Fall 2021• Volume 40, Issue 1
THE
REPORTER
State Employees Association of North Carolina
Convention Delegates Elect New Slate of SEANC Officers GREENSBORO — Delegates at the 37th Annual SEANC Convention elected officers for 2021-2023 on Sept. 10 in Greensboro. The officers are: President — Martha Fowler of Mebane (District 19) retired from state government after 33 years and is a 37-year SEANC member. Fowler has served as a leader in many capacities at both the district and state levels including SEANC First Vice President, General Treasurer, and Insurance Board of Trustees Chairwoman. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from NC Agricultural and Technical State University with a degree in social services. She was also the recipient of SEANC’s first Distinguished Service Award. First Vice President — Kirk Montgomery of Burlington (District 25) has 25 years of state service and is a 24-year SEANC member. He is the Director of Information Technology for the City of Mebane. Montgomery has served at both the district and state levels including SEANC Second Vice President, General
Treasurer, and Piedmont Regional Representative. He holds an associate’s degree in civil engineering, a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in information systems. Second Vice President — Wendell Powell of Fayetteville (District 41) has worked in the prison system for 17 years and is a Correctional Lieutenant at Granville Correctional. He SEANC’s statewide officers are President Martha Fowler, First Vice President Kirk Montgomery, Second Vice President Wendell is a 16-year SEANC member. Powell and General Treasurer Emily Jones. Powell has spoken at lobby days and has served on many has served SEANC in many capacities SEANC district and state committees including statewide Emerging Leaders such as By-Laws, Prison Reform, Chair and at the district level as District Planning, and the Executive Board. Chair, Co-Chair, Member Discount In 2017, he served as the Fight for $15 Chair, Communications Chair, and Chairman. Youth Council Chair. She also served on General Treasurer — Emily Jones the State Human Resources Commission. of Clayton (District 41) has worked for Jimmy Davis of Forest City the state for 29 years and is currently a (District 4) will continue to serve on Mental Health Probation Parole Officer SEANC’s Executive Committee as the II. She joined SEANC in 1995. Jones Immediate Past President.
SEANC Calls on Lawmakers to End Budget Stalemate Legislative leaders and Gov. Roy Cooper remained in a stalemate over the state budget at the end of October, four months beyond the normal deadline for a compromise. The two sides continued to swap proposals, but a deal had yet to be reached. Pay raises and bonuses for state employees and retirees remain sticking points that have yet to be addressed publicly. The longer the stalemate drags on, the more likely the chance that no budget will be approved this year. SEANC Executive Director Ardis Watkins called on both sides to finalize a plan that includes meaningful raises
for employees and retirees in a story on CBS17 in Raleigh. “The longer this drags out, the more the expectation is that the raises will be significantly higher to correspond to the change in the market,” said Watkins. “There’s no reason not to give significant raises because we’ve always been told we just don’t have the money. We do here. This is a question of the will.” The budget will likely include the separation of Adult Correction into its own cabinet-level agency. SEANC was alerted of a proposed compromise that would include Community
Corrections in this new agency as well. Members who work in Community Corrections insist that their jobs must stay in the Department of Public Safety, which is more closely aligned with their probation and parole functions. We need you to continue to reach out to lawmakers to express the importance of real raises for employees and retirees in this budget. Visit seanc.org/engage to easily contact your representatives. Be sure to follow SEANC’s social media presence on Facebook and Twitter as well for up-to-the-minute developments in budget negotiations.