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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-20-2007-8aORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 20, 2007 Action Agenda Item No. SUBJECT: Orange County's Proposed 2007 Legislative Agenda DEPARTMENT: County Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) Yes ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Proposed Orange County 2007 Legislative Commissioner Alice Gordon Goals Commissioner Mike Nelson Public Hearing Notice PURPOSE: To continue a public hearing and further review, discuss, and approve potential items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the 2007 North Carolina General Assembly Session. BACKGROUND: In past years, the BOCC has reviewed and approved a package of legislative items to pursue for North Carolina General Assembly sessions. Orange County's initial 2006 legislative package addressed the following issues: • Potential Statewide Referenda on Land for Tomorrow Bonds, School Construction Bonds, and Water and Sewer Bonds • Local Government Cable Franchise Authority • Support State Public Education Initiatives with Clear and Full Funding By the State • County Medicaid Relief • Funding for Family House at UNC Hospitals • Re-evaluation and Re-determination on the Course of Statewide Mental Health Reform and Adequate Funding for Local Administrative Infrastructure • Open Burning/Burning Permits/Local Authority • Funding for Park and Ride Lot to Serve Downtown Hillsborough • Public-Private Solid Waste Collection • Refunds for Public School Systems for State and Local Sales and Use Taxes • Request for Appointment of Citizens Committee to Follow-up on 2001 Smart Growth Commission Report • Funding for Feasibility Study for a Regional Shared Use Value-Added Processing Center • Opposition to,"Exempt Builder's Inventory" The Board also subsequently adopted in 2006 a resolution supporting electronics recycling and job creation. For the 2007 General Assembly Session, the County's Legislative Issues Work Group, led by Commissioners Alice Gordon and Mike Nelson, developed a list of potential items for the Board's consideration. The Board reviewed and discussed these items at the Board's January 23, 2007 regular meeting. The Board determined that it wanted to add two additional items - a funding request for an Orange County Heritage Center and a request for a designated funding source for local governments to access to provide for alternative modes of transportation - to its "funding request" portion of the legislative package. The Board also determined that it wanted to hold a public hearing on the proposed 2007 legislative agenda at the Board's February 6, 2007 regular meeting (see attached public hearing notice which was published in four different papers). The Board held the public hearing at the February 6, 2007 regular meeting. No members of the public spoke, but members of the Board did discuss various items. Two of the items, one concerning the County requesting a revision to the Homestead Exemption provisions and the other regarding a request for construction funding for a potential Shared Use Value Added Processing Center, have been included in the attached proposed legislative package. The other items that were discussed on February 6th have already been addressed in some other form or are being handled through an alternate means outside the Board's legislative package. The General Assembly convened on Wednesday January 24, 2007, and the BOCC met with Orange County's legislative delegation on February 5, 2007 to initially discuss the proposed items. The Board needs to continue the public hearing and review and potentially approve the attached list of items and any other items as may be discussed for the 2007 North Carolina General Assembly Session. It should be noted that the work of the Legislative Issues Work Group to this point is based on the current information available for the 2007 General Assembly Session. The issues addressed by the Group may evolve and change over the session and require additional attention by the Group and Board of Commissioners. New issues may also arise necessitating additional review. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact with continuing the public hearing and approving a list of legislative items. There were newspaper advertisement costs incurred for the February 6, 2007 public hearing, which will be addressed within the approved fiscal year budget. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board continue the public hearing, close the public hearing following any public comments, and further review, discuss, and approve potential items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the 2007 North Carolina General Assembly Session. 3 PROPOSED ORANGE COUNTY 2007 LEGISLATIVE GOALS LEGISLATIVE ISSUES TOP PRIORITIES Medicaid Relief - Seek permanent Medicaid relief for counties to cover the full cost of Medicaid expenses to be paid by state government. School Construction - Support legislation to provide state assistance to local governments to meet school construction needs caused by increased enrollment and mandated reductions in class size through a statewide referendum on a bond issue and/or through authority for counties to raise additional revenues to meet school facility needs. Revenue Options for Local Government - Support legislation that authorizes a variety of revenue options for local governments to fund local government services. An overarching principle is that any local government revenue source that is presently available to one or more local governments in the state should be available to all local governments uniformly throughout the state. All local governments should, on a reasonable basis, have the authority to levy local option sales taxes, apply impact fees and/or taxes, utilize real estate transfer fees and/or taxes, etc. Orange County specifically notes its support for the ability of all local governments to apply impact fees and/or taxes and to implement real estate transfer fees and/or taxes. Orange County also expresses support for the authority to institute Court Facility Fees to allow counties to collect additional facilities fees to help fund capital, operational and other needs associated with ever-increasing judicial activities Mental Health -. Support Mental Health Reform and seek legislation that assures local capacity to serve the needs of citizens. The state must support local government, both financially and statutorily, to equip itself with adequate tools for crisis intervention and appropriate housing for the mentally ill to allow their integration into local communities. 4 OTHER PRIORITIES Employment Anti-Discrimination Legislation (Statewide) or Local Ordinance Enabling Legislation - Support legislation creating a statewide employment anti- discrimination law and providing for local government enforcement through appropriate mechanisms; or, in the alternative, support legislation allowing local governments to enact ordinances prohibiting employment discrimination. Sales Tax Exemption - Support legislation to exempt counties, cities, school boards, community colleges, and the Orange Water & Sewer Authority from payment of state and local sales taxes on purchases within North Carolina. The legislation should contain a provision permitting the state to repay the last refund over a multi-year period to minimize state budget impacts. Alternatively, Orange County supports legislation to fully restore public schools' access to sales tax refunds. North Carolina Housing Trust Fund - Support legislation providing appropriations by the General Assembly authorizing recurring funds for the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund to provide new home ownership opportunities and affordable rental homes for those qualified under the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund, while looking to enhance federal funding opportunities where appropriate. Land for Tomorrow - Support legislative appropriations and/or bond funding to protect the state's land, water, and special places, before they are irreversibly lost, by increasing funding to the state's existing conservation trust funds which provide grants for land and water conservation projects in every county. Open Burning/Burning Permits - Support amending the statutes (G.S. 113-60.31) related to open burning to remove the open burning prohibition exemption that is currently available during periods of hazardous forest fire conditions, .during drought periods, or during air pollution episodes; or, in the alternative, granting local governments the authority to prohibit open burning without the State's declaration of a hazardous condition since local fire authorities are best suited to assess local conditions and determine the best courses of action related to burning activities. Solid Waste Services - Oppose any legislation to further weaken the authority and/or ability of local governments to operate and administer Solid Waste services, including opposition to legislation similar to Senate Bill 951 (2006) and any other legislation that would limit local governments' opportunities in their solid waste service delivery to reduce costs, improve the quality of service, and/or meet local waste reduction goals. Homestead Exemption Revision - Support revision of the Homestead Exemption provisions of the Machinery Act to 1) provide greater opportunities for low-income seniors to remain in their homes and not be displaced due to property tax burdens; 2) eliminate the discriminatory features of the exemption provisions relating to couples; and 3) address the ineffectiveness of the exemption provisions in communities where property values increase at substantial rates over short periods of time. 5 FUNDING RE0UESTS Construction and Start-up Funding for a Model Regional Shared Use Value-Added Processing Center Orange County has worked diligently to forge a regional public-private partnership for a potential Model Regional Shared Use Value-Added Processing Center. A Center would enable farmers from the region to meet local market demand for year-round locally- grown products. A Center would also be a model for the state as a whole. Four counties (Alamance, Chatham, Durham, and Orange) and two private businesses (Weaver Street Market and Whole Foods) have partnered together and secured the necessary funds for a feasibility study, and the partners are moving forward with commissioning that study. The study will be conducted by the Center for Assessment and Research Analyses at Mars Hill College, with lead researcher Smithson Mills, who has expertise in value-added facilities. The study report, which will take four to six months to complete, will include information on potential site needs for a Model Center, potential product lines, marketing opportunities, and numerous other factors. For the 2007 General Assembly session, Orange County, on behalf of its five partners, requests $1.5 million for the construction of a Model Regional Shared Use Value-Added Processing Center and an additional $500,000 for the Center's start-up costs. Funding for Establishment of a Model Community Historical Documents Preservation Effort/Orange County Heritage Center Discussions during the last several years regarding future library planning for Orange County have included a proposal for the establishment of an Orange County Heritage Center to preserve, catalog, and house historical documents that otherwise would be lost due to age/deterioration or misplacement. Orange County requests $112,000 in matching funds from the General Assembly to establish an Orange County Heritage Center. The Heritage Center would serve as a model for future duplication by other local governments/entities across the state for the preservation of historical documents. All of the funding would be used for the establishment of and equipment for the Heritage Center and for the actual preservation/digitizing/archiving/cataloging/etc. of historical materials. Transportation Funding For Orange County There are two related transportation funding issues the Orange County Board of Commissioners would like to bring to the attention of our legislative delegation. Right now, Orange County is getting relatively little in funding for transportation, compared with other counties in this region and in the state. Therefore, it would be helpful if the county could receive some assistance from our legislative delegation in 6 obtaining more money for Orange County transportation needs. Funding for Alternative Modes of Transportation Compared to highways, the funding for alternative modes of transportation is quite restricted. If the legislature could provide additional funding for alternative modes of transportation, including bicycle and pedestrian projects, transit projects, and park and ride lots, it would help Orange County in its quest to enhance these alternative modes. A more robust funding stream for alternative modes could be a long term issue, but one we would like to our legislators to pursue. Potential Funding for Specific Projects Although we have not requested funding for any specific projects, we would also appreciate any guidance our legislators could give us concerning how to pursue such a request and what sorts of projects might receive favorable attention. We would be particularly interested in funding alternative modes of transportation. We look forward to any advice our legislators could give us on these two issues. ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE FOR TUESDAY, February 6, 2007 AT 7:30 P.M. A public hearing will be held on Orange County's potential legislative agenda for the 2007 North Carolina General Assembly Session. The potential items include: s Medicaid Relief School Construction Assistance/Funding ® Revenue Options for Local Governments e Mental Health Reform Support and Assistance ? Employment Anti-Discrimination Legislation (Statewide) or Local Ordinance Enabling Legislation ? State and Local Sales Tax Exemption for Counties, Cities, School Boards, Community Colleges, and Orange Water & Sewer Authority ? North Carolina Housing Trust Fund Appropriations e Land for Tomorrow Appropriations or Bond Funding o Open. Burning/Burning Permits - Remove Prohibition Exemption or Provide for Local Authority ? Solid Waste Services and Local Government Authority o Request for Funding for a Feasibility Study for a Regional Value-Added Agricultural Processing Facility 0 Request for Matching Funds for a Proposed Orange County Heritage Center Request for Establishment of a Designated Funding Source for Local Governments to Access to Provide for Alternative Modes of Transportation The Board of Commissioners welcomes all comments on these and other items as may be introduced or addressed at the public hearing. The meeting is open to the public and will be held on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in the New Courthouse in Hillsborough, beginning at 7:30 p.m. If you need additional information, please call Greg Wilder at 245-2314.