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A bill meant to change the way cities and towns annex property owners is headed back to committee.

The bill was drafted in response to long-festering anger over municipalities' ability to annex property owners against their will.

The proposed bill leaves neither municipalities nor annexation opponents happy.

"It must be a pretty good bill if everybody is upset," said Rep. Bruce Goforth, an Ashville Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill.

Good bill or not, Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and senior budget writer in the House was afraid it would be an expensive bill.

More after the jump.

More than $18 million in federal economic stimulus money has been approved for water projects in the Triangle and surrounding counties, State Treasurer Janet Cowell announced today.

The Local Government Commission, headed by Cowell, signed off on $18.6 million in spending. The money is administered by the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

More than 70 projects have been approved statewide totaling $83.3 million as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The loans are interest-free to local governments and only half of the principal amount has to be repaid.

Projects include $5 million for a water treatment system in Johnston County and $465,735 to install rain water harvesting systems at 12 locations in Raleigh.

$10.7 million in federal recovery money is headed to the Charlotte area for water projects.

The N.C. Local Government Commission approved the projects announced Monday by State Treasurer Janet Cowell, who chairs the committee. The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources will administer the funds, which are interest-free loans, and only half the principal must be repaid.

Charlotte gets $2.2 million to enhance stream buffers and watersheds, protecting watersheds and preserving wildlife habitat, as well as $600,000 for a water reuse and environmental restoration project.

Gastonia and Hickory received $309,000 and $1.9 million respectively to replace deteriorating sewer lines.

Catawba County will use $3 million to back up the water supply for the town of Maiden and increase fire protection.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue has been accusing state Treasurer Richard Moore of withholding a feasibility study that questioned the financial chances of Roanoke Rapids' plans to open a theater featuring Randy Parton.

Dome wanted to share its copy of the study, which was received from the treasurer's office.

Perdue continues to question why members of the Local Government Commission, which authorizes public borrowing, were not briefed on the contents of the study before they voted on Roanoke Rapids' plans.

The study can be seen here.

Update: A Perdue spokesman said that Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines, who is a commission member and Perdue supporter, still has not received his copy of the feasibility study.

Sara Lang, Moore's communications director, said that Joines can come view whatever documents he wants.

"There's two boxes of stuff. He's welcome to come look at it," Lang said.

Previously: Perdue's attacks on Moore's role are overstated.

State Auditor Les Merritt has nominated the head of the state Libertarian Party to help the Local Government Commission decide its role in approving special financing deals like the one used for a theater in Roanoke Rapids.

Her qualifications? She's not a Democrat or Republican and she's against such financing deals, Merritt said in a news release announcing that he picked Barbara Howe to serve on the committee.

"Barbara Howe will provide the independent voice that this task force needs," Merritt said.

This week, the commission, which approves all public debt in the state, discussed creating a task force to examine its role in approving so-called tax increment financing arrangements. In such deals, the money generated by a sucessful project is used to pay back the money borrowed to get the project started.

That's how Roanoke Rapids proposed to pay back $21.5 million it borrowed to build a theater and entertainment district that would feature Randy Parton. The city has since parted ways with Parton and has struggle to sell tickets.

More after the jump.

The claim: In recent weeks, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue’s campaign has claimed in news releases, its Web site and in a YouTube video that State Treasurer Richard Moore is responsible for the financial problems of an entertainment complex in Roanoke Rapids.

Moore and Perdue are both running for governor. The Perdue campaign also has claimed that Moore withheld a study that said the city’s plans for a theater featuring Randy Parton would fail without other attractions and that he failed to properly scrutinize the project.

The background: Since the city opened the $21.5 million theater, ticket sales have been paltry, questions have been raised about how Parton spent public money and Parton has been banned from the theater bearing his name. The amenities, such as a hotel and restaurants, called for in a feasibility study are not yet open.

What we found: As state treasurer, Moore is chairman of the Local Government Commission. The panel must approve all public debt in North Carolina.

The Local Government Commission was created in the Depression era when several North Carolina towns had overloaded themselves with debt. The commission has focused on narrow questions of whether a city or county could afford to pay back the money it intended to borrow. It has not questioned the wisdom of the city or county’s plans.

"They’ve never second-guessed saying, 'Are you sure this is a good deal?'" said David Lawrence, professor at the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill.

More after the jump.

Richard Moore responded to the latest attack ad — with a poem.

Campaign manager Jay Reiff sent out a parody of Clement Clark Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" this afternoon in response to a YouTube video from Democratic gubernatorial rival Beverly Perdue.

The video says that Moore should not have approved the Randy Parton theater as a member of the Local Government Commission. The poem retorts that "Perdue's attacks were all tarnished with ashes and soot / A coalminer’s daughter, she'd been breaking her back / To contrive and twist while ignoring the facts."

After the jump, the full poem.

Beverly Perdue's campaign is trying again to make the Randy Parton Theater an issue.

In a release earlier this month, Perdue's campaign argued that state Treasurer Richard Moore, her rival in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, should have questioned the project's feasability before approving it as a member of the Local Government Commission.

Moore has said that the commission's role is simply to determine whether local officials can handle the debt for a given project.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue on Monday blamed the Randy Parton mess on State Treasurer Richard Moore.

In a news release sent to reporters Monday, a spokesman for Perdue accused her rival for the Democratic nomination for governor of approving the $21.5 million financing deal for a theater bearing Parton's name just outside Roanoke Rapids despite questions of its feasibility.

Last week, the city banned Parton, the brother of country superstar Dolly Parton, from performing at the Randy Parton theater after city officials said Randy Parton showed up drunk for a performance. He denied being drunk. The ban came on the same day city officials released records that showed Parton had spent public money meant to get the theater running on booze, trips to Las Vegas casinos and payments to his daughters.

Moore, and six other members of the Local Government Commission including state Auditor Les Merritt, did approve the financing for the project in February 2007. Moore is the chairman of the commission, which approves all local government debt.

More after the jump.