The Kernersville resident stands unchallenged, but he says he approaches the coming elections with no less determination and vigor.
“There are a number of things that I’ve left undone, that I’d like to see accomplished,” Brown said. “We just don’t have it where it needs to be.”
One of the biggest challenges state government faces in the coming months is budget, Brown says.
“It’s certainly going to be interesting trying to figure out what we’re going to do,” he said. “We have a massive shortfall in revenues and at this particular time with our economy it’s just certainly not the time to be adding more tax burdens to our citizens.”
With financial troubles looming, budget cuts will certainly fit somewhere in the equation. Brown says that even though part of the rumored cuts has involved combining the Davidson County, Thomasville and Lexington school districts into one, he staunchly opposes the idea.
“I’m sure education will be cut, but to what extent I don’t know,” he said. “Education is such a vital part of what we do and what we fund, and we certainly want to keep our children in our minds when we start cutting around education.”
As far as issues, Brown says annexation reform will be a major focus in the next term. Brown says he has been a leader in property rights legislation in the general assembly over his three terms of service.
Annexation typically occurs when a city needs additional revenue. The city looks to expand its boundaries to take in developments on the periphery, often without thought as to the consent of those citizens.
“We’re trying to make it more equal,” Brown said. “If they want to go out and take in a whole development, give the people who live in that area a yea or nay.”
From his experience, Brown says most of those folks living in the to-be-annexed area of the county are opposed to the idea, though in the current system their opinion doesn’t matter.
“Generally speaking, the people that are annexed involuntarily get very little services for the amount of money it costs them,” Brown said. “So they see this as just a revenue grab for cities.”
And the annexation issue has been a hot topic in Davidson County for a while, Brown says.
“The issue of annexation is not going to go away,” he said. “If we don’t try to solve some of the problems in this session, the general population throughout the state of North Carolina is going to be upset. There are thousands upon thousands of people who are irate that we’re still following antiquated annexation law.”
Staff Writer Erin Wiltgen can be reached at 888-3576 or at newsdesk@tvilletimes.com
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