June 17, 2008

Housing, foreclosures, paying respect

The Forum heard from a number of regular attendees Tuesday. Discussion ranged widely: from housing and foreclosure issues to the hundreds of "good" four-letter words that can motivate children in school, to refashioning the definition of when a person warrants the honorific title of "doctor."

The Forum also heard from Leon Miller, left, director of Mecklenburg County's General Service Department, about an upcoming city-county reorganization that will move maintenance of the county's vehicle fleet to the city, among other changes.

Miller said the fleet transfer made sense on many fronts: Combining the two fleets would lower unit costs. The city was already using the process management software that the county was planning to buy to improve fleet management. But he said the key demand, which the city accepted, was that all county employees affected by reorganization maintain their jobs, health benefits and other issues. Miller said Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones may discuss the issue when he appears before the Forum later.

Forum co-founder Sarah Stevenson gave Miller a warm welcome  back to the Forum. Miller, a former employee of the Council of Governments, used to lead Forum meetings when the Forum met at McDonald's Cafeteria and the Renaissance Center downtown.