Monday, October 13, 2003

Wilmington, NC—The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Cape Fear Area United Way and Success by Six are sponsoring an informative and comprehensive analysis of what the final 2003-05 adopted budget means for state services, local government services and nonprofit organizations that receive state support. The Budget and Tax Center (BTC) presentations are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29 at the Madeline Suite in Wagoner Hall on the UNCW campus. Reservations for the program are required by Friday, Oct. 24, and can be made by calling the Cape Fear Area United Way at 910/798-3900. There is no charge for this event.

Elaine Mejia and Elizabeth Jordan of the BTC will cover budgetary issues, such as key spending and revenue items that were or were not included in the final budget and what the budget means for state services, local government services, and nonprofit organizations that receive state support. The speakers will include an analysis of the fiscal situation heading into the 2004 legislative session and possible legislative proposals, what is the projected shortfall based on recent revenue, spending trends and expected expansion spending, and what the effects will be for children and families in particular.

Mejia and Jordan also plan to discuss North Carolina’s economy and the state’s latest employment and workforce trends, and various proposals for improving the economic situation.

About the Budget and Tax Center

The North Carolina Budget and Tax Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization providing timely, accessible and credible analysis of state and local budget and tax issues with a special focus on the impact of state fiscal policy on low- and moderate-income North Carolinians.



Elaine Mejia, fiscal policy analyst

Mejia joined the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center as a fiscal policy analyst in April 2002. Mejia has worked as a budget and management analyst for Orange County, North Carolina and served as a North Carolina Governor's Public Management Fellow with the Office of State Budget and Management and the Office of State Personnel. Mejia received her Master of Public Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S. in political science from Texas A&M University.



Elizabeth Jordan, public policy analyst

Jordan joined the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center as a public policy analyst in November 2002. Elizabeth holds a Masters of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Richmond. Jordan has worked as a project director for Habitat for Humanity International. After leaving Habitat, she was a consultant in San Francisco, Calif., working closely with a national fellowship program, then as a policy analyst and interim director of the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth. Most recently, Jordan was the evaluations officer for the Capital Area Workforce Development Board in Raleigh, N.C.