HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-20-2002 - 3 MEMORANDUM
To: Orange County Board of Commissioners
From: John Link, County Manager
Date: June 18, 2002
Re: Board of Commissioners' Proposed 2002 Legislative Package and Public Hearing
Please find attached to this memorandum information on the Board's proposed 2002
legislative package. I am providing it to you in preparation for the Board of
Commissioners' public hearing on the package,which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on June
20, 2002 at the Southern Human Services Center. (A copy of the public hearing notice is
attached.)
In past years,the BOCC has developed a package of legislative items to pursue during
North Carolina General Assembly sessions. A list of potential legislative items for the
2002 Session has been developed by the Legislative Issues Task Force and is attached to
this memorandum in the form of resolutions. As in past years,the Board needs to hold a
public hearing on the potential legislative items in preparation for presenting its proposals
to Orange County's legislative delegation for consideration during the 2002 General
Assembly Session.
After the public hearing,the Board will need to review and consider approval as
necessary of the attached resolutions and associated materials as developed by staff and
the County Attorney. Those materials consist of two resolutions with attachments. The
first resolution,with an attached draft bill(Exhibit A),requests that Orange County's
legislative delegation introduce one local legislative bill regarding bikeway funding
authority. It should be noted that the deadline for submittal of local bills to the
Legislative Bill Drafting Division was June 5,2002, and that the bill introduction
deadline for the House and Senate was June 12, 2002. Since those dates have passed,
staff will work with the legislative delegation to have the bikeway item added to an
existing"blank"bill or possibly to another existing local bill that would allow its
consideration during the 2002 session.
The second resolution requests that Orange County's legislative delegation take certain
positions on various legislative matters and includes Exhibits A and B,which are
attached.
The last attachment is a draft letter to Orange County's legislative delegation expressing
the Board's appreciation for past efforts on legislative items and transmitting to them the
Board's 2002 legislative package.
It should be noted that the work of the Legislative Issues Task Force to this point is based
on the current information available and the outlook for the 2002 General Assembly
Session. The issues addressed by the Task Force and incorporated into the draft
resolutions may change over the session and require additional attention by the Task
Force and Board of Commissioners. New issues may also arise necessitating additional
review.
If further information is needed,please advise.
Attachments
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
FOR
THURSDAY,JUNE 20,2002 AT 7:30 P.M.
A public hearing will be held on the following list of potential legislative items for the 2002 North Carolina
General Assembly Session:
♦ Cigarette Tax Increase
♦ Alcohol Tax Increase
♦ Closing of Tax Loopholes
♦ Local School System Utility Costs
♦ Local Revenue Options
♦ State Reimbursements to Local Governments
♦ Article 44 Sales Tax&Additional Half-Cent Sales Tax
♦ Billboard Advertisements on Interstate 40
♦ Funding for Rural Planning Organizations
♦ Unpaved Roads in Post-1975 Subdivisions
♦ County Financial Responsibility for Troubled Children
♦ Criminal Justice Partnership Funding
♦ Dispute Settlement Centers Funding
♦ Mental Health Reform Funding and De-institutionalization Costs
♦ In-Home Services for Seniors Funding
♦ Reform of Medical Prescription System
♦ Smart Start Funding
♦ Funding for UNC Pharmacy School and Dental Clinic
♦ Funding for NC Poison Control Center
♦ Bottle Deposit Legislation
♦ Advance Scrap Tire Disposal Tax
♦ Advance Fee for Cathode Ray Tube Recycling
♦ White Goods Recycling
♦ Reduced Class Size and Associated Need for Capital and Other Funding
♦ "More at Four"and Associated Need for Capital and Other Funding
♦ Funding for UNC School of Government
♦ ABC System Changes
♦ Soil and Water Shared Employee Funding
♦ Utility Eminent Domain
♦ Local Government Property Transfers
♦ Annexation&Local Planning and Revenue Option Incentives to Control Growth
♦ Funding Authority for Bikeways and Trails
The Orange County Board of Commissioners welcomes all comments on these and any other items as may
be introduced or addressed at the public hearing. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the
Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill beginning at 7:30 p.m. If you need additional information,
please call Greg Wilder at 245-2314 or visit Orange County's website at www.co.oranp-e.nc.us and click on
Hot Topics.
NORTH CAROLINA
RESOLUTION REGARDING
ORANGE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE MATTERS
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Orange County that the Board hereby requests the Senators and
Representatives representing Orange County to introduce and
support the following legislative matter:
1 . AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF
ORANGE UNDER G.S. §136-71 . 12 TO FUND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
BIKEWAYS AND TRAILS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY (Exhibit A) ;
Upon motion of Commissioner , seconded by
Commissioner the foregoing resolution was adopted
this the day of , 2002 .
I, Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners
for the County of Orange, North Carolina, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that
the foregoing is a true copy of so much of the proceedings of
said Board at a meeting held on 2002 as relates
in any way to the adoption of the foregoing and that said
proceedings are recorded in Minute Book No. of the minutes
of said Board.
WITNESS my hand and the seal of said County, this day
of 2002 .
Clerk to the Board of Commissioners
EXHIBIT A
A LOCAL BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF
ORANGE UNDER G.S. §136-71.12 TO FUND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
BIKEWAYS AND TRAILS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. §136-71.12 reads as rewritten:
§ 136-11.12. Funds
The General Assembly hereby authorizes the Department to include needed
funds for the program in its annual budgets for fiscal years after June 30, 1975,
subject to the approval of the General Assembly.
The Department is authorized to spend any federal, State, local or private funds
available to the Department and designated for the accomplishment of this Article.
Cities, towns, and counties may use any funds available.
Section 2. This act applies to the County of Orange only.
Section 3. This act is effective upon ratification.
EXHIBIT A
Summary:
Local legislation authorizing county to fund bikeways and trails
Orange County and the Cities of Carrboro and Chapel Hill have adopted
comprehensive plans to provide trails and greenways through the County and the
Cities. These plans were adopted in part as an alternative transportation system.
The Cities of Carrboro and Chapel Hill may currently use North Carolina Statute
§136-71.6, to provide bikeways in the Cities. The County is in need of the
requested legislation to provide bikeways in the County which can be linked with
bikeways, trails and greenways in the Cities.
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NORTH CAROLINA
RESOLUTION REGARDING
ORANGE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE MATTERS
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Orange County that the Board hereby requests the Senators and
Representatives representing Orange County to take the following
position on legislation regarding the following matters:
REVENUES
1) Support an increase in the cigarette tax with a portion
of the new revenues being dedicated as a funding source
for the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund and for the
creation of regional processing centers to create value-
added products and help promote farm options;
2) Support an increase in the alcohol tax with a portion of
the new revenues being dedicated for mental health and
substance abuse rehabilitation treatment programs;
3) Support balancing the State of North Carolina budget by
closing tax loopholes, including ending the sales-tax cap
on boats, planes, and railway cars, doing away with a
sales-tax cap on business machinery, repealing a tax
credit for cigarettes manufactured in North Carolina but
sold overseas, and eliminating an interest expense
deduction for banks;
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4) Support legislation to reinstitute State funding of
local school system utility costs;
5) Support legislation to allow all counties to enact
various revenue options, with optional local referenda,
that have already been authorized for counties in other
parts of the State, including real estate transfer taxes,
impact taxes for school facilities and other
infrastructure, -, prepared meals taxes and occupancy taxes;
6) Support the North Carolina Association of County
Commissioners (NCACC) and North Carolina League of
Municipalities (NCLM) positions regarding state
government reimbursements to local governments;
7) Support NCACC' s position regarding the Article 44 Sales
Tax and an additional half-cent sales tax to replace the
current state reimbursements to local governments;
TRANSPORTATION
8) Support establishing a permanent prohibition on billboard
advertisements along Interstate 40 [S 1098 (2001) 1 ;
9) Support funding for the establishment and implementation
of Rural Transportation Planning Organizations throughout
the State;
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10) Support legislation providing the North Carolina
Department of Transportation with flexibility statewide
in addressing acceptance and maintenance of post-1975
recorded subdivisions with unpaved roads to address
unintended exclusion from the state-maintained road
system (Examples : 1)Developed subdivisions based on
unrecorded subdivision plats on pre-1975 unrecorded
subdivision plats which plats include publicly dedicated
roads and 2)Unexpected Death of Original Subdivision
Property Owner and Lack of Owner' s Right-of-Way
Dedication Signature on recorded plat) ;
SOCIAL SAFETY NET
11) Support legislation providing that the State is
responsible for providing services to children in need
of residential mental health treatment (Example: S 1469
[1999-20001 ) ;
12) Support adequate funding of the Criminal Justice
Partnership Program (CJPP) and other alternatives to
incarceration programs with the understanding that
diverting these funds is penny-wise and pound-foolish
and would lead to greater costs for the correctional
system as well as the general public;
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13) Support adequate funding for Dispute Settlement Centers
and other similar entities as these resources provide
viable alternatives to the court system and thereby
diminish court costs and the strain on the limited,
already over-burdened judicial system;
14) Support legislation directing that the North Carolina
Department of Health and Human Services put on hold
further efforts regarding mental health reform until 1)
adequate funding is provided to local governments to
address implementation costs and 2) adequate planning
and funding is provided to address the costs which will
be incurred with the de-institutionalization activities
that will certainly occur as an outcome of reform;
15) Support legislation involving programs and funding to
expand the in-home services available to seniors;
16) Support legislation which promotes reform of the medical
prescription system that incorporates provisions
included in the State of Maine system;
17) Support legislation which maintains adequate funding for
Smart Start statewide and ensures that children across
the state can have the opportunities for success in the
same manner as those detailed in the attached Exhibit A
from Orange County Partnership for Young Children;
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18) Oppose cuts in funding to the University of North
Carolina Pharmacy School and related activities;
19) Oppose cuts in funding to the University of North
Carolina Dental Clinic;
20) Oppose cuts in funding to the North Carolina Poison
Control Center which provides immediate life-saving
assistance to families across the state and reduces
costs to the public, the state, and medical institutions
by reducing the public' s need to utilize emergency rooms
and other medical facilities;
SOLID WASTE
The State of North Carolina has not demonstrated adequate
leadership on recycling efforts. It has failed to
implement strategies and incentives to encourage recycling
and also has not instituted penalties sufficient to ensure
that recycling opportunities are pursued. This deficiency
could begin to be reversed as follows:
21) Support bottle deposit legislation to be applied to any
liquids bottled for human beverage consumption including
soda, juice, beer, milk, wine, tea, water, and whiskey;
22) Support legislation making permanent the existing 2%
advance disposal tax for scrap tires as detailed in the
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attached resolution (Exhibit B) approved by the Orange
County Board of Commissioners on June 4, 2002 ;
23) Support legislation requiring an advance recycling fee
(ARF) and a subsequent ban on landfilling or
incineration of televisions, computer monitors and other
devices using a cathode ray tube (CRT) to display an
image on a screen;
24) Support legislation that promotes and supports the
recycling and disposal of white goods;
EDUCATION
Orange County believes that cosmetic political initiatives
regarding education that create unfunded mandates for local
governments should be opposed. Examples of these include:
25) Legislation which seeks to reduce class size if the
State does not include the necessary funding (capital
and otherwise) and thereby creates additional pressures
on local school systems for construction of new and
expanded school facilities and for additional support
staff;
26) Legislation that expands programs such as "More at Four"
that obligate local school systems, space if the State
does not include the necessary funding (capital and
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otherwise) and thereby creates additional pressures on
local school systems for construction of new and
expanded school facilities and for support staff;
27) Legislation cutting or reducing funding and other
support to the UNC School of Government (Institute of
Government) which has the effect of reducing its
effectiveness in assisting local governments in finance,
planning, and the many other areas where local
governments across the state depend on its breadth of
knowledge;
OTHER
28) Oppose legislation involving changes to the Alcohol
Beverage Control (ABC) system unless local ABC Boards
and local governments are included in discussion and
formulation of proposed changes and that any changes
"hold harmless" the services and funds provided to local
governments under the current system;
29) Support legislation that continues the current level of
State funding for all existing positions in County Soil
and Water Conservation offices;
30) Support legislation requiring county commissioner
approval for any proposed exercise of eminent domain
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power by any utility operating in a deregulated
environment;
31) Support legislation enabling process free, gratuitous
transfers of equipment and supplies from one unit of
local government to another during emergencies/natural
disasters;
32) Support amending the annexation laws to require
consultation with counties, including joint city-county
public hearings, on any proposed annexation, and to
provide planning and revenue option incentives to county
and municipal governments that enter into cooperative
planning agreements;
Upon motion of Commissioner seconded by
Commissioner the foregoing resolution was adopted
this the day of , 2002 .
I, Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners
for the County of Orange, North Carolina, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that
the foregoing is a true copy of so much of the proceedings of
said Board at a meeting held on 2002 as relates
in any way to the adoption of the foregoing and that said
proceedings are recorded in Minute Book No. of the minutes
of said Board.
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WITNESS my hand and the seal of said County, this
day of 2002 .
Clerk to the Board of Commissioners
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Mai 20 02 01 : 25p Orange Count.4 Partnership 1 919 933 1008 p. l
Orange County Partnership for Young Children
1829 E.Franklin Street,Suite 120o-B
Chapel Hill,NC 27514
919-967-gogi mo 7 phone
919-933-looS 7 fax
OCPYC BOARD MEMBERS
Please distribute this fax to the following people in your agency:
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON
Orange County Cooperative Extension Fletcher Barber
Chapel Hill Town Council Flicka Bateman
Chapel Hill/Carrboro Head Start Terry Blanton
University of North Carolina Harriet Boone
Orange County Schools Randy Bridges
Attorney Jay Bryan
Dept. of Social Services Nancy Coston
UNC School of Public Health Anita Farel
Vietri, Inc. Susan Gravely
Orange County Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis
University of North Carolina Jill V. Hamm
Chapel of the Cross Martha Hart
Central Carolina Bank Ted Laws
Orange County Manager John Link
Chapel Hill Training Outreach Mike Mathers
OPC Mental Health Tom Maynard
Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools Neil Pedersen
Division of Speech and Hearing Sharon Ringwalt
Child Care Services Association Sue Russell
Chapel Hill Cooperative Preschool Kate Sanford
Orange County Family Day Care Association Margaret Shelton
Orange County Public Library Brenda Stephens
Orange County Health Department Rosemary Summers
DATE: May 20, 2001
TO: OCPYC Board Members
FROM: Michele Rivest
RE: N&O article on Smart Start
Here is the response by the N. C.Partnership for Children to the Sunday N&O article on
Smart Start. If you have any questions about this, or need to see a copy of the article,please
let me know. Thanks. Michele
May 20 02 01 : 25p Orange County Partnership 1 919 933 1008 p- 2
Smart Start
Accountable and Working for All of North Carolina's Children and Families
Response to May 19, 2002 News and Observer article
Smart Start is a Success
• The article confirms that Smart Start's "...accomplishments speak for themselves...children
enrolled in child care centers heavily involved in Smart Start programs did better in
kindergarten than other children."
• "Over the past decade, Smart Start, the state's early child care system for children under six,
has been hailed as one of the most innovative and ambitious children's programs in the nation.
It is being imitated in 10 other states, has won numerous awards and is now being used as a
blueprint for a bill to launch a national Smart Start initiative. "
1999-2000 Audit Issues
• The audit issues raised in the article occurred over two years a-go and are not representative
of the current situation. The current facts are:
--in the 2000-01 audit, the NC Partnership for Children will have one audit finding which is
partially resolved and that finding should be resolved in the current year;
--of the 29 partnerships (out of 81)with audit findings in the year ended June 30, 2000,
48% were start-up partnerships in their second year of operation. Administrative
findings such as lack of formal policies and procedures and insufficient documentation
are not unusual for organizations in their early years. The goal is for all Smart Start
partnerships to have no audit findings and we are on track to reach this goal.
• 23 of the 30 partnerships that did not spend at least 30% of their funds on child care subsidies
for the year ended June 30, 2000 did not have a waiting list for subsidized child care— making
it difficult to provide subsidy to children through the local DSS if there are no families
requesting assistance. Smart Start routinely spends more than 40% statewide on child care
subsidies— far exceeding the required 30%.
Current Status
• Over the last two years, the NC Partnership for Children has:
—instituted a formal financial monitoring and technical assistance section;
—developed a formal evaluation system that requires local partnerships to meet statewide
minimum standards in financial and program areas;
--implemented penalties when requirements and policies are not met.
• Smart Start's nonprofit structure is the most effective in allowing communities the flexibility to
respond to the local needs of young children and families.
• Smart Start is one of the most scrutinized programs in state history and fair and constructive
feedback is welcomed. Annual financial audits, performance audits and on-going evaluations
by the nation's leading early childhood evaluator have determined that children are entering
school better prepared because of Smart Start services and state and local partnerships have
improved their administration functions.
NC Partnership for Children, 5-19-02
North Carolina Partnership for Children
m Response to Statements in News and Observer May 19, 2002 Article regarding Smart Start
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What the article said What the article didn't say
In its latest audit, Smart Start's parent organization The"latest audit"referred to in the article for the North Carolina Partnership for
was cited for overdrawing its bank accounts by Children(NCPC) is for the FY99-00(2 YEARS AGO.) Since that time the accounting
W $5.5 million,failing to.spend$4.4 million in and management of NCPC has been completely restructured.
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° .subsidies to help parents pay for child care, and --Although the audit for the year ended June 30, 2001 has not yet been released,the
not adequately monitoring the$216 million State Auditor has confirmed that it will have only one finding acid it is"partially
CV) program it oversees. resolved."This last remaining finding should be resolved during the current fiscal year.
--The lack of availability of current NCPC audit results is evidence of the delay in
receiving audit reports. Due to this delay it oven takes two audit reports to ensure a
finding is resolved since two fiscal years have passed by the time the audit report for the
first year is received.
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C According to the latest round of audits--for the Once again the audits referred to in the article are for the year ended June 30,2000(2
� fiscal year ending in 2000--more than half the YEARS AGO). The facts arc:
M partnerships either could not get a clean audit or --Only 29(NOT 31 as noted in the article) of 81 local partnerships had any audit
n failed to.spend a third of'their money on child-care findings at all and 14 of those were partnerships who had only been in operation for 2
subsidies - which is required by law. years;
o --No audit findings is the goal for all partnerships but administrative audit findings
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are typical in start-up operations. We have been told by the State Auditor's Office that
during the start up years of other statewide organizations such as the community college
M system, similar types of audit findings were found.
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Q ,I review of the audits found that 92 percent of the There has been significant improvement in the local partnership audits. Of the 81
in
N partnerships had financial problems in the first two partnerships, 29 had audit findings for the year ended June 30,.2000(2 YEARS AGO).
.� years q f Smart Start. By 1997, that percentage fell Of these 29 partnerships, 14 were only in their second year of operation—a poi nt that
° to 38 percent of 48 partnerships. Mr. Campbell fails to mention when he says there has not been satisfactory
CU The latest review shows problems in more than a improvement.
O . third of the partnerships—not a satisfactory
a improvement, Campbell said
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5/20/2002 1
North Carolina Partnership for Children
v Response to Statements in News and Observer May 19, 2002 Article regarding Smart Start
Q
What the article said What the article didn't say
Auditors said 30 partnerships representing 37 This information is again relative to the year ended June 30, 2000 (2 YEARS AGO).
CD counties did not spend$4.4 million in child-care -- 23 of the 30 local partnerships that did not spend the required amount on subsidy
° subsidies that year. Most of the subsidy money was had NO WAITING LIST during the last half of that fiscal year—making it extremely
M funneled through local departments of social difficult to provide subsidy to children through the local DSS if all children requesting
m services, Ponder said, many of'which simply failed assistance have been served;
m to.spend the money. --During this same year, Smart Start partnerships statewide spent 42%of their funds
m on child care subsidies—far exceeding the required 30%.
Beaufort County Partnership ordered thousands of NCPC has provided local partnerships with guidelines that prohibit prepayment of
N dollars'worth of materials day-care centers. By expenses at year-end. Currently,any partnership that prepays for goods and services
mid-June, the goods hadn't been delivered, and she are penalized and forced to repay the expenses.
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aced the prospect o havin to return the
J p p of having money to
M the slate.
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Many local partnerships have been run by people Over the past two years,NCPC has significantly increased its capacity to provide
3 with little experience at operating a nonprofit monitoring of and technical assistance and training to the partnerships. In August 2000,
U agency. For years, Campbell has been telling the a financial services unit was formed with the primary functions of providing monitoring,
NCPC to offer them more assistance and training technical assistance and training to the partnerships. As a result,over 36 financial
C in how to follow bidding laivs and properly training sessions have been provided and 40 financial monitoring visits have been
M
L account for their money. performed.
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By now that assistance should be excellent, he said, It is important to note that in NCPC's audit report for the year ended June 30, 2001 the
and it is not. "It is improving,"Campbell said. "But State Auditor's Office has indicated there are no findings related to NCPC's ability to
Q I don't know 1 would classify it as adequate." provide training and technical assistance to local partnerships.
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5120/2002 2
North Carolina Partnership for Children
u, Response to Statements in News and Observer May 19, 2002 Article regarding Smart Start
What the article said What the article didn't say
Since 1993, the percentage of North Carolina It is difficult to understand how Mr. Campbell intends to determine whether Smart Start
child-care centers with a high-quality rating has is achieving results in a performance audit that,through his own admission,will not
increased from 20 percent to 66percent. Because look at any programmatic or educational outcomes.
0 of Smart.Start, thousands of children receive The performance audit team,consisting of four frill-time auditors,has been at work for
m health screenings, thousands of their parents almost eight months looking at non-programmatic areas and as of this date NCPC has
m benefit from parenting classes. been made aware of no findings.
m
--What Campbell said he would like to know is Mr. Campbell questions whether there has been improvement in the children entering
/whether that record could be better. His public school. The answer to that is a resounding YES,as evidenced by multiple studies
.. performance audit, due in a few months, will try performed by the Frank Porter Graham Institute,a nationally-recognized expert in the
to answer that Because of budget cuts, however, field of early care and education evaluation.
SL it won't assess Smart Starts educational
t components.
L -2"1 can show you we ended up having this many
C day-care slots or we did this many dental exams,"
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L he said. "But 1 think the bigger picture is... Have
a. we seen any improvement in the children that are
coming into our public education programs?"
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5/20/2002 3
51`4 8
RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT CONTINUATION OF EXISTING SCRAP TIRE ADVANCE
DISPOSAL FEE AND TO REMOVE THE SUNSET PROVISION THAT WILL REDUCE THE FEE
FROM 2% TO 1% EFFECTIVE JUNE 30, 2002
WHEREAS, the 2%Advance Disposal Fee is the central component of the North Carolina State.
Scrap Tire Program;
WHEREAS, this is one of the few areas in recycling and in promotion of solid waste reduction
where the state of North Carolina has actively demonstrated leadership and vision; and
WHEREAS, the program has been highly effective here in Orange County and throughout the
state;
WHEREAS, the fee has previously been 1% and was found to be inadequate to fund the essential
programs related to managing scrap tires;
WHEREAS, the fee supports abatement of nuisance tire collection sites and has been utilized here
in Orange County for that very purpose;
WHEREAS, the fee supports and encourages scrap tire recycling activities; and
WHEREAS, the fee directly contributes to the significant reduction in illegal dumping of scrap tires
across the state by providing and fully funding a program that efficiently and effectively manages
this waste material.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Orange County Commissioners that the
Board fully supports the continuation of the 2% advance disposal fee and urges the legislature to
make the existing Scrap Tire Disposal Program permanent.
This, the 4th day of June, 2002.
Barry Jacobs, i
Orange Co B and Count Commissioners
DRAFT
Senator Howard Lee
Senator Ellie Kinnaird
Representative Joe Hackney
Representative Verla Insko
Representative Cary Allred
Representative Gordon Allen
Dear Senators and Representatives:
We write first to express Orange County's appreciation for your past support and
assistance with legislative initiatives of importance to the Orange Board of
Commissioners. We also are forwarding to you the attached documents detailing
the Board of Commissioners' legislative priorities for the 2002 General Assembly
short session.
In past years, Orange County has definitely benefited from your assistance with
several legislative pursuits. Several areas of recent note include:
1) The 2001 approval of new hunting safety provisions to prohibit hunting
with firearms while under the influence of alcohol and other impairing
substances, and to also prohibit hunting near public buildings in Orange
County;
2) Amendments to the Homestead Exemption during 2001;
3) The efforts in 2000 to obtain legislative authority to limit open burning in
the County;
4) The pursuit of refinements to the County's Anti-Discrimination
Ordinance during 2001;
5) The initiative to establish Health Care as a Fundamental Right of all
North Carolinians;
6) The improvement of quality of care at long term care facilities;
7) The efforts to address farmer-to-farmer transfers of property during
2001.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners appreciates the efforts and energy
you've expended in support of these and other initiatives, and trusts that the
2002 legislative session will afford ample opportunities to further that support.
The documents attached address our Board's positions on issues of importance
to our citizens regarding state and local revenues, solid waste/recycling, social
programs (particularly mental health), and other areas.
On behalf of the Board, I look forward to your support of these items and will be
glad to provide any additional information necessary. Any of the Commissioners
can be reached through the Clerk to the Board's office in Hillsborough at (919)
245-2130. Our new Clerk as of July 1, 2002 is Donna Baker.
DRAFT
Best,
Barry Jacobs, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners
Attachments
Cc: Orange County Board of Commissioners
County Manager John Link
County Attorney Geof Gledhill