By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — The Rowan-Kannapolis ABC Board has no profit left for the past fiscal year to distribute to local governments, it said Wednesday.
Finance Officer Julie Eller told the board at its meeting Wednesday that according to state law, it must distribute 90 percent of its net profit.
Although distributions are given on a quarterly basis, board members said they should be calculated based on year-to-date profit.
“If it’s 90 percent, we’ll have overpaid because of roof repairs,” said board member David McCoy. “We’ve distributed 100 percent then.”
Not including those repairs, the board’s net profit was $159,000 for the past fiscal year, and it has given out about $99,000 in dividends.
That leaves about $60,000, which is roughly equal to the cost of the unexpected roof repairs. Heavy rains caused water damage to the local system’s main building last fall.
“There will be no quarterly dividend this time until we see the final audit,” board Chairwoman Linda Lowman said .
If the audit reveals that the board owes money to local governments, it will include that amount with its next distribution in three months, Lowman said.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the ABC Board voted to change the process by which it elects its chair.
Board member Ken Argo suggested the position rotate each year to the member in his or her third year of appointment.
“It’s apolitical, it promotes term limits (for the chair position) and it will hopefully promote cooperation and working together, because we’ll be walking in the same shoes,” Argo said.
McCoy said he thinks the idea is a “wise suggestion” that makes sense to him.
Lowman said her only problem with the change is a possible conflict with the state law that established three appointing authorities for the board instead of one.
“It says the chair of the Rowan-Kannapolis ABC Board will be determined by a vote of the members of the Rowan-Kannapolis ABC Board,” Lowman said. “Can we still do what Ken suggested?”
Argo said he sees the votes on the policy change as votes in an election.
“There would always be the option open for elections and for the appointee to decline the position in favor of an election,” Argo said.
The new process was approved unanimously. The board will officially name its new chair at its next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 31 at 9:30 a.m.
According to Argo, Lowman would remain chairwoman this year as the Rowan County appointee. The next year, Salisbury appointee McCoy would take the position.
The following year, the seat would go to Argo, who Kannapolis recently appointed to serve another term.
Argo has been Kannapolis’ representative since 2004, but this year marked the first time the city itself has appointed him.
Prior to the change in state law last July, the cities of Kannapolis and Salisbury could only recommend board members to Rowan County, which officially made all three appointments. Now the two cities have the authority to independently choose their representatives.
Kannapolis Mayor Bob Misenheimer said Argo was chosen at a City Council meeting earlier this month because he has served well on the board.
“He’s a businessman, and he’s brought some of those business practices to bear,” Misenheimer said later Wednesday. “I’m glad to see him on there.”
In other business
The Rowan-Kannapolis ABC Board also:
• Agreed to take minutes at the periodic managers’ meetings and send them to store employees. Board Chairwoman Linda Lowman said this will let everyone in the stores know what’s going on in case their managers don’t inform them.
• Received a finance report for the previous month. Total system sales in June were $754,000. They rose 6 percent — or about $41,000 — from $713,000 in May 2010.
The increase was driven largely by a 28 percent spike in sales over last year at the Gateway Center store in Kannapolis, due to better sign visibility. Sales also were up by 10 percent over last year at the Renaissance Square store in Kannapolis.
Bottled liquor sales increased by 5 percent compared to June 2010, from about $652,000 to $684,000. Liquor by the drink sales jumped by 15 percent from about $61,000 to $70,000.