Chamber Blog

The primary item at the top of most people’s minds this week around the legislature was the state budget.   Adjusting the 2010-2011 budget is the main focus of this even year “short session.”  State revenues are estimated to be around $800 million less than expected, and elected officials must cut spending to balance the budget.   Last week the Senate passed their proposed spending plan, following the Governor’s release of her own spending recommendations.  This week, the House of Representatives got to work on their budget proposal as the seven appropriations subcommittees met to approve and vote their recommendations to the full House Appropriations Committee, which will meet on Tuesday, June 1 at 9:00 a.m.  It is estimated that the House plans on voting on the full budget by the end of next week.  After the House approves spending recommendations, members from the House and Senate will be appointed to a conference committee to hammer out the differences to form a final budget.  After approved by each chamber, the budget still must be signed by the Governor.  The spreadsheet below details some items of significance and whether they’re included in each budget. 

While much focus remains on the budget process, other pieces of legislation are moving through the General Assembly. 

Senate bill 1373 was filed this week by Senator David Hoyle , and will extend the current tax credits for “growing businesses,” known as Article 3J credits, to January 1, 2014.  This job growth incentive is scheduled to expire at the end of 2010.  This piece of legislation is currently in Senate Finance.

 Also this week, a piece of legislation aimed at helping small businesses was approved by the House Finance Committee.  House bill 1721 would offer a $1,000 tax credit to businesses with 25 or less full time employees for every job created and kept for at least three years.  The measure would also fund several small business incentive programs such as the One North Carolina Small Business Fund and the NC Community College System’s Small Business Centers Program.  This bill was referred to the House Appropriations Committee, and will be considered for inclusion in their spending recommendations.

The funding plan to construct the football complex at UNC Charlotte is included as a part of Senate bill 1154.  This bill, which is currently in the Senate Finance Committee, requires no appropriation from the state, but simply asks for the General Assembly to authorize the University’s financing plan.  Construction of the football complex is only one of over 20 UNC system-wide requests for financing authorization included in this legislation.

Budget Comparisons

Bill Tracking

Hospitality & Tourism: Understanding the Industry’s Impact on Center City

Click on the links below to view the PowerPoint presentations.

Carolinas Aviation Museum Presentation (depicts historical information & future plans)
NC Music Factory and Live Nation Presentation promotes venues

All work and no play makes Chad a dull boy. I’m sure most of you feel the same way, especially now that the weather has started to heat up. When I first moved to Charlotte, I was basically clueless about the different activities and events that this town has to offer. After I was settled in with my new job and living situation, I started to get itchy feet and needed something more on my plate. As soon as I started working, I found that networking was going to be an integral part of my success, and the Charlotte Chamber was the first resource I turned to. I began meeting some great business contacts, as well as finding out about different activities and leagues that young professionals were involved in. I was directed towards Engage Charlotte and have been involved with it ever since. The chamber is a great place to grow your career, but it also helps plug you into non-business-related relationships that can grow your “outside of work life,” especially if you are new to the area.

If you haven’t been before, make sure you check out the Alive After Five (AA5) series. Alive After Five is hosted Wednesdays at Piedmont Town Center in South Park from 5 to 9:30 pm. On Thursdays you can go to the AA5 at either the Epicentre or Ballantyne Commons East. Between these three events, you should be able to find one in the next two weeks that you can attend. There is always live music, beer and food vendors, and more importantly, a lot of people cutting loose after work. I typically go to the South Park Alive After Five because it is so close to my workplace and home. The nice thing about this year’s series is that they have expanded the event to three sections of town, so it is much more accessible.

This spring I was introduced to Sports Link Charlotte. A friend asked if I had any friends that would like to join up with him for a softball team, and we quickly threw a rag-tag, washed-up athlete team together. After getting slaughter-ruled our first three games, we put a nice win streak together and ended the season in the middle of the standings. I have never had more fun getting slaughter-ruled (losing by more than 12). Most of us have played some form of competitive sports along the way growing up, but once I left college there were not many outlets for competition (besides who can make the most cold calls in an hour). Getting out of the office every week and playing some sports can really get your mind off of the stress in the office. Sports Link offers a wide varieties of leagues, both single-sex and coed. Most teams head out to the bar after their games, where they receive a free pitcher of beer, win or lose. There is still time to sign up for some of the leagues this summer, and if you don’t know anyone, call up the league at (704) 749-7530 to see if they can place you on a team. Did I mention we have awesome jerseys?

Get out of the office, get out of your house and take advantage of everything this city has to offer … just don’t strike me out this summer in softball.

Charlotte is not one lacking ways to meet people when you’re in your 20’s and 30’s. Take a look at our community calendar, and you’ll notice a plethora of events geared towards our generation. The other thing you’ll notice? Many of these events support charities.

If you were in Charlotte this past winter, there were two events that everyone was talking about: Red Hot Turkey Bash and Second String Santa. These events both boast thousands of young pros all getting together for a good cause (American Red Cross and giving toys to children, respectively), but as the holiday season comes to a close, the charity events for us—young pros—do not end. February alone is crammed with three major Charlotte events: Mustaches for Kids, Guys and Dolls, and Beads for Needs.

With most of these events in the $10-$25 range (Guys and Dolls is around $100), they are well within reach for those of us still working off our student loans or stretching to pay our mortgages. The events are all fun for a good cause.

It is possible, though, that you are one of those people looking for more. As the token nonprofit professional on the board, I’d like to give you some ideas of things you can do that will be mutually beneficial.

1. Serve on a committee or board-It is a common misconception that young professionals are not wanted or needed for board or committee spots. The truth is, more and more nonprofit boards are recognizing the need to build up young leaders and bring in fresh blood to the mix. Larger nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity or our very own Charlotte Chamber, often have young professionals’ boards. The benefits of serving on these boards? Not only will you be networking with some major players throughout Charlotte, you’ll be building up your own resume and getting some great experience. My advice? Serve on a committee or board that is something you’re interested in beyond your regular day to day job. For example, say you work in finance but looking to make a career switch to marketing, maybe serving on the Development Committee would be a good fit for you.
2. Organize a fundraiser-Nonprofit special events take volunteer manpower. It might be that a nonprofit loves your idea to charge $100 for underwater basket weaving classes as a fundraiser, but they don’t have the manpower to do it themselves. There are many reasons why volunteers run special events. They are passionate, they are determined, and if they only make $1000 on an event its first year, that’s $1000 gross to the nonprofit (where if a paid staff person were to take it on you have to pay their salary, and the nonprofit actually loses money). Make sure to let your organization in on the loop, though. More than likely they already have contacts in the area that can help you. Not to mention, you’ll need permission to use their 501(c)3 number for donation solicitations.
3. Volunteer on an ongoing basis, bringing your specific talents to the agency-As volunteer coordinators, we are constantly getting phone calls from groups wanting to do a one-day service project. We are thrilled by these phone calls, don’t get us wrong, but typically what happens when a large group comes in is that we stick them with the cleaning/landscaping/painting that we didn’t have the time, money, or priority to do. If you volunteer as an individual, though, you can bring your gifts to that specific agency. At my agency we have a volunteer piano teacher that comes in once a week to teach the kids. Would I have ever listed that in my volunteer opportunities? Probably not. The kids love it, though, and it’s one more service we can offer.

Most of all have fun. Ask anyone who’s kept up an ongoing commitment with a nonprofit, and they will tell you how rewarding it is. It can also be an amazing way to make friendships with others that can last a lifetime.

To find a nonprofit to serve with, visit Hands On Charlotte or call the United Way at 211 for opportunities to volunteer with agencies served by United Way.

This post was originally published here.