As the 2014 NC General Assembly adjourns, we have NO new ferry tolls.

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As the 2014 NC General Assembly adjourns, we have NO new ferry tolls.

Published: Saturday, August 2nd, 2014 @ 1:49 pm
By: Stan Deatherage ( More Entries )

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News Release:

    As the 2014 NC General Assembly adjourns, we have NO new ferry tolls.

    The NC House of Representatives remains determined to reform the ferry tolling system as part of a larger economic vision for coastal NC. House Transportation leadership believes, "It is the right thing to do" to remove ferry tolls and include our ferry system in a marketing plan for our coast. Tourism produces needed revenue, whereas tolling removes money from coastal communities. We will push this marketing concept in the 2015 General Assembly.

    In the interim, we are laying the necessary groundwork for enabling legislation to remove all ferry tolls.

    Please thank Sen. Bill Cook, Sen. Norman Sanderson, Rep. Bob Steinburg, Rep. Michael Speciale, and Rep. Paul Tine for their work to protect our ferries! In House Bill 1234, sponsored by Reps. Steinburg, Speciale, Torbett, Jeter, and Tine, the House voted 106-2 to remove all tolls and use alternate funding sources of revenue.

    Despite the work of Sen. Bill Cook and Sen. Norman Sanderson, there remained a pocket of resistance in the Senate Transportation Committee. We will continue to work on this situation in the 2015 legislation session.

    The law remains as passed in 2013. Prior to establishing tolls on an untolled ferry route, the NC Board of Transportation must receive a resolution approved by the Transportation Advisory Committee of each affected local transportation planning organization requesting tolls on that route. See NC General Statute Section 136-82 (a). No such requests have been received, thanks to the vocal opposition of coastal citizens.

    Ferry toll activists should remain vigilant. Keep in touch with your local representatives to these transportation advisory committees. Attend your RPO and MPO meetings. If efforts to agitate for such resolutions begin, please contact us immediately.

    Thank you for this opportunity to serve you. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately. Best regards, Joe and Henri McClees

    Best regards, Henri and Joe McClees

    Joe McClees & Henri McClees
      McClees Consulting, Inc.

      Post Office Box 430
      Oriental, NC 28571

      Office (252) 249-1097
      Fax (252) 249-3275
      www.mccleesconsulting.com
      Joe McClees's mobile (252) 671-1585
      Henri's mobile (252) 671-1559

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Comments

Gene Scarborough said:

( September 4th, 2014 @ 10:35 am )

Just like the Federal Legislators trying to impose local rules~~~the NEVER work well and we are better to let local citizens decide local matters that affect them most.

We are still in a mess over Integration whether we want to admit it or not. Voting rights were being ignored and that was against our ideals of "all men created equal." That demanded correction on a Federal level. Honestly, we had more good personal relations between black and white in the South than many will ever admit.

My SC Democratic farmer granddaddy used to talk trash and use the "N" word, but his heart for his tenants of color was the opposite. It was a shortcoming of his that made his grandchildren laugh at the inconsistency.

Now the "reverse-racism" I have witnessed in the town where I used to live is abominable. Neither black nor white citizens want drugs and crime neglected by law enforcement because "we can't do that without severe criticism and claims of racism." That town is now a hot bed of killing and shooting and nobody has the guts to say, "Black or white or any other color person who commits a crime will be punished to the maximum extent of the law NOW!"

Gene Scarborough said:

( August 3rd, 2014 @ 8:55 am )

The McClees Consulting folks have helped me greatly. Before the Beaufort County meeting, I got information critical for us. There was more fire than light at that meeting because the problem was already solved!

At this point NO TOLLS may be added on ferries WITHOUT THE LOCAL BOARDS for given coastal Counties requesting it! End of story for now / Conservatives are like spoiled children~~~after being told NO to the candy at the checkout, they whine and cry until you enforce NO with a swift assault on the rear end to get the message across!!!