Agenda 09-03-19 Item 8-a - Minutes

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2 1 2 Dee Stribling thanked the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for its service to 3 the community, then read three short poems: "Little Girl Morning" about a very young 4 person; "Old Will" about an older person; and "Words" to remember both. 5 6 Chair Rich introduced Bonnie Hammersley, who introduced Todd McGee, to introduce 7 the graduating class of the County Government Academy. 8 9 Todd McGee, Community Relations Director, said this is the second graduating 10 class and they have toured facilities, heard presentations from the different county 11 departments, and participated in budget exercises. He then recognized the members of the 12 class. 13 14 2. Public Comments 15 16 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 17 Larry Shirley read the following statement: 18 • Resident of Carrboro 19 • Chairman, Interstate Renewable Energy Council 20 • Former Director, NC State Energy Office 21 • Former Founding Director, NC Clean Energy Technology Center 22 23 Madam Chair and Members of the Commission, 24 My name is Larry Shirley and I reside in Carrboro, my family's home for the last 14 25 years. I serve as the Chairman of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, a national nonprofit 26 working to advance clean energy in states across the U.S., including North Carolina. I am the 27 former Founding Executive Director of the NC Clean Energy Technology Center, the former 28 Director of the NC State Energy Office, and the former Director of the Green Economy for NC. 1 29 have spent the entirety of my 40-year career working to ensure a sustainable energy future. 30 The proposal before you to increase the property tax by one-quarter of a percent to 31 provide additional funding for addressing climate change in our county is one of the most 32 significant long-term climate measures that I have seen before local government bodies in NC. 33 1 applaud Commissioner Marcoplos for proposing this measure and wholeheartedly endorse it. 34 It has the potential, although modest in taxpayer impact, of placing Orange County on the map 35 as the leader in North Carolina in placing a dedicated revenue source behind the 36 implementation of its plans to greatly reduce carbon emissions and increase the contribution of 37 renewable energy. 38 Many communities and counties across the U.S. have set goals for carbon reductions 39 and renewable energy contributions. However, in the South, I am not aware of any counties to 40 yet allocate a dedicated part of their tax base to putting real dollars behind those goals. Many 41 appear to be set for political expedience with little intention of getting serious in actually 42 addressing the many opportunities in energy efficiency and renewable energy that exist before 43 them. With enactment of this measure into the 2019-2020 budget, Orange County has the 44 unique opportunity to demonstrate the will—the political spine, to be more direct—that will be 45 needed to put your goals into action. 46 1 have reviewed the possible measures that have been compiled as examples of how 47 this funding could be used to produce real, tangible results in carbon reductions through energy 48 efficiency and renewable energy generation. I have managed many similar programs to those 49 outlined in my previous state positions and can attest to the fact that they are sound and highly 50 doable. Many of them will yield economic savings to the county budget and reductions in utility 51 costs that will more than return the taxpayer investment over time.