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i~ <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: October 6, 1998 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~ _ q <br />SUBJECT: 1999 North Cazolina Association of County Commissioners Legislative Goals <br />DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/l~ <br />BUDGET AMENDMENT: (Y/l~ <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Proposed Resolution <br />NCACC Legislative Bulletin #18-98 <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />John Link or Rod Visser, ext 2300 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider adopting a resolution related to legislative goals for the 1999 Long Session of the North <br />Carolina General Assembly. <br />BACKGROUND: The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) has invited comment <br />from boards of county commissioners concerning legislative priorities for 1999. The NCACC has indicated that <br />its deadline for submission of proposed legislative goals is October 8. The attached resolution would convey to the <br />NCACC those issues that the Orange County Board of Commissioners would like to see addressed on a statewide <br />basis. <br />Issues the Board may wish to consider bringing to the attention of the NCACC include: <br />^ Orange County's opposition to proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution that would arbitrarily <br />restrict the permissible annual increase in the valuation of real property to 2%, thereby effectively removing <br />the long-standing principle of using fair market value as the basis of equitable real property taxation in North <br />Carolina <br />^ Support for legislation that would (to the extent not already provided under North Carolina law) require utility <br />providers (such as gas, electric, and cable operators) to gain approval from county commissioners for utility <br />route selections, or at least the opportunity to comment and receive public input concerning plans to expand <br />their infrastructure in a way that would impact communities. <br />Further, the Board may wish to consider supporting other potential legislative positions suggested in various <br />NCACC documents in recent months: <br />^ Increased State role in paying the costs of Medicaid <br />^ Restoring growth in reimbursements for lost local property tax revenue <br />^ State funding for increased school utility costs <br />^ Local government exemption from State income taxes (counties can now file for reimbursement) <br />^ Increased court fees to provide counties with revenue for court facilities <br />^ Authority for counties to levy additional sales taxes <br />