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84 <br />2. The continuing gap between the Chapel Hill Township and the rest of the County <br />seems to be widening. The Task Force recommends that the Board study and <br />implement ways to bridge this "us vs, them" mentality for the benefit of all our <br />citizens, <br />CHARGE: WHAT CHANGES ARE NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE FAIR AND <br />EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION? <br />Response: According to Joseph Ferrell of the Institute of Government, the present <br />system of electing county commissioners is legal and therefore not in violation of the <br />Voting Rights Act of 1965 as amended. Further, the general laws of North Carolina do not <br />prescribe any the number of members, term of office, or method of electing boards of <br />county commissioners. The structure of the Orange County Board of Commissioners is <br />prescribed by Chapter 439 of the Session Laws of 1953. No changes in the structure of <br />the board have been made since 1953. Ferrell also stated that if a new system is created, <br />it will need to follow the law and the one - person, one -vote rule. <br />Recommendation: Based on this information and the group discussion of all the issues, <br />the following recommendations were made if the current system is changed. <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners should be expanded from five to <br />seven members. <br />According to Joseph Ferrell of the Institute of Government, this can be <br />accomplished by one of the following methods. <br />a, The County can petition its legislative delegation for introduction and <br />passage of a local bill embodying a specific plan requested by the board. <br />The Orange County delegation's practice is to require that any such <br />legislation have the unanimous support of the delegation. <br />b. The County Home Rule Act can be changed by using the following <br />procedure: <br />The Board of County Commissioners adopts a resolution modifying <br />the structure of the board within the parameters allowed by the Act. <br />ii. The resolution is submitted to a vote of the people at either a special <br />election or at the same time as an already scheduled election, <br />iii, If approved by the voters, the new plan takes effect for the next <br />primary and general election cycle. <br />11 <br />