N.C. Department of Agriculture

No gifts for Ag employees

lbonner — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:28:46 -0400

State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler doesn't want department employees taking gifts from contractors, either.

The agriculture department intends to "comply with the spirit and intent" of the executive order Gov. Beverly Perdue signed Thursday, said Brian Long, a department spokesman.

The department is going to tell employees not to take gifts, but some of the details Perdue laid out in her order, such as getting everyone to certify in writing that they know about the ban, may present logistical problems and take time to accomplish, Long said.

"The intent of the order is certainly something we're going to comply with," Long said. "Certainly, we should not be taking gifts."

Worker commuted on state dime for years

bniolet — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:06:58 -0400

The N.C. Agriculture Department allowed a deputy director to use a state vehicle to commute to Raleigh from Reidsville, without reimbursement, for three years, according to the State Auditor's Office.

A management letter from auditor Beth Wood, a Democrat, found that Patrick Jones, a deputy director of the Pesticide Section was driving his state car to Raleigh four days a week, a financial benefit of $36,546. Wood's office was tipped about the car though the office's anonymous hotline.

State workers are allowed commuting privileges if the employee works from home. For that designation, and its exemption from having to pay back the state to apply, the employee cannot drive to Raleigh more than twice a week.

Wood's letter recommended that Jones be required to repay the state.

In a response, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, a Republican, downplayed the case, saying that Jones and his supervisor intended for Jones to rarely drive to Raleigh. But the department's involvement in the Ag-Mart pesticide case required him to be in Raleigh more often.

More after the jump.

Document(s):
audit letter.pdf

Budget: Natural and Economic Resources

bniolet — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:51:46 -0400

Natural and economic resources includes the state's agricultural and environmental agencies as well as the departments of labor and commerce.

All agencies within this category will see vacant positions eliminated.

The budget proposal would also:

* Increase the annual fee to register pesticides administered by the Department of Agriculture from $100 to $150 to raise $500,000.

* Require the Labor Department to charge enough fees for an apprenticeship program to raise $450,000. The figure would offset a 25 percent reduction in funding for the program.

* Eliminate 70 vacant positions in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to save $3.4 million.

* Reduce by $50 million each year for two years the appropriation to the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

* Require the Department of Commerce to sell the state's King Air plane and reduce all costs associated with operating it, including a pilot position, to save $148,000 this year and $296,000 next year.

Milk chugged for charity

bniolet — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:01:59 -0400

The atmosphere was more Thunderdome than Under the Dome at the annual House vs. Senate milk-chugging for charity contest Wednesday.

Pages and legislative assistants hollered for their favorite chamber ("Go Senate! Come on House!) and specators jockeyed for a view of six distiguished public officeholders sucking on straws jammed into tiny plastic milk bottles.

Rep. David Lewis, a Dunn Republican, was not above a little pre-chug smack talk.

"This is the sound of your defeat," he said to his Senate opponents as he silently popped off the plastic cap of one of his milk bottles.

The contest was sponsored by the state's dairy industry and the Department of Agriculture.

Reps. Lewis, Arthur Williams (D-Washington) and Roger West (R-Marble) challenged Sens. Joe Sam Queen (D-Waynesville), Bob Atwater (D-Chapel Hill) and Andrew Brock (R-Mocksville).

It appeared to be a fair contest, although there were some rumblings about non-regulation straws and early chugging. The Senate team finished first, earning $200 for their favorite, as yet unnamed, charity. The House team will get $100 for charity.

(News & Observer photo by TAKAAKI IWABU).

Troxler avoids 'swine flu' name

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:10:06 -0400

Steve Troxler is not calling it "swine flu."

The state agriculture commissioner has told staff that he thinks the name for the influenza virus currently being tracked by health officials is a "misnomer."

"At this point, we've not found any evidence of it being in swine," said assistant director Andrea Ashby.

Internally, the state Department of Agriculture is referring to the official name of the virus, H1N1.

In a press release Monday, it called it the "swine influenza virus H1N1."

But a summary on the department's home page refers only to its technical name.

"At this time, no pigs in the United States have been found to be infected or sick with the H1N1 flu virus," the message reads.

Previously: N.C. Pork Council doesn't like "swine" flu.

The Most Requested Earmarks

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:55:54 -0400

Here are the five most-requested earmarks of 2009:

Textiles Research. Eight Congressmen requested from $3.5 million to $20 million for research at the National Textile Center and/or the Textile Clothing Technology Corp.

National Guard Help. Seven Congressmen requested either $1.6 million or $2 million for family assistance centers for members of the N.C. National Guard.

Rural Business. Six Congressmen requested $750,000 for a business financing program at the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center.

Contaminated Food. Five Congressmen requested $300,000 for a database of contaminants in the state's food supply through the N.C. Department of Agriculture.

Water Audits. Five Congressmen requested $2 million for audits of water supply systems through the Rural Economic Development Center.

In all, 75 earmark requests had more than one sponsor, 25 had three or more, and nine had four or more.

Earmark Watch: Contaminated food

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:40:45 -0400

An earmark from five state Democrats would track livestock diseases.

Reps. David Price of Chapel Hill, Mike McIntyre of Lumberton, Bob Etheridge of Lillington, Brad Miller of Raleigh and Larry Kissell of Biscoe have requested $300,000 for the N.C. Department of Agriculture to create a "multi-hazard threat database."

The Web-based database would allow state authorities to track livestock in North Carolina and "locate the origin of livestock diseases that compromise the food supply," Miller wrote in his request.

It would also track food contamination from wholesalers and retailers.

In his request, McIntyre said the database idea came about after a canned chili recall in 2007 when the state department developed a Web site to track site visits.

Etheridge said some contamination might be by design.

"The database will allow for preemptive action by ensuring that proper information is provided when food-borne threats occur, such as salmonella or possible terrorist threats to the food supply, these funds will save lives and protect jobs," he wrote.

Perdue appoints Coleman to Personnel

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:15:00 -0500

State Rep. Linda Coleman has been appointed head of state personnel.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue appointed the Knightdale Democrat, who has the strong backing of labor unions, as director of the Office of State Personnel.

Ann Cobb will serve as deputy director.

Coleman, a former Wake County commissioner, has been in the state House since 2005, serving as chair of the state personnel committee.

She previously worked as human resources management director at the state departments of Agriculture and Administration and as personnel director for the Department of Community Colleges.

She has a master's in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a bachelor's from N.C. A&T State University.

"It is an honor to be selected by Governor-elect Bev Perdue to head the Office of State Personnel," she said. "I will work hard everyday for North Carolina’s state employees."

Cobb has worked in human resources for a private firm and in the Office of State Personnel and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Cabinet spends more than Council of State

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:17:15 -0500

Cabinet members oversee more money than the Council of State.

A review of the 2007-08 budgets for the 10 appointed members of the governor's Cabinet show that they typically oversee larger budgets than the 10 statewide elected officials.

Only the departments of Public Instruction, Justice and Agriculture come close, and the superintendent of public instruction does not have similar authority over that department as a Cabinet official.

The smallest Cabinet budget was larger than all but three of the Council of State budgets.

Public Instruction: $9.5 billion

Justice: $121.7 million

Agriculture: $98.4 million

Treasurer: $38.5 million

Insurance: $36.2 million

Labor: $25.3 million

Auditor: $15.9 million

Secretary of State: $11.9 million

Governor: $6.7 million

Lieutenant Governor: $914,122

As before, the figures include money received from both state and federal sources. As a major player in the state budget, it goes without saying that the governor has more authority over state spending than these numbers indicate.

The revised numbers for 2008-09 are not yet available.

Cobb to retire from Administration

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:07:52 -0500

Britt Cobb will step down at the end of his term.

The secretary of the N.C. Department of Administration told Dome that he has not sought to continue in that position after the end of Gov. Mike Easley's term.

"I've had my paperwork in for a long time," he said.

A longtime employee of the N.C. Department of Agriculture, Cobb was appointed commissioner of that department by Easley after former head Meg Scott Phipps left office in the wake of a scandal.

Cobb unsuccessfully ran for Agriculture commissioner in 2004 and was then appointed secretary of administration by Easley in 2006. Having retired from politics once already, he said he'll "never say never" to coming back.

"It's kind of like Sen. (Tony) Rand said one time, once it's in your blood, the only thing that will get it out is embalming fluid," he said.

State Rep. Alma Adams of Greensboro is considered to be a potential secretary of Administration under Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.