Orange County NC Website
2 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 1. Determine tentative plan for bond purposes and amounts. Although Step 5 <br /> 3 provides for the first formal Board action to determine what will be presented to the voters, the <br /> 4 bond program needs to be substantially worked out before we begin the formal process. In <br /> 5 addition, the plan for what projects are to be included in the bond package is something that <br /> 6 LGC representatives will want to discuss in detail with County representatives as part of the <br /> 7 meeting described in the next step. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 Each separate general purpose for bonds has to be the subject of a separate ballot <br /> 10 question. The statutes assume that each question put to voters will propose a dollar amount for <br /> 11 a separate generic purpose, such as paying "capital costs of school facilities."Although the <br /> 12 statutes allow the purpose to be stated with more specificity, it is highly recommended that the <br /> 13 purpose in the ballot question be left as general as possible. The more specific plans underlying <br /> 14 the planning for the bond issue do not legally bind the County to a particular future plan of action <br /> 15 in the issuance of the bonds or construction of specified facilities. <br /> 16 <br /> 17 2. Meet with LGC staff.The County should arrange a meeting with LGC staff about <br /> 18 the proposed referendum as soon as convenient after the Board has settled informally on a <br /> 19 referendum plan. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 3. Give informal notice to the County Board of Elections. Because the Board of <br /> 22 Elections will need to coordinate its own procedures for the bond referendum, it would help the <br /> 23 Board of Elections to receive a phone call to inform the Board of the County's plans, even if the <br /> 24 plans are still subject to change. We want to be sure that our schedule works with the Board's <br /> 25 schedule -- not only in terms of legal requirements but also in terms of practical matters such as <br /> 26 ballot printing deadlines, especially now that absentee balloting begins in September. <br /> 27 <br /> 28 4. Obtain School Board Resolutions. If any of the bonds will be proposed for <br /> 29 school purposes, the statutes contemplate that the affected school boards should provide a <br /> 30 formal referendum request to the Commissioners. This request usually proposes a maximum <br /> 31 amount of bonds to be considered at the referendum. This schedule assumes that each school <br /> 32 board could adopt an appropriate resolution by the end of March. <br /> 33 <br /> 34 5. Adopt "Findings" Resolution. As part of the application process, the LGC <br /> 35 wants to see a statement describing why the proposed projects and bonds are necessary and <br /> 36 desirable. This resolution will also state an estimated tax rate impact of the borrowing. This <br /> 37 resolution could be adopted at a County Board meeting in April. This resolution will also <br /> 38 authorize the publication of the "Notice of Intent" described in Step 6. <br /> 39 <br /> 40 6. Publish Notice of Intent To File Application. The County must publish a <br /> 41 notice of its intent to file an application for the LGC's approval of the proposed bonds. The <br /> 42 notice must be published at least 10 days before filing the application. The notice needs to be <br /> 43 published as soon as possible after the Board adopts the findings resolution described in Step <br /> 44 5. <br /> 45 The own words resolution and the Notice of Intent establish the maximum amount of <br /> 46 bonds that can be proposed at the referendum for each of the specified purposes. From this <br /> 47 point, we can decrease the amount of bonds or eliminate purposes, but we can increase an <br /> 48 amount or add a purpose only by re-starting the authorization process. <br /> 49 <br /> 50 7. Make Legislative Committee 45-day filing. If the bond program will include <br />