In recent weeks, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's campaign has claimed in news releases, on its Web site and in a YouTube video that State Treasurer Richard Moore is responsible for the financial problems of an entertainment complex in Roanoke Rapids. Moore and Perdue are running for governor. The Perdue campaign has claimed also that Moore withheld a study that said the city's plans for a theater featuring Randy Parton would fail without other attractions and that he failed to properly scrutinize the project.

THE BACKGROUND

Since the city opened the $21.5 million theater, ticket sales have been paltry, questions have been raised about how Parton spent public money, and Parton has been banned from the theater. Amenities such as a hotel and restaurants called for in a feasibility study are not yet open.

WHAT WE FOUND

As state treasurer, Moore is chairman of the Local Government Commission. The panel must approve all public debt in North Carolina.

The Local Government Commission was created in the Great Depression when several North Carolina towns had overloaded themselves with debt. The commission has focused on narrow questions of whether a city or county could afford to pay back the money it intended to borrow. It has not questioned the wisdom of the city's or county's plans.

Because Roanoke Rapids intended to pay back its debt using money generated by a successful entertainment complex, whether the project could succeed might have been a consideration. However, the city said that if the theater failed, it would pay off the debt with sales tax. That satisfied commission members, who say their rules allow them to consider the success of a project but do not require them to do so.

But Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a Mecklenburg County Democrat who was a key sponsor of the law that allowed the deals, said the commission's rules misinterpret the law that allowed such financing arrangements. Lawmakers intended for the local government commission to decide whether a project could succeed, he said.

Commission members did not see the feasibility study, which Moore's staff reviewed, before they voted. The study was mentioned on an agenda but was not explained.

Commission member and State Auditor Les Merritt said he wishes he had asked to see the feasibility study before he voted. But Merritt said the commission trusted that the city could repay its debt since city officials pledged sales tax revenue if the theater didn't sell enough tickets.

The verdict on Perdue's claims: Overreaching. Richard Moore and other commission members did vote in favor of the project, but Roanoke Rapids was ultimately responsible for setting up the deal and pushing it forward.