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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 02-03-2026; 6-b - Update to Interlocal Agreements between County and Towns on Tax Collection 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 3, 2026 Action Agenda Item No. 6-b SUBJECT: Update to Interlocal Agreements between County and Towns on Tax Collection DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Current Interlocal Agreement and Nancy Freeman, 919-245-2735 Addendum with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough PowerPoint Presentation PURPOSE: To: 1) Receive information on the current interlocal agreement (ILA) between Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough for municipal tax collection charges and the potential need for an update to the agreement; 2) Consider authorizing the Tax Administrator and Budget Director to begin discussions with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough on the current ILA and potential actions to meet the County's costs related to billing and collecting taxes for the municipalities; and 3) Consider authorizing the Tax Administrator and Budget Director to initiate discussions with the cities of Durham and Mebane based on pending expiration of those respective tax collections agreements. BACKGROUND: In 1979 the County entered into an agreement with Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough whereby the Orange County Tax Collector would, on behalf of the Towns, bill and collect their tax levies in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 160A-461. In 2006 the agreement was updated, and the municipal tax collection rate was set at 0.5% of the annual amount collected for each of the towns. The expiration was set not to exceed 99 years from July 1, 2006. The agreement requires unanimous agreement from all three towns to make amendments and requires a one-year notice for termination. In 2009, an addendum was approved by all parties that, in addition to the 0.5% tax collection rate, updated the agreement to add an agreed-upon annual surcharge for new software installed for the purpose of tax ownership, billing, and collection. However, the annual surcharge addendum has not been utilized to supplement revenue for the County. Research by Tax Office staff indicates that the current 0.5% municipal tax collection rate is below the state average and does not sufficiently sustain the costs incurred by the County to bill and collect municipal taxes, including software costs. 2 The Tax Office proposes the following plan to the realize the revenue originally envisioned by the annual software surcharge: 1) Meet with the towns staffs to discuss the current ILA and potential actions to meet the County's costs related to billing and collecting taxes for the towns. 2) Discussion would include the possibility of an amendment to the current ILA to for a proposed increase of the fee as of July 1, 2026 and the possibility of replacing the current joint ILA with separate ILAs that follow a shorter expiration schedule. The County separately has agreements with the cities of Durham and Mebane that are both scheduled to expire on June 30, 2026. The Tax Office proposes to initiate discussions with both jurisdictions to address the pending expirations and also in order to potentially standardize the fee schedule and expiration schedule between all of the municipal collection ILAs. The Tax Assessment Work Group has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to retain a consultant to make recommendations on enhancements to the Assessment Division of the Tax Office. These enhancements will be targeted to ensure a more equitable and better communicated revaluation in 2029. The County will be able to utilize additional municipal funding to fund the recommendations made by the consultant and other tax office divisions enhancements. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There would be an increase in revenue generated from the proposed amendment to the current ILA. The revenue accrued through the new ILAs could be used to fund recommended improvements to the Tax Office beginning in FY 2026-27. The County received $410,000 in FY 2024-2025 from the Towns based on a 0.5% tax collection fee. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GOAL 6: DIVERSE AND VIBRANT ECONOMY OBJECTIVE 3. Streamline and improve County administrative processes to facilitate efficient and effective interactions between residents, businesses, and County departments. OBJECTIVE 5. Increase access to and awareness of information and assistance available to residents and businesses through clear communication and responsive service delivery. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: 1) receive the information regarding the current interlocal agreement (ILA) between Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough for municipal tax collection; 2) authorize the Tax Administrator and Budget Director to begin discussions with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough on the current ILA and potential actions to meet the County's costs related to billing and collecting taxes for the municipalities. The discussions would include: o the possibility of an amendment to the current ILA for a proposed increase of the fee as of July 1, 2026; and o the possibility of replacing the current joint ILA with separate ILAs that follow a shorter expiration schedule; 3) direct the Tax Office and Budget Director to report back to the Board after discussions with the three towns; and 4) authorize the Tax Administrator and Budget Director to initiate discussions with the cities of Durham and Mebane, and with the pending expiration of those respective agreements, direct staff to present the Board with proposed amendments extending the agreements or with new ILAs with the two jurisdictions. 3 NORTH CAROLINA ORANGE COUNTY This AGREEMENT,made and entered this the,3 day of 2006,by and among Orange County(hereinafter referred to Co ty), Town of Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hill, and Town of Hillsborough (hereinafter individually and collectively referred to as Town or Towns), to provide for centralized and systemized collection of property taxes in Orange County which will benefit the units of government contracting both in cost and information services, the parties to this agreement,pursuant to the authority contained in Article 20, of Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Staiutes contract and agree as follows: I. The County shall perform for itself and each of the Towns all of the tax collection functions prescribed in Subchapter U of Chapter 105 of the North Carolina General Statutes (hereinafter referred to as the Machinery Act). This activity shall hereinafter be referred to as the joint tax collection system. II. Effective July 1, 1978,the County tax collector began the joint venture as tax collector for the County and each Town that is a party to this agreement under the original interlocal agreement signed in 1979. Reference in this agreement of"tax collector" shall hereinafter refer to the County tax collector. The tax collector and any deputy tax collectors shall be appointed by the County Board of Commissioners. III. Effective with the tax levy for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter so long as this contract is in effect, and not to exceed 99 years, The governing bodies of the County and the Towns shall adopt an order pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §105- 321 (b) directing the tax collector to collect the taxes charged in the tax records and receipts. A copy 4 of this order, along with the tax receipts, shall be delivered to the tax collector. Thereafter,the tax collector shall cause the preparation of the tax "Scroll"and shall deliver a copy thereof to each of the TOWNS. The Annual Settlement of the tax collector as detailed in Sections 105-352 and 105-373 of the North Carolina General Statutes shall be made to the governing body of the County. IV. Except as expressly provided herein The Orange County Board of Commissioners shall have the sole and absolute authority to make any and all elections, determinations and decisions for the County and the Towns that the governing bodies of the County and each Town are authorized to make pursuant to Articles 21, 26, 27 and 28 of Chapter 105 of the North Carolina General Statutes. V. When taxes are paid in full,tax receipts will be marked paid as a verification of the transaction.Partial payments may be made and partial payment receipts shall be issued and forwarded to the taxpayer by the tax collector. Any such partial payment shall be identified where appropriate as to a particular parcel or tract of land and credited as prescribed by law as to collection expense, interest,penalty and principal and to each governing body proportionally. Each town shall be credited by the tax collector with that portion of the payment received that bears the same relationship to the total amount received as the amount of taxes owed to the Town for the property bears to the total amount of taxes owed for the property. All tax payments received by the Towns shall be deposited in an account designated by the County. Processed information shall be forwarded to the County tax collector. VI. All tax collections that are made pursuant to the joint tax collection system shall be deposited daily in accounts specified by the County Finance Officer. At or before 1:00PM of the work day following 5 the collection deposit date the County Finance Office will cause each governmental unit's share of that day's deposits to be transferred to an account as designated by the Finance Officer of each Town. The share of each unit shall be determined by a computer distribution of all payments. Daily transfer information will be provided to Carrboro,Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough by telephone call from the County Finance Office at or before 12:00 PM on the date of transfer. The County Finance Officer will provide monthly reports with detailed payment and distribution information to the Finance Officer of each governmental unit. Additionally,monthly reports will be provided which include a listing of any changes to the levy such as discoveries and taxes released, refunded, compromised,or in any way affected by actions of the County Board of Commissioners, Tax Collector or Assessor. The County's annual audit will include an audit of the tax collection system . Upon completion of such audit the County will provide each Town with a separate report containing the Town's tax levy and collection information to include the auditor's opinion.Any special audit requests shall be directed to the County Finance Officer and shall be paid for by the requesting unit through a supplemental billing directed by the County to the requesting unit. The County will bill each Town quarterly for its services in the operation of the joint tax collections system. This quarterly billing for each town will be computed at a rate of 5110 (one half) of 1% of the total taxes collected for each respective Town. Tax collections will be based on the monthly tax levy and collection information provided to the Towns as mentioned above. This 6 change in charge of collection will take place no earlier than July 1,2007. Notification of this change will be given by January 2007. The current formula in place will remain until such change is instituted. The Towns will remit payment to Orange County within 30 days of receipt of the bill from the County. To the extent that the annual financial tax audits reveal that actual year-end collections are different from calculated costs previously billed by the County, adjustments will be made either by refund or invoice for final payment no later than 45 days following the close of the fiscal year end. Additionally the Towns agree to a surcharge to be credited toward the purchase and yearly maintenance of a comprehensive software package to support and maintain the collection of revenues due. The surcharge will be determined by staff from all jurisdictions no later than November 30th of each year and approved by the manager of each jurisdiction for their levied surcharge. The surcharge will be a calculated based on agreed formula. VII. Collection of all delinquent taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the County. The County will use the same diligence and effort to collect taxes owed to the Towns as it does to collect taxes owed to the County. The County may elect to buy property at foreclosure on the basis of sound business considerations.Nothing in this section or agreement requires the County to purchase property at foreclosure or otherwise in situations where the market value of the property does not exceed the cost of extinguishing all liens on the property at the time of sale. VIR. Additionally, the County agrees under NCGS 153A-156 to handle the collection and auditing of all short term lease or rentals,known. 7 as Gross Receipt Tax,within the County area. This includes all three Towns, at no cost to the Towns. IX. This agreement may be terminated at the conclusion of any fiscal year. The governmental unit wishing to terminate the agreement may do so only after giving each other unit of government twelve months written notice of its decision to do so. X. This agreement shall become effective when properly executed by all parties pursuant to resolutions adopted by the governing boards of each. This agreement may be amended pursuant to a resolution properly executed by all parties and adopted by the governing board of each party. The parties hereto have caused this agreement to be executed in accordance with resolutions of their respective 0 sai t,�♦� governing bodies,this the 3 day of 92006. t s COUNTY OF ORANGE *�<<� gets���� BY: J ATTEST: CLERK 'INN�u��ii r n r rrrrrry����ry' �' CR ,� �ry ``� ••'' ••••' �' TOWN OF CARRBORO cQIRPOEp ; 1911 • BY: MAYOR Q ......••• •. ��� 77/ '��<<-4 fllliCl u%%��` LERK TOWN OF C EL EM BY: TOWN MANAGER `'nK ATTEST: 8 OWN OF , c RK CyAPE��` TOWN OF HILLS OUGH B M A Y rIV AT ST: �� Town �+ CLERK i _ y Hal ` CARot% This contract has been preaudited in the manner required by Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. Ken Chavious, Orange County Finance Officer L.Bingham Roenigk, Town of born Finance Officer Kay Jo on, Town of Chapel Hill Finance Officer Greg Siler, Town of Hillsborough Finance Officer 0811412008 Tax Collections Interlocal Agreement Work(90up Options for Recouping Cost to Collect Taxes Within Town Jurisdictions Current Practice County char es Towns 1/2 of 1%of collections Future Years Projections %of Total 2007 Collections Attributed to FY 2009-10 FY 2010-11 FY 2011-12 FY 2012-13 Each Entity Assumes annual increase in levy of 2.5%; 118,142,453 Assumptions RMV levy will revert to State July 1,2011 (2007 Collections"2.5%annual increase Of the total levy value,the following values are attributed to the individual jurisdictions: Calculation in levy)* 1/2 of 1% Town of Cha el Hill 28,093,124 25.2% $143,977 $147,489 $132,437 $154,512 Town of Carrboro 10,190,123 9.2% $52,224 $53,498 $51,121 $56,046 Town of Hillsborough 3,839,842 3.5% $19,679 $20,159 $19,267 $21,119 City of Mebane 1 0.0% Total Revenue to Orange County, $215,881 $221,146 $202,824 $231,677 ADDENDUM TO THE INTER-LOCAL AGREEMENT FOR TAX COLLECTIONS This is an ADDENDUM to the Inter-local Agreement for Tax Collections entered into on July 3, 2006, by Orange County (referred to as "County"), the Town of Carrboro, the Town of Chapel Hill, and the Town of Hillsborough (individually and collectively referred to as "Town" or "Towns"). This ADDENDUM sets forth the terms and conditions for the shared costs between the County and the Towns for the purchase and yearly maintenance costs of a centralized and systemized tax billing and collection software system for the Joint Tax Collection System. The parties to this Addendum, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 20, of Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes, this the Z0 day of October, 2009, do hereby agree as follows: WHEREAS, on July 3, 2006, the County and the Towns entered into an Inter-local Agreement to provide for centralized and systemized collection of property taxes in Orange County benefiting the units of government contracting both in costs and information services; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Article VI of the Inter-Local Agreement, the Towns agreed to pay a surcharge to be credited toward the purchase and yearly maintenance of a comprehensive software package to support and maintain the collection of tax revenues due to the Towns; and WHEREAS, the County has identified and secured funding for the first installment of the acquisition and installation of comprehensive billing and collections software that will support and maintain the collection of tax revenues; and WHEREAS, it is anticipated that the County will seek and acquire additional financing during fiscal year 2010-11, with repayment to begin in fiscal year 2011-12; and WHEREAS, the surcharge collected will used for acquisition and installation of the comprehensive tax billing and collection portion of the software acquisition calculated based upon an formula agreed upon by the parties (see attachment A), and a yearly support and maintenance cost which is to be determined by staff from all jurisdictions no later than November 301h of each year and approved by the Manager of each jurisdiction. NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and of the following mutual promises, covenants, and conditions, The County of Orange, the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough agree as follows: I. The County Responsibility: a. The County will provide the initial funding for the acquisition of the comprehensive tax billing and collection software system and all related requirements; the total cost for the acquisition and installation of the software shall not exceed $2.5 million. The County will acquire the financing for both the County and the Towns' portion of the cost of the acquisition and installation of the tax billing and collection software and related requirements. b. The County will finance the cost of the tax billing and collection software system in two installments: the first financing installment shall be for $1.5 million over a 64 month period; and the second financing installment, shall occur during fiscal year 2010-2011, for the balance needed to complete the project not to exceed $1 million and financed for a period of 54 to 64 months. c. The County will bill the Towns for their portion of the cost of the acquisition and installation of the software in two yearly installments beginning in fiscal year 2010-2011. d. The County will bill the Towns beginning in fiscal year 2010, and every year thereafter. On June 30th the County will bill the Towns for an interest and principal payment. On November 30th of the same year the County will bill the Towns for an interest only payment. The County will bill the Towns for the cost software system until the Towns' portion of the costs is paid in full. 2. The Towns Responsibilities: a. The Towns will pay the County a surcharge toward the purchase and yearly maintenance of the comprehensive software package to support and maintain the collection of tax revenues due to the Towns. b. Each Town will repay the County their portion of the cost of the acquisition and installation of the tax billing and collection software based upon a formula agreed upon by the parties (see attachment A). c. Each Town will repay the County in two yearly payments: on or by July 31 st of each year the Towns will pay the County a principal and interest payment and on or by December 3 1" of each year, the Town will pay an interest only payment, beginning July 31, 2010; d. Each Town will pay a yearly support and maintenance cost which will be determined by staff from all jurisdictions no later than November 301h of each year and approved by the Manager of each jurisdiction. This cost will be in addition to the cost of acquisition and installation of the software. 3. The Parties Responsibilities: a. Each party within this ADDENDUM agrees that requested customization of reports or software will be the sole financial responsibility of the requesting entity. oy 4. Each year the Towns and County will convene prior to November 15th to review prior year expenditures and coming year estimates for expenditures in preparing cost projections for the yearly maintenance costs for the next fiscal. This information will then be brought forward to each jurisdiction's review. This ADDENDUM shall become effective when properly executed by all parties pursuant to Resolutions adopted by the governing board of each. The parties hereto have caused this ADDENDUM to be execd in accor ance with resolutions of their respective governing bodies this the�_day of , 2009. COUNTY O NGE 4 L a,.. Valerie P. Foush Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners ATTEST• � 0 Donni Baker, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners TOWN OF CARRBORO BY: - Mark Chilton, Mayor s -- ATTEST CLERK TOWN OF E L �0W t ® _ e L BY: Town M �er, hapel Hill ATTEST: CLERK 13 OF I SBOROUGH om Stevens, Mayor ATTEST: y4wwowl tug CLERK This addendum has been preaudited in the manner required by the Local Government Budget And Fiscal Control Act: Gary H e: ge County Finance Officer LC�ti� (� L. Bing Roeni k, o o Carrbo Finance Officer 1 4 -) Io Kenne C. Penn'oyer,Yown of Chapel Hill Finance Officer Greg Siler, Town of Hillsborough Finance Officer 14 t ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Interlocal —Agreement Countyand Towns Taxation Collection Board of Commissioners Business Meeting Fe 2026 15 Purpose The Tax Office will : 1 . Provide information on the current interlocal agreement (ILA) between Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough for municipal tax collection charges and the potential need for an update to the agreement. 2. Request that the Board consider authorizing the Tax Administrator and Budget Director to begin discussions with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough on the current ILA and potential actions to meet the County's costs related to billing and collecting taxes for the municipalities. ORANGE COUNTY 2 NORTH CAROLINA 16 Current Joint ILA for Municipal Tax Collection Charges • Original Interlocal Agreement made in 1978 in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 160A-461 to collect taxes for Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough. • Updated in 2006 — single agreement that included all three towns. • Municipal tax collection rate set at 0.5% of the annual amount collected for each of the towns with an expiration of agreement set not to exceed 99 years from July 1 , 2006. • Agreement requires unanimous approval from all three towns and County to make amendments and requires a one-year notice for termination. — Amendment to the current agreement is an option to make changes to take effect for FY 2027. • In 2009, an addendum was approved to add an annual surcharge for new software installed for the purpose of tax ownership, billing, and collection. This Annual surcharge addendum has not been utilized to supplement revenue for the County. f. - ORANGE COUNTY 3 NORTH CAROLINA 17 Annual Software Surcharge • Since 2010, annual software costs have averaged $ 160,000 • Range of annual costs is from $48,000 to $224,000 • Agreed-upon method to calculate surcharge used the number of bills created annually, allocated by location in unincorporated County or in each municipality to create a percentage of the annual software charges: &Q&L&nnual DistribMjknPercentages Carrboro 5.2% Chapel Hill 13% Hillsborough 3.7% Durham 0.05% Mebane 1 .6% Orange County 76.5% f. - ORANGE COUNTY 4 NORTH CAROLINA 18 Calculated Annual Software Surcharge • The estimated amounts for each municipality and the County from 2010 to 2025 are shown in the chart below. These amounts were calculated using the agreed-upon method for calculating surcharges from 2009. Carrboro $139,739 • Total received from the Chapel Hill $343,898 Hillsborough $82,098 municipalities over this Durham $1 ,192 time period would have Mebane $15,611 been $582,539. Orange County $1 ,976,802 Total $2,559,341 f. - ORANGE COUNTY 5 NORTH CAROLINA 19 KVO • History: Municipal Fee for Tax Collection Revenue Municipal Fee for Collections $450,000.00 $400,000.00 • County received $410,000 in $350,000.00 FY 2025 $300,000.00 $250,000.00 $200,000.00 • Increase from 2016 to 2025 $100,000.00 $100,000.00 — $12 7,3 7 3 $50,000.00 $0.00 — 4 5% 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 f ORANGE COUNTY 6 NORTH CAROLINA 20 Slide 6 KVO Changed chart to not be a picture. I can pull data automatically from MUNIS cubes but it only goes back to 2016, not 2009. Kirk Vaughn,2026-01-25T15:49:30.078 21 KVO Tax Office Operating Expenses Tax Office Expenditures $6,000,000.00 • Increased by 62% since 2016 $5,000,000.00 • $ 1 ,882,056 increase in annual needs $4,000,000.00 • Operating Expenses have $3,00 °° °° outpaced Municipal Fee $2,000,000.00 Revenue $1,000,000.00 • Municipal Fee covers 7% of Dept Expenses $ °° 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 f ORANGE COUNTY 7 NORTH CAROLINA 22 Slide 7 KVO Same, made chart not picture and made matching format as prior chart. Kirk Vaughn,2026-01-25T15:52:05.119 23 KVO Survey: Fees Charged for Municipal Tax Collection • Tax Office staff surveyed counties In Comparison, Orange's Cost for municipal collection rates, and To Municipalities is the lowest combined results with results of a at 0.5%. Wake County survey. 1.50% 10 2.00% 4 • Twenty-seven counties 0.75% 3 1.00% 3 3.00% 2 • Range from 0.5% to 3.0%. 0.50% 2 1.75% 1 0.85% 1 • Ten counties charge 1 .5% 1.25% 1 Grand IV Median ,, • Average rate 1 .45% Average 1.45 f. - ORANGE COUNTY 8 NORTH CAROLINA 24 Slide 8 KVO I think these could be adjusted. They are both pictures which are ADA issues, they have missing data in #of municipalities (which can be excluded), and they aren't formatted the same. Kirk Vaughn,2026-01-25T15:53:52.037 25 Wake County Fee Increase • Wake County presented to Tax Assessment Workgroup on December 2nd. Kvo • In 2021 went through similar review of its costs to municipalities, which was significantly below peers. • Implemented four-year phase in from FY 2022 through FY 2025 from 0.2% to 0.75%. • Goal was to have Municipal Fees cover 50% of Operating and Revaluation expenses. • Funded enhancements to the office in that four-year window. • Since 2024 revaluation, Wake BOCC committed to a transition from 4-year cycle to 2-year cycle by 2029. ORANGE COUNTY 9 NORTH CAROLINA 26 Slide 9 KVO Added a slide on Wake County, since half the board is in the workgroup. Kirk Vaughn,2026-01-25T16:12:15.695 27 Other Town ILAs , Schedules , and Equity • Tax Office has separate 5-year agreements with Mebane and Durham that will expire June 30, 2026. • Tax Office proposes to begin similar discussions with both jurisdictions with the goal of matching the agreements established with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. • Alignment of schedules and expiration dates and continuing to match fee amounts provides equity in serving our municipalities and simplifies future maintenance. • All Agreements include provision to provide gross receipts collection at no charge. Proposal is to continue that practice. f ORANGE COUNTY 10 NORTH CAROLINA 28 Tax Office Plan The Tax Office proposes the following plan to the realize the revenue originally envisioned by the annual software surcharge: 1 ) Meet with the towns staffs to discuss the current ILA and potential actions to meet the County's costs related to billing and collecting taxes for the towns. 2) Discussion would include the possibility of an am&EIment to the current ILA to for a proposed increase of the fee as of July 1 , 2026 and the possibility of replacing the current joint ILA with separate ILAs that follow a shorter expiration schedule. 1 ) Report to the Board of Commissioners after discussions with towns. f ORANGE COUNTY 11 NORTH CAROLINA 29 Slide 11 KVO I'll email some thoughts on this slide since it is in both the slide deck and the agenda. Kirk Vaughn,2026-01-25T16:14:47.872 30 Suggested Use of Revenue Increase ❖ The Tax Assessment Work Group has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to retain a consultant to make recommendations on enhancements to the Assessment Division of the Tax Office. ❖ The revenue accrued through the new ILAs could be used to fund recommended improvements to the Tax Office beginning in FY 2026-27. ❖ Additionally, there are enhancements in the other tax office divisions that can be addressed. f ORANGE COUNTY 12 NORTH CAROLINA 31 Questions? ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA