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2 the USGS line that was done on a statewide basis. The Childers' lot is in a subdivision called Spring Farm. The first phase included the Childers' lot which is newer than 1995. Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 5 and the statement"in the absence of an agreement among the counties and a citizen, the citizen has the right to pay taxes in the county where the citizen's property is cited and receive government services in the county where the citizen resides." Geoffrey Gledhill said that this sentence comes from something that is unrelated to the Childers taxes and has to do with the agreement between Orange County and Chatham County. It is talking about citizens receiving services where they live and pay taxes where they own property. There is no direct relationship between where you get services and where you pay taxes. In answer to a question from Commissioner Gordon on how a Commissioner is suppose to solve this, John Link said that if the County Commissioners make a determination that the property is in Alamance and a court decision finds that action to be wrong then there will be liability. He is not supporting either way. He feels it is important for the County Commissioners to make a judgment on this one case which is unique and different from other cases. Geoffrey Gledhill made reference to personal liability for releasing tax money which should not be released. If you agree to release and refund the Childers tax money for the years in question and someone else complained and sued you for the money you agreed to release or refund, that person would have to prove that the County Commissioners were wrong in determining that the Childers property is not located in Orange County. They would have the burden of overcoming all the evidence. It would be a low risk case. Every time you make a release or refund this is the consequence. The basis for releasing or refunding is that it is an illegal tax and Orange County has no legal right to tax property which is not in Orange County. In answer to a question from Commissioner Gordon, Geoffrey Gledhill said that the County Commissioners have the responsibility for resolving matters related to the location of the Countyline. Until some court tells us otherwise the green line on the map is the Countyline. Chair Jacobs made reference to page four (4) of Commissioner Halkiotis' memo where Commissioner Halkiotis makes a recommendation to get together with Alamance County and determine where the line is. Commissioner Halkiotis said that this is not an unusual situation to have an issue with the boundary line. When we tried to resolve this line with Alamance County, it got political. We had a nice meal, a nice discussion and then it fell apart. It may have worked if staff pursued it. He would like for this dispute to be discussed with the Managers and staffs and not in the public forum. He feels it does not need to be a repeat of the same process that has been going on for years. He feels it should not be drawn out over the summer and suggested 60 days to resolve this issue. If it can't be resolved, then it can be brought back to the County Commissioners. He made reference to the last page of his memo and noted that staff have identified 267 parcels that could be affected, if for example, the boundary line resulting from this process generally resembled the USGS line. One hundred thirty five (135) of those parcels are currently taxed by Orange County with an assessed value of almost$19 million and resulting General Fund revenue (based on the FY 2001-02 tax rate of 80.5 cents) of roughly$153,000. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Brown to refer this matter to the County Managers and staffs of Orange County and Alamance County to resolve this issue within 60 days. If it cannot be resolved within 60 days, it is to be brought back to the County Commissioners for further discussion and direction. VOTE: UNANIMOUS John Link said that when he approaches the Alamance County Manager it will be to also express the County's interest in asking the State to facilitate resolving the county boundary using a formal process made available to counties through the North Carolina Geodetic Survey Office. Commissioner Gordon noted that wherever the line is drawn, that those children on the Alamance County side will go to the Alamance County schools and those on the Orange County side will go to Orange County schools.