PLEASURE ISLAND | The N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Macon soon could be getting a new boss, but not everyone thinks that’s necessarily a good idea.

Gov. Pat McCrory in his State of the State address proposed placing all of the state’s attractions under one department.

“I will take additional actions to streamline our operations, not only because they save money, but because they make sense,” McCrory said in his Feb. 4 speech to the General Assembly.

Currently, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) oversees the state’s aquariums, state parks and recreation areas while the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources manages the state’s museums and other attractions, including the Battleship North Carolina.

The governor’s proposal would move all of the state’s attractions under Cultural Resources.

McCrory said the move would provide efficiencies and cost savings to the state’s taxpayers and offer a better one-stop customer service experience for residents and visitors.

Don Van Der Vaart, head of DENR, and Susan Kluttz, secretary of Cultural Resources, issued a joint statement supporting the governor’s proposal.

But any proposed move would mean a huge shift of staff and responsibilities away from DENR, with more than 1,000 state employees at dozens of sites across North Carolina on the move. The shift, in turn, would more than double the size of Cultural Resources.

Several current and former DENR employees declined to speak on the record about the governor’s proposal. But a reoccurring concern was the potential loss of focus on environmental stewardship and education in favor of tourism promotion.

This is not the first time state officials have looked at combining tourism attraction services under one departmental umbrella. But a 2012 report by General Assembly staff found little redundancy in services and that cost savings would be minimal if services were consolidated.

Legislators ended up taking no action.

The governor would need General Assembly approval to reorganize the departments. State Rep. Ted Davis Jr., R-New Hanover, whose district includes Pleasure Island, said he hasn’t heard any local feedback on McCrory’s proposal. He added that he would like to see the pros and cons, including the financial ramifications, before weighing in on the idea.

The state’s environmental agencies have been hit hard by the financial crisis last decade and tighter spending controls initiated by Republicans since they gained control of the legislature in 2012.

State appropriations to the aquariums division, for example, have dwindled from nearly $10.5 million in 2007 to just over $7 million for the 2014 fiscal year. Along with Pine Knoll Shores, the state operates aquariums in Fort Fisher and Manteo along with a pier in Nags Head.

So far there aren’t many details of how any changes would take place or what efficiencies could be wrung out of combining back room functions of the two agencies.

Central Carolina Community College and its students added $229.4 million in income to the college’s service area economy in fiscal year 2012-13, according to data from a new statewide economic impact study.

The $229.4 million in income is approximately equal to 3.4 percent of the Gross Regional Product, according to the report. The total income includes the college operations impact ($36.1 million — payroll amounted to $29.8 million, much spent in the CCCC service area, and $18.1 million for day-to-day operations), student spending impact ($1.5 million of expenditures of students who relocated to the region during the analysis year), and alumni impact ($191.8 million of accumulated contribution of alumni currently employed in the CCCC service area).

Julian Philpott, chairman of the CCCC Board of Trustees, said of the report, “I am very excited to see that the Economic Benefit Fact Sheet on CCCC verifies that every dollar invested in CCCC provides a significant return to CCCC’s students, the taxpayers in its service area and the citizens of North Carolina. From both an economic impact and an investment standpoint, CCCC has clearly demonstrated that it continues to provide outstanding value to its students and the communities it serves.”

The N.C. Community College System, in collaboration with the UNC-General Administration and the N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities, contracted with Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. to conduct an economic impact study of higher education in North Carolina. Extensive data was collected from multiple sources. For more on the impact of higher education in North Carolina, visit http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/news-center/news/impact-higher-education-north-carolina-totaled-635-billion-2012-13.

The CCCC report shows that for every $1 spent, $2.30 is gained in lifetime income for students, $8.10 is gained in added state income and social savings for society, and $3.70 is gained in added taxes and public sector savings for taxpayers.

In addition, the report shows that the added income created by CCCC and its students supported 5,043 job equivalents — college operations spending impact equals 1,137 job equivalents, student spending impact equals 34 job equivalents, and alumni impact equals 3,872 job equivalents.

Other key points of the report include the return on investment to students, society, and taxpayers:

* Student perspective: “Students attending CCCC during FY 2012-13 paid a total of $9.4 million to cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and supplies They also forwent $89 million in money that they would have earned had they been working instead of learning. In return for the money students invest to earn their degrees, they will receive a present value of $229.3 million in increased earnings over their working lives. This translates to a return of $2.30 in higher future income for every $1 that students invest in their education. The average annual return for students is 12.1 percent.”

* Social perspective: “North Carolina as a whole will receive a present value of $1.1 billion in added state income over the course of the students’ working lives. Communities also will benefit from $32.1 million in present value societal savings related to reduced crime, lower unemployment and increased health and well being across the state. For every dollar that society spent on educations at CCCC during the analysis year, North Carolina communities will receive a cumulative value of $8.10 in benefits for as long as the 2012-13 students of CCCC remain active in the state workforce.”

* Taxpayer perspective: “In [fiscal year] 2012-13, state and local taxpayers in North Carolina paid $31.7 million to support the operations of CCCC. The net present value of the added tax revenue stemming from the students’ higher lifetime incomes and the increased output of businesses amounts to $105.9 million in benefits to taxpayers. Savings to the public sector add another $11.1 million in benefits due to a reduced demand for government-funded services in North Carolina. Dividing benefits to taxpayers by the associated costs yields a 3.7 benefit-cost ratio, i.e., every $1 in costs returns $3.70 in benefits. The average annual return on investment for taxpayers is 13.7 percent.”

For information on Central Carolina Community College, visit www.cccc.edu.

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