HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2012-076 Resolution Detailing Orange County's Recommendations Regarding Goals for Inclusion of 2013-2014 Legislative Goals Package RES-2012-076
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Resolution Detailing Orange County's Recommendations
Regarding Goals for Inclusion in the
North Carolina Association of County Commissioners' (NCACC)
2013-2014 Legislative Goals Package
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC)
organizes a process every two years to develop a legislative goals package; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the package is to develop a consensus of broad
support on legislative goals and issues for matters affecting North Carolina
counties that may be addressed during the upcoming North Carolina General
Assembly sessions during next two calendar years; and
WHEREAS, the goals and issues included in NCACC package, with their broad
support, guide and strengthen NCACC representatives and staff as they
converse with individual legislators and committees on legislative matters; and
WHEREAS, NCACC has begun the process to develop its 2013-2014 Legislative
Goals Package and Orange County and all other North Carolina counties have
been asked to submit proposed legislative goals by September 17, 2012 for
consideration for inclusion in the 2013-2014 Legislative Goals Package; and
WHEREAS, Orange County believes there are many issues of importance to all
North Carolina counties that should be included as goals in NCACC's 2013-2014
Legislative Goals Package;
NOW THEREFORE we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby
recommend that NCACC include the following goals in the NCACC 2013-2014
Legislative Goals Package:
1) Support the expansion of revenue options and protection of revenue
sources available to county governments;
2) Support an independent Legislative Study regarding options for future
transportation funding and continue to oppose legislation shifting the
State's existing responsibility for funding transportation construction and
maintenance projects to county governments without also providing
counties the necessary additional revenue sources;
3) Support a statewide bond referendum to provide State assistance to meet
public school and community college construction needs caused by
increased enrollment, mandated reduction in class size and other factors;
4) Seek legislation to ensure that State-funded mental health, developmental
disability, and substance abuse services are available, accessible and
affordable to all residents and that sufficient state resources fund service
provision costs inclusive of sufficient crisis beds;
5) Support legislation which streamlines the sales tax refund regulatory
process by exempting public institutions (counties, cities, school boards,
community colleges, local utility authorities, etc.) from payment of State
and local sales taxes on purchases within North Carolina and thereby
diminish the administrative burden on the local and State level to
pursue/account for/recoup sales tax proceeds; and
6) Support legislation which provides county governments some opportunity
to regulate and/or have input into, but not prohibit, bio-solids application
activities, including the acceptable "classes" of bio-solids for application
and the prohibition of bio-solids application in certain environmentally
sensitive areas such as critical watersheds. The appropriate application of
bio-solids for agricultural use should be allowed with counties playing a
role in the process;
7) Support legislation to provide additional State compensation to
municipalities and local fire districts providing fire protection to state-
owned buildings;
8) Support actions to change North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ)
wastewater system classification rules which currently classify a spray
irrigation system such as one utilized by volunteer fire departments as
"commercial". When the flow generated by the system is domestic
quality/non-industrial process wastewater, the system should be held to
the same monitoring and testing standards as a residential wastewater
system under DWQ jurisdiction. In the alternative, volunteer fire
departments should be excluded entirely from the "commercial"
classification. The annual inspections and testing costs associated with a
"commercial" designation for a spray irrigation system serving a volunteer
fire department can be several thousands of dollars. Accounting for the
type of flow actually treated by a system rather than assigning a blanket
"commercial" designation would significantly reduce volunteer fire
departments' annual costs across the state;
9) Support revisions to the Homestead Exemption provisions of the
Machinery Act to
a) provide greater opportunities for low-income seniors to remain in
their homes and not be displaced due to property tax burdens by
approving a one-time ten percent (10%) increase in the income
qualification standard; and maintaining the current provisions which
increase the income qualification standard each year based on any
cost-of-living adjustment made to the benefits under Titles 11 and
XVI of the Social Security Act for the preceding calendar year;
b) diminish the discriminatory features of the current exemption
provisions relating to married couples by establishing graduated
income qualification standards for single individuals versus married
couples; and
c) address the ineffectiveness of the exemption provisions in
communities where property values increase at substantial rates
over short periods of time by capping the increase in additional
taxes to be paid to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
for the preceding year.
10)Support the streamlining of provisions requiring units of local government
to prepare 10-year solid waste management plans in order to simplify the
process, reduces costs, and produce results more relevant for local
governments. Currently a plan and any changes to it, including three year
mandated updates, must often be approved unnecessarily by multiple
units of government, even those that may not utilize local waste disposal
facilities. Additionally, a primary reason for requiring 10-year plans was to
measure remaining landfill space to ensure the future space availability.
Other State rules require an annual survey of all landfill facilities to
calculate remaining space, and with modern Geographical Information
Systems, there is no need for the 10 year plan to duplicate this effort;
1 1)Support legislation requiring an advance recycling fee (ARF) — for the
collection and recycling of computer, television, cell phone and other
discarded electronic equipment — to fund the shortfall from the existing
producer responsibility funding. The producer responsibility provisions for
electronics recycling require manufacturers to maintain records by
category on equipment sales and pay corresponding fees to the State of
North Carolina. The State in turn distributes those funds to North Carolina
counties. The producer responsibility funds only cover a portion of the
expenses that North Carolina counties incur for electronics recycling
(Example: Orange County receives funding equal to approximately ten
percent (10%) of its actual electronic recycling expenses); and
12)Support legislation enhancing river basin monitoring and streamline rule-
making — enhance monitoring for all river basins in North Carolina and
review the rule-making process to enhance regional cooperation.
This the 6th day of September 2012.
Bernadette Pelissier, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners