attorney
Peter Gilchrist will
present an outline
illustrating the amount
of financial support his
department would need to
be “fully funded.”
Community Health &
Safety Committee
Action Item
October 18, 2005
Subject:
District Attorney Peter
Gilchrist
ACTION: District
Attorney Peter Gilchrist
will present an outline
illustrating the amount
of financial support his
department would need to
be “fully funded.”
Contact:
Commissioners Norman
Mitchell and Bill James
BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION:
At
the September 20th,
2005 meeting of the
Board of County
Commissioners, Mr. Tony
Montognese spoke to the
Board about the murder
of his son. He stated
that the court needs
more resources to be
able to prosecute cases.
PROCUREMENT
BACKGROUPOLICY IMPACT:
FISCAL IMPACT:
ATTACHMENTS:
a)
Life is Cheap
Here-Where’s the justice
for Zachary Montognese (click
to read)
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James
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