Minutes 03-23-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chair McKee said Orange County continues to increase funding for this program and they are concerned about keeping child care available in Orange County; same concerns for Medicaid expansion and health care issues. Commissioner porosin said is there any chance of progressive legislation being passed. Representative Insko said "zero". Representative Insko said 95% of the bills they pass — pass unanimously. She said but in order to undo the damage that has been done in the past they have to have more revenue. Chair McKee said that the League of Municipalities and NCACC are both against the sales re-distribution bill. HUMAN SERVICES- • Child Care- discussed above • Expansion of Medicaid Program Commissioner Price said NCACC is going to be lobbying the legislature but rather than say expansion they are using the word "reform" to make it more accessible to all. The concept is the same though. • Mental Health Representative Insko said there is a bill to turn the money from the alcohol and drug treatment centers to the MCOs (Managed Care Associations) to help fund those in the community who need help. But that they need a year of planning at least. Representative Insko said if they are going to move more toward evidenced based practices, then counties need to show the legislators that these evidenced based programs save lives and money and use that to challenge the legislators. Senator Foushee said their talking points during the legislative session are that they need to show how to pay for programs without raising taxes. If they are going to implement programs then they have to be paid for somehow since the revenues are not coming in as they once did. Commissioner Burroughs said she read that the state's job data is poor related to other states. Representative Insko said another issue is that they will need to find ways to fund road improvements. Commissioner Jacobs North Carolina is one of the few states where the counties don't have to pay for secondary roads. He suggested that state study be done on DOT standards. An example is that they are not requiring much from developers such as for traffic lights. Senator Foushee asked for Commissioner Jacobs to send information about this issue to them by email. Representative Insko said our roads are one of our best economic development tools. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the issue of making people pay a rate per mile; many Orange County employees would have to pay more because they cannot afford to live in Orange County Representative Insko said that could be fixed that with a tax credit. Representative Meyer said it would probably be a flat fee.