Per DGI's Jason Cannon; City Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann signs authorization for tenant to recieve taxpayer money she voted for

"Scuppernong Books will open at 302 and 304 S. Elm St., near the corner of Washington Street. The owners will be renting from Greensboro City Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann, who bought the building for $275,000 in July 2012."

http://www.news-record.com/news/article_1d60b79a-0ad7-11e3-aef0-0019bb30f31a.html
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Nancy Hoffmann consented to allowing a tenant to apply for a retail grant for her Elm Street building for electrical work, frame and sheet rock, plumbing, a front window display and a retail sales counter.

Councilwoman Hoffman denied the application existed at Natty Greene's last Thursday evening in front of David Brantly Craft on the second floor.

Mrs. Hoffmann voted for DGI's budget allocation at Council's last meeting, as well as the year before, and now she appears to be self dealing via her new tenant while publicly denying the existence of the pending transaction involving taxpayer monies which voted for to benefit herself.

In my view, if the grant is allocated, Hoffmann will have voted to transfer taxpayer wealth that directly benefits her personal property.

Clearly a conflict of interest.

Clearly wrong.

Clearly in violation of her fiduciary responsibilities to City of Greensboro taxpayers.
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Considering how much I have recently criticized former Greensboro Partnership lobbyists involved with the allocation of taxpayer monies to local cronies, Jason Cannon returned my call, was honest, and I got the impression he is working to do what's in the best interests of Downtown Greensboro and the City.
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On Nancy Hoffmann's vote to fund DGI, after her "final subission" to be DGI's landlord

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/06/will-nancy-hoffman-vote-to-fund-dgi.html

Nancy Hoffman's campaign contribution connections to Tuesday's Give Away to Greensboro's 1%

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/10/nancy-hoffmans-campaign-contribution.html

News & Record Letter to the Editor; David Hagan’s commissions don’t serve taxpayers

"On Sept. 3, and again on Sept. 17, Robbie Perkins and Nancy Vaughan knowingly voted to give fellow Greensboro Country Club member David Hagan, who serves on the Community Foundation’s board, about $586,000 in commissions for purchasing performing arts center properties.

The city of Greensboro has four real-estate brokers who could have purchased the properties for no more than their salaries.

I believe Perkins, Vaughan and the Community Foundation’s Walker Sanders, who was involved in the negotiations, did not act in the best interests of Greensboro’s taxpayers concerning these real-estate transactions.

I call for David Hagan, who is U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan’s brother-in-law, to forfeit his commissions."

George Hartzman
Greensboro

The writer is a candidate for mayor.
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Previously;

Robbie Perkins, Nancy Vaughan, Zack Matheny, Jim Kee, Yvonne Johnson and Nancy Hoffmann just cost taxpayers $586,000

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/09/robbie-perkins-nancy-vaughan-zack.html

On US Senator Kay Hagan's Brother in Law David Hagan, Making a Nice Slice off Greensboro's Taxpayers while Sitting on CFGG's Board

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/09/on-us-senator-kay-hagans-brother-in-law.html

Stephen Poole; "GPAC, CFGG full of deliberate deception, lining of pockets"

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/09/stephen-poole-gpac-cfgg-full-of.html

Congrats David Hagan, much more to come right out of Greensboro taxpayer's pockets into yours

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/09/congradulations-david-hagan-much-more.html

Looks like Hagan Properties stands to profit from the GPAC while David Hagan sits on CFGG's board of directors with Walker Sanders

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/09/looks-like-hagan-properties-stands-to.html

If David Hagen stands to benefit from the GPAC deal, and Louise Brady's Brady Trane employs Guilford County's Hank Henning...?

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/09/if-david-hagen-stands-to-benefit-from.html

Robbie Perkins, Nancy Vaughan, Zack Matheny, Jim Kee, Yvonne Johnson and Nancy Hoffmann just cost taxpayers $586,000

On US Senator Kay Hagan's Brother in Law David Hagan, Making a Nice Slice off Greensboro's Taxpayers while Sitting on CFGG's Board

Looks like Hagan Properties stands to profit from the GPAC while David Hagan sits on CFGG's board of directors with Walker Sanders

 

 

Chip Hagan is Kay Hagan's husband, which makes David Hagan Kay Hagan's brother in law.

http://www.haganproperties.com/aboutus/resumes/pdf/David%20Hagan%20Resume%20(Web).pdf

Luckily or by connection, David is both the seller's and buyer's agent for a $1,241,000 real estate transaction between the Community Foundation (CFGG) and the seller of 125 Summit Avenue for the GPAC, while serving on the CFGG Board with Walker Sanders.

@ 6%, $1,241,000 =  a potential $74,460 commission for David Hagan's company

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CFGG 2013 Board of Directors

•David Hagan

http://cfgg.org/learn/board

http://www.haganproperties.com/aboutus/resumes/pdf/David%20Hagan%20Resume%20(Web).pdf

Isn't it Great to live in such an ethically oriented city?

Congratulations to the Hagan household for helping show how Greensboro is the most crooked city in North Carolina.

Hagan properties is also the buyers agent for Khan and Khan's $1,099,000 Greensboro Inn property;

@3%, that's another $32,970 for Hagan Properties.

and another for 120 East Lindsay Street;

And what looks like another $78,887.25 commission for the $2,629,575 deal at 338 North Elm Street;

Husband

In October 2008, The Politico reported that Hagan's husband Chip Hagan III, a former Democratic county leader, had been a member of 1,000-member Greensboro Country Club for years, despite the club's de facto segregation and refusal to admit black members.[16] Hagan herself was not a member of the club. Greensboro Country Club admitted its first black member in 1995.[16]

Wikipedia

Greensboro was one of the last clubs in the area to integrate, although African-Americans make up about 35 percent of the local population. Chip Hagan inherited the club membership from his father.

The head of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign criticized Hagan for not demanding that her husband leave the club earlier. http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/hagans_country_club_troubles The first black member to be sponsored was Robert J. Brown, a former aide to Richard to Nixon, according to press accounts at the time.
Flanagan said Chip Hagan “has been a member his whole life” and inherited the membership from his father, a well-to-do former Marine Corps general and local attorney.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14815.html

Greensboro was one of the last all-white clubs in the area to integrate. In the mid-1990s, members claimed they had never received an application from a black person, even though African Americans make up about 35 percent of the local population — and the city was site to groundbreaking civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s.

This isn’t the first time Chip Hagan has become an issue in the campaign. Over the summer, Republicans blasted him for owning stakes in several domestic oil wells as gas prices were skyrocketing.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14815.html

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/hagans_country_club_troubles#storylink=cpy

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"CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY: Amended March 2000

...The Community Foundation can accomplish its mission most effectively when a Board of Directors represents the diverse interests, cultures, occupations, and expertise of the community. Thus, members of the Board of Directors and others representing or affiliated with the Community Foundation will face possible conflicts of interest or situations in which the appearance of a conflict of interest could be detrimental to the Community Foundation.

The following statement of policy on conflict of interest is adopted to assist all persons holding positions of responsibility and trust in the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro:

1. In conducting the affairs of the Community Foundation and in deciding the award of grants and other business, duality or conflict of interest shall be presumed when a person to whom this policy applies or his/her immediate family member serves as a trustee, officer, or stockholder of an affected organization or firm; has a formal affiliation or interest in an affected organization or firm; or could expect financial gain or loss from a particular decision.

2. Any duality or possible conflict of interest on the part of any Board of Directors or staff shall be disclosed to the other members of the Board and made a matter of record as soon as the issue in question is raised and a possible conflict is known.

a. That person shall not vote on such matter and shall not attempt to exert personal influence in connection therewith.

b. Disclosure and abstention shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting(s) at which the issue is discussed and decided.

c. A person who has been excluded from voting because of a possible conflict of interest may state his/her position in the matter and answer pertinent questions of other members when that person’s knowledge of the matter will assist the Board in making a decision.

3. When a duality or conflict of interest of any member of a Community Foundation permanent or ad-hoc committee becomes relevant to the making of a grant or to any matter requiring action by the Executive Committee or Board, the member shall disclose this to the committee. Paragraphs a, b, and c above shall apply to committees and committee members as they apply to the Board and its members.

...5. No officer or representative of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro shall receive or derive any direct or indirect monetary benefit from any grant or transaction of the Community Foundation without disclosure to the Board of Directors prior to consideration and action on that matter.      

Signed: _________________________________"
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Guess who may get the heating and air contract?

http://www.cfgg.org/downloads/annual_reports/CFFG_2010-11_AnnualReport.pdf



http://www.cfgg.org/downloads/annual_reports/CFFG_2010-11_AnnualReport.pdf

Anyone still wondering why Hank Henning kept his mouth shut?

GPAC Bait and Switch; The unpurchased GPAC properties that may cost more, now that City Council voted to buy the others

These are the additional properties yet to purchase, which also wasn't reported until last Tuesday's Council meeting.

I hear there were contracts from December that expired, and now the properties will cost even more.

Walker Sanders, by not having all the agreements in place, may well have cost the city quite a bit more money.

Clearly deceptive tactics on the part of the task force, city council and City of Greensboro staff.
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Bait and Switch

First, taxpayers were "baited" by being told the City of Greensboro was buying $7.6 million of real estate for a $60 million GPAC, with announcements of two new hotels during Wyndham week when negative news is relatively prohibited by local main stream media.

Second, on the eve of the council vote, the discovery of more properties to purchase becomes known, on top of what was on the agenda.

The goal of the bait-and-switch in this case was to persuade the public to favor the switch as a means of avoiding disappointment over not getting the performing arts center and hotels, and for the city to spend more money without the public really knowing what was actually happening.

This suggests that city staff, city council and the News & Record Editorial Board didn't want to transparently inform, but instead bait the public with the wonderfulness of the project without disclosing important details like the bogus financing math presented.

No binding commitments and no letter of Credit

Kathy Manning, Randall Kaplan's wife, lobbying for a GPAC and their new hotel

City Council voted to finance $10 million for GPAC based on a projection that every performance will sell out all 250 premium parking spaces to pay for the debt service.

Please provide the "binding commitments for a minimum of $20,000,000.00 in private contributions for the GPAC.

Instead of using 149 events to calculate the income to pay off the bonds that the hired consultant predicted, city staff and council raised the number of events to 180 per year, with all 250 premium parking spaces sold out at each and every show, even though there will be plenty of free and much lower cost parking options in close proximity to the venue.

This is flat out bogus math, which means the City Council members who voted for it broke their fiduciary duties to Greensboro's taxpayers.
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Bait-and-switch; like when I sold above ground aluminum swimming pools in 1992.

When I arrived in Greensboro, I was trained to present a bait and switch one call close sales presentation to sell swimming pools.

I got two leads a day, and would drive anywhere from Blacksburg, Virginia to Rock Hill, South Carolina to make sales calls.

Told the marks I was a "manager", on my way to set up a demonstration pool in the next town.

The bait was a $999 pool advertised in TV guides, and I would downplay the quality of the advertised pool, and switch to a $13,900 pool in the presentation, took a little off the top if they wanted the "demonstration" deal, under which they agreed to write a letter of recommendation etc..., reduced the big number to an affordable monthly payment of $249, (reduction to absurdity) and pop a second mortgage on the home at least a 17% annual interest rate.

I made half of any deal over $7,200.

I have been telling this story among others in Financial Ethics classes for years, as an example of how to not get ripped off by some of who I used to be.

The GPAC promotion and propaganda has been the same thing only different.
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Adam Smith, the father of modern economics wrote “The proposal of any new law or regulation which comes from [businessmen], ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never to be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention.”
Greensboro's taxpayers are being played for fools.

City of Greensboro Information Request; Please provide the "binding commitments for a minimum of $20,000,000.00 in private contributions for the GPAC."

"MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENSBORO, N. C. 19 FEBRUARY 2013

Mayor Perkins clarified that the operating loss did not show the contribution to servicing the bonds that would be paid for by ticket taxes, parking revenues and other revenue sources; and stated that the operating loss was separate from the debt service.

...Councilmember Matheny made a motion that Council commit to $20 million based on funding mechanisms put forth utilizing the City’s portion of the hotel/motel revenues received, as well as, other funds such as user fees and ticket tax, contingent on private donations being brought forth from the taskforce.

Mayor Pro-Tem Johnson seconded the motion.

...City Manager Roth confirmed that funds could possibly be pulled from the General Fund.

...Councilmember Matheny favored using hotel/motel tax funds, user fees and private sector funds; and that the City needed to commit to the project in order to promote and solidify private sector fundraising.

56-13 RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE PROPOSED GREENSBORO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENSBORO THAT:

...the City Council will not permit any financing efforts to be completed for the $20,000,000.00 in municipal financing outlined above until the GPAC Task Force is able to confirm that they have obtained binding commitments for a minimum of $20,000,000.00 in private contributions for the GPAC.

(Signed) Zachery Matheny

...Councilmember Matheny’s motion was adopted on the following roll call vote:

Ayes: Hoffmann, Johnson, Kee, Matheny, Vaughan and Perkins.

Noes: Abuzuaiter, Bellamy-Small and Wilkins.
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Please provide the "binding commitments for a minimum of $20,000,000.00 in private contributions for the GPAC."

As Greensboro city council candidates information requests are censored via prior restraint by city staff, please copy and send the above information request to inforequests@greensboro-nc.gov

Nancy Hoffman's perfectly legal contributions from GPAC task force members, as confirmed by city attorney S. Mujeeb Shah-Khan

•Betty Cone (Carolina Theatre, Hon. Chairwoman of the Board; Downtown Greensboro Inc., Past Chairwoman of the Board)
•Dr. Gene LeBauer (LeBauer Medical Center)
•Dr. Sam LeBauer (Retired)
Kathy Manning (Attorney; Board Chair of the Jewish Federations of North America)
•Reid Phillips (Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP)

http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/elections_cms/docs/2013/midyr/HOFFMANN_NANCY_midyr13.pdf
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"Mayor and Council:

...The mere fact that Mr. [X] is a donor to Councilmember [Y's] campaign, or will be hosting a fundraising event... does not create a conflict for which he would need to ask the Council to excuse him from voting on an item.

What must be considered is if a conflict of interest exists either under N.C.G.S. §§160A-75 or 14-234, or the City of Greensboro’s Charter, or the City’s Conflict of Interest Policy. ...Direct or indirect benefits are considered under the City’s conflict of interest policy and typically involve financial interests for the Councilmember, his or her immediate family, their partner, or an organization which employs or is about to employ the member, family member or partner.

...Whether or not the vote impacts or involves campaign contributions is irrelevant to whether or not there is a conflict of interest.

Mujeeb

S. Mujeeb Shah-Khan
CITY ATTORNEY
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
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What's important here is when Mujeeb states; "What must be considered is if a conflict of interest exists either under N.C.G.S. §§160A-75 or 14-234, or the City of Greensboro’s Charter, or the City’s Conflict of Interest Policy."

Before this letter, Mujeeb only quoted §160A-75 as "What must be considered".

Ethical Responsibilities of the Governing Body of the City of Greensboro
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What guarantee does the City have that "over $20 million in private funds pledged for the GPAC" will be received?

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-guarantee-does-city-have-that-over.html

On GPAC and the Community Foundation

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/08/on-gpac-and-community-foundation.html

Theoretically, the new GPAC proposal could work if...

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/08/theoretically-new-gpac-proposal-could.html

News and Record Council candidate question; "What’s your plan for a long-term trash disposal solution?" with Nancy and Don Vaughan

What’s your plan for a long-term trash disposal solution?

Not Yvonne Johnson's $500 million plasma torch.

Not Jim Kee's crony proposal with Cico.

The overwhelming majority of news and comments on Greensboro's trash issues have been deleted from the News & Record's online archives.

The short term plan was recently put in place at a much better cost structure than before.

Long term looks like to be a regional facility.

Nancy Vaughan, the Waste Management and Recycling Task Force council liaison whose husband Don represents Cone Mills in a free White Street methane contract which has lost Greensboro millions, should step down from the task force.

Cone Mills, which is owned by billionaire Wilbur Ross, has violated the contract on multiple occasions for job retention, without any sanctions imposed, and is now expanding capacity without increasing jobs without any opposition from city council.

The White Street Landfill is the largest North Carolina landfill that doesn't have a methane sales program.

Some of the Vaughan's income is directly associated with lost revenue incurred by city taxpayers via the regulatory capture of our local government by Don and Nancy.

If Nancy is elected as mayor, I will consider it a continuation of an entrenched incumbent who has solidified an ongoing theft from Greensboro's citizens, which has cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
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What will you do or have your done to pursue that?

The methane should be sold to help finance current waste operations and a regional land fill.

That nothing has occurred via Nancy and Don Vaughan's interference is a fiduciary violation of Greensboro's taxpayers.
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"The fiduciary duty is a legal relationship of confidence or trust between two or more parties. One party…acts in a fiduciary capacity to another, such as one whose funds are entrusted to it. In a fiduciary relation, one person justifiably reposes confidence, good faith, reliance and trust in another whose aid, advice or protection is sought in some matter.

In such a relation, good conscience requires one to act at all times for the sole benefit and interests of another, with loyalty to those interests.

A fiduciary…must not put his personal interests before the duty, and must not profit from his position as a fiduciary, unless the principal consents.

A fiduciary cannot have a conflict of interest.

…A fiduciary must not profit from the fiduciary position.

This includes any benefits or profits which although unrelated to the fiduciary position, came about because of an opportunity that the fiduciary position afforded.

Secret commissions, or bribes also come under the no profit rule.

Conduct by a fiduciary may be deemed constructive fraud, when it is based on acts, omissions or concealments…that gives one an advantage."

Fiduciary
Wikipedia
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Hello Mr. Hartzman,

Councilmembers Vaughan and Kee are the Council liaisons’ to the Solid Waste Management Commission.

Thank you,

Public Information Desk
City of Greensboro

What is Crony Capitalism in Greensboro and Guilford County?

Why hasn't the Greensboro News & Record reported on the Craig Saperstein, Pillsbury Law lobbyist campaign contribution story?

Are the less informed easier to persuade than the more?

If white northern college students enlisted for voter registration drives,

only after murders of black civil rights volunteers

went relatively unreported by law enforcement and news organizations

is the Greensboro News & Record doing the same thing

only different?

Without an informed and free press,

there cannot be an enlightened people.

Justice Potter Stewart

Is an independent press
essential to capitalistic democracy?

Freedom of the press

is guaranteed only to those who own one.

A J Liebling

Why is journalism the only profession
explicitly protected by the US Constitution?

Not to transmit an experience

is to betray it.

Elie Wiesel