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4) Seek legislation to ensure that State-funded mental health, developmental <br /> disability, and substance abuse services are available, accessible and <br /> affordable to all residents and that sufficient state resources fund service <br /> provision costs inclusive of sufficient crisis beds; <br /> 5) Support legislation which streamlines the sales tax refund regulatory <br /> process by exempting public institutions (counties, cities, school boards, <br /> community colleges, local utility authorities, etc.) from payment of State <br /> and local sales taxes on purchases within North Carolina and thereby <br /> diminish the administrative burden on the local and State level to <br /> pursue/account for/recoup sales tax proceeds; and <br /> 6) Support legislation which provides county governments some opportunity <br /> to regulate and/or have input into, but not prohibit, bio-solids application <br /> activities, including the acceptable "classes" of bio-solids for application <br /> and the prohibition of bio-solids application in certain environmentally <br /> sensitive areas such as critical watersheds. The appropriate application of <br /> bio-solids for agricultural use should be allowed with counties playing a <br /> role in the process; <br /> 7) Support legislation to provide additional State compensation to <br /> municipalities and local fire districts providing fire protection to state- <br /> owned buildings; <br /> 8) Support actions to change North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ) <br /> wastewater system classification rules which currently classify a spray <br /> irrigation system such as one utilized by volunteer fire departments as <br /> "commercial". When the flow generated by the system is domestic <br /> quality/non-industrial process wastewater, the system should be held to <br /> the same monitoring and testing standards as a residential wastewater <br /> system under DWQ jurisdiction. In the alternative, volunteer fire <br /> departments should be excluded entirely from the "commercial" <br /> classification. The annual inspections and testing costs associated with a <br /> "commercial" designation for a spray irrigation system serving a volunteer <br /> fire department can be several thousands of dollars. Accounting for the <br /> type of flow actually treated by a system rather than assigning a blanket <br /> "commercial" designation would significantly reduce volunteer fire <br /> departments' annual costs across the state; <br /> 9) Support revisions to the Homestead Exemption provisions of the <br /> Machinery Act to <br /> a) provide greater opportunities for low-income seniors to remain in <br /> their homes and not be displaced due to property tax burdens by <br /> approving a one-time ten percent (10%) increase in the income <br /> qualification standard; and maintaining the current provisions which <br /> increase the income qualification standard each year based on any <br />