Friday, May 22, 2015

Zack Matheny violates the City Charter and his oath of office etc..., again, by discussing "Economic Development" in Greensboro's budget, while a candidate for DGI's top job

"...Matheny suggested that the council decrease the budget by 1 percent, which would create $4.87 million “to be used on strategic projects for economic development growth, passed bond projects that are in danger of expiring, etc.”

DGI's purpose is "economic development growth",
as a sitting member of Council
in violation of the City's Conflict of Interest Policy etc...

Matheny’s email continues: “If the City were to enact a 2% decrease in the proposed budget and freed up almost $10,000,000, just think what we could accomplish.”

Mayor Nancy Vaughan asked the staff to look into cutting 1 percent as Matheny had suggested.

...The most puzzling part of the meeting was a memo from Cyndy Hayworth, the acting president of Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI), to City Manager Jim Westmoreland revising the budget that Hayworth had presented to the council at its work session on Tuesday, April 28.


The most notable change in the DGI budget was the reduction of the downtown Business Improvement District funding by $150,000 for Center City Park.  The funding for Center City Park used to be laundered by first allocating it to DGI, which in turn allocated it to Action Greensboro.  The City Council had decided to do away with the middleman, and councilmembers were puzzled at how the money ended up back in the budget DGI presented in April.


Wilkins noted that no one from DGI was in the room to answer questions about the newly proposed budget, while representatives of other agencies who had asked for funding were there.

Councilmember Mike Barber said, “It seems completely illogical that we would receive a new budget without new leadership in place.”

As an attorney who has repeatedly violated North Carolina State Statutes
Mr. Barber should seriously consider silence.

Dear Mike Barber and Zack Matheny; 
North Carolina Law § 14-118.4. 

Extortion; Favoritism and Crony Capitalism

...At the April 28 meeting, the council had expressed a lot of concern about how DGI has spent the money that had been allocated in the current fiscal year and once again heard about planting flowers.

...Complicating matters further, DGI is in the process of hiring a new president to replace Jason Cannon, who resigned in February, and Matheny has applied for the job.

If Matheny gets the job then DGI will no doubt receive at least enough funding to pay Matheny’s salary.

Which Zack Matheny and Jim Barber
just lobbied for at the budget meeting,
which Zack stands to directly benefit from.

If Matheny doesn’t get the job then it is likely the new president of DGI will find themselves head of an organization that has been stripped of most of its tax dollars and will have to go into the fundraising business."

http://www.rhinotimes.com/matheny-one-percent-plan-gets-traction-with-council.html
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Jan 17, 2014; "New Downtown Greensboro Inc. board to focus on economic development

...in order to take full advantage of the economic development and business recruitment opportunities coming downtown, the 33-member board needed to be streamlined...

DGI is coming off a rough year, where it had faced intense scrutiny and criticism from the Greensboro City Council — led in large part by then-Mayor Robbie Perkins — that concluded in former DGI CEO Ed Wolverton leaving his post. Historically, the group has been a major organizer of downtown events and has taken a lead in downtown marketing.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/2014/01/new-downtown-greensboro-inc-board-to.html?page=all
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Downtown Greensboro Economic Development Strategy - Final Recommendations:

Downtown Greensboro Incorporated, Action Greensboro, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County developed a comprehensive written plan to reveal six priority projects identified to propel Downtown's revitalization efforts over the next decade.

1. Generate returns to the public sector, including sales & property taxes. Projects should create direct or indirect benefits that translate to enhanced public sector revenues.

2. Attract providers of high-quality jobs. Projects should create a Downtown that is attractive to a creative class of workers and employers, and that supports entrepreneurship.

3. Strengthen Greensboro's brand. Projects should improve perceptions of Greensboro as a pleasurable place to visit, work, live or invest, including bolstering the arts, entertainment, culture, and overall quality of life."

http://downtowngreensboro.net/invest/development-strategy/
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City of Greensboro Information Requests
Request Number, Subject, Date Requested, Requestor, Status
Business Weeks/Days Open

4602 Zack Matheny and Sam Simpson 5/14/2015
Billy Jones Staff compiling records. 1 week

4603 Zack Matheny and John Lomax 5/14/2015
Billy Jones Staff compiling records. 1 week

4604 Zack Matheny and Roy Carroll 5/14/2015
Billy Jones Staff compiling records. 1 week

4607 Zack Matheny DGI communications 5/15/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 4 days

4608 Mike Barber communications 5/15/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 4 days

4609 Nancy Vaughan Communications 5/15/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 4 days

4613 Email search for Jason Cannon 5/15/2015
Jeff Sykes Staff compiling records. 4 days

4623 Jim Melvin communications 5/20/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 1 day

4624 Roy Carroll Communications 5/20/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 1 day

4627 "DGI"; 5/20/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 1 day

4628 INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT 5/20/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 1 day

4630 Triad First Capital 5/20/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 1 day

4631 Stan Kelly 5/20/2015
George Hartzman Staff compiling records. 1 day

4632 Greensboro Randolph Megasite 5/20/2015
Alan Ferguson Staff compiling records. 1 day

4633 Sam Simpson 5/20/2015
George Hartzman Additional information needed from requestor. 1 day

http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=3765