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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2016-058 Resolution Detailing OC's Recommendations Regarding Goals for Inclusion in NCACC 2017-2018 Legislative Goals Package W4 RES-2016-058 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Resolution Detailing Orange County's Recommendations Regarding Goals for Inclusion in the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners' (NCACC) 2017-2018 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 2017-2018 Legislative Goals Package and Orange County and all other North Carolina counties have been asked to submit proposed legislative goals by September 23, 2016 for consideration for inclusion in the 2017-2018 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 2017-2018 Legislative Goals Package; NOW THEREFORE we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby recommend that NCACC include the following goals in the NCACC 2017-2018 Legislative Goals Package: 1) Broadband — Support legislation, funding, and other efforts to expand broadband capability to the un-served and under-served areas of the State to enhance quality of life as well as expand opportunities for jobs creation, small business development, and growth in farm enterprises. Oppose legislation limiting local governments' efforts to provide broadband and supports legislation and regulations that would preserve local option and authority where needed to deploy community broadband systems and ensure community access to critical broadband services; 2) Raise Age for Juvenile Jurisdiction in Criminal Court — Support legislation to raise the age for juveniles being treated as adults in criminal court from 16 to 18; 3) Minimum Wage Increase — Support legislation to raise the statewide minimum wage, or support legislation granting authority to local governments to establish minimum wage levels higher than the statewide level within their respective jurisdictions; 4) Repeal of House Bill 2 and Expansion of Protected Classes — Seek statewide legislative action to repeal House Bill 2 and include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in order to protect these classes from discrimination and discriminatory practices, or in the alternative seek legislation to provide all North Carolina local governments with the authority to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in order to protect these classes from discrimination and discriminatory practices; 5) Revenue Options for Local Government — Support legislation that authorizes any local government to enact any revenue source that is presently available to one or more local governments in the state. Local governments have experienced significant budget cuts in recent years. Providing flexibility regarding revenue options to fund local government services will allow local governments to tailor their respective funding plans based on individual needs and goals; 6) Oppose any shift of state transportation responsibilities to counties — Oppose legislation to shift the state's responsibility for funding transportation construction and maintenance projects to counties. Counties cannot afford to assume costs for maintaining secondary roads and/or funding expansion projects. Unlike counties in other states, whose traditional funding responsibilities are secondary roads, North Carolina counties are responsible for the administration of local human services programs, and fund educational operating and capital expenses. The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) has estimated that a transfer of secondary road maintenance responsibilities would cost counties more than $500 million annually. Some of the more rural counties would have to increase property taxes by as much as 30 cents per$100 in valuation to generate the amount of revenue needed to maintain the same level of service; 7) Reinstate ADM and Lottery Funds for School Construction — Seek legislation to fully reinstate the Average Daily Membership (ADM) funds and Lottery proceeds to the Public School Building Capital Fund. The Public School Building Capital Fund is housed in the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and is comprised of two sources of revenue: a set- aside from the corporate income tax, known as the ADM fund, which is allotted based on average daily membership (ADM) in each county; and 40 percent of the net proceeds from the N.C. Education lottery. Counties have relied on these funds to repay debt service for public school construction and renovation; 8) Increased State Support for Public Education — Support legislation to increase and ensure secure and stable funding for operating and capital expenses for quality K-12 education in public schools; 9) Smart Start and More at Four — Support legislation to increase and ensure secure and stable funding, enhanced quality early care and education, and family access and benefits in settings public and private. Sustain teacher quality; evidence-based learning objectives; healthy life styles; and community engagement; 10) Child Care Subsidy — Support legislation to reverse changes made to the childcare subsidy program available to working families, including establishing eligibility for all children at 200% of the federal poverty level, to help many working parents who are trying to become more financial self-sufficient, and amend the provision change that requires nonparent relatives living with the child to have their income counted for child care eligibility; 11) Sales Tax Exemption — Support legislation to exempt counties, cities, school boards, community colleges, and state or county established water and sewer authorities 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, support legislation to allow public schools to apply for sales tax refunds; 12) Tax System Modifications — Seek legislation that enhances the county property tax system with increases in the income qualifications for homestead exemption and support reinstatement of the earned income tax credit, 13) Medicaid Enhancement — Seek legislation to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act to provide coverage for low- income adults and families and support legislation for a rate increase for Medicaid services to at least cover cost of service to encourage more physicians to treat the growing number of Medicaid clients; 14) Maintain Local Government Authority over Solid Waste Management — Oppose any shift of solid waste management and recycling services away from local governments; 15) Electronics Recycling — Oppose the lifting of restrictions on disposal of electronics in landfills; 16) Funding for Gang Prevention, Adolescent Substance Abuse, and Domestic Violence Prevention, Intervention and Treatment — Support state funding for gang prevention, adolescent substance abuse and domestic violence prevention, intervention and treatment; 17) E-911 Funds — Support legislation for permanent authorization to use E-911 funds for all public safety disciplines. Support future initiatives to expand the uses for these funds within the public safety disciplines related to emergency communications and Emergency Medical Services. North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 62A-47 Section 9 allowed local governments to use 50% of the funds in the Emergency Telephone System to provide for public safety needs, without limitations imposed under NCGS 62A-46. Public Safety expenditures authorized under Section 9 had to be completed by June 30, 2012; 18) Mental Health — Seek legislation to ensure that adequate State-funded mental health, developmental disability, and substance abuse services and facilities are available at the local level, accessible and affordable to all residents and that sufficient state resources fund service provision costs inclusive of sufficient crisis intervention and treatment, and to structure appropriate county participation in governance Support legislation to develop and fund a plan to reduce the number of people with mental health issues in county jails; 19) Agriculture/Solar Energy — Support renewable energy initiatives to create a market for agricultural-sourced energy credits. Both provide incentives for farmers to produce renewable energy, which will become increasingly important to preserving and strengthening the agricultural economy and rural infrastructure as well as maintaining Orange County's rural heritage and culture; 20) Land, Water and Agricultural Preservation Funding/Conservation — Support the restoration of funding for Park, Agricultural Preservation, Clean Water and other existing trust funds established for the protection of the State's land, water, biological resources, agriculture, and special. places before they are irreversibly lost; and also support a conservation option under the Use Value Program and a revision to the revenue and acreage requirements of the Use Value Program to address operations that meet the revenue requirements, but do not meet the minimum ten acres threshold for agricultural operations; 21) Aquatic Weed Control Authority — Restore the ability of the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Aquatic Weed Control Division (NCDWR), to include projects in flowing waters, not just lakes and reservoirs. NCDWR was previously authorized to address needs in flowing waters; however, its enabling legislation was altered two years ago. This required NCDWR to withdraw from Year 2 of the Eno River hydrilla study; 22) Bona Fide Farm Use — Support legislation clarifying that farm use and agriculture exemption of 153A-340 that restricts local zoning authority applies only to property on which the production of crops or livestock is the primary use; and clarify that marketing and agri-tourism activities must be secondary uses of the property and do not qualify for the exemption in the absence of the production of crops or livestock. Local governments are seeing an increasing number of properties that, although they meet one or more criteria for exemption, such as having a federal farm identification number, are not used for the production of crops or livestock; and 23) School Board Legal Actions Against County Boards of Commissioners — Oppose legislation to repeal the statutory authority under North Carolina General Statute 115C-431(c) that allows local school boards to file suit against a county board of commissioners over county appropriations for education. This the 20th day of September 2016. 454 Earl McKee, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners