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35 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 References: <br /> 3 1. Orange County 2023 Community Health Assessment <br /> 4 2. https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/social-services/program-statistics-and- <br /> 5 reviews/fns-caseload-statistics-reports <br /> 6 3. 17-Jan 2025 BOCC packet p 84 <br /> 7 3. Elimination / Reform of FEMA <br /> 8 <br /> 9 Counties agreed that reform is needed and that adding NACo to the new FEMA <br /> 10 Review Council is crucial for the effectiveness of the reform effort. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 Counties also agreed that eliminating or reducing FEMA would cause irreparable <br /> 13 harm at the local level. <br /> 14 <br /> 15 Many of the emergency capabilities built in Orange County since 9/11 have been <br /> 16 federally funded or supported: <br /> 17 <br /> 18 o The annual Emergency Management Grant Program (EMPG): <br /> 19 Supports upfits to the Emergency Operations Center, training/exercises, <br /> 20 and creation of the Countywide Emergency Operations Plan. <br /> 21 o The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant: <br /> 22 Supported acquisition of the County's new mobile command post. <br /> 23 o FEMA's Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP): <br /> 24 Funds the State's Domestic Preparedness Regions and has supported <br /> 25 the acquisition of generators, prime movers (tow vehicles), hazmat <br /> 26 decontamination capabilities, explosive ordinance disposal capabilities, <br /> 27 and interoperable communications. <br /> 28 o The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program: <br /> 29 Funded the purchase of electric stretchers. These devices have <br /> 30 improved safety for patients and cut our worker's compensation <br /> 31 injuries by nearly 50%. <br /> 32 o The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP): <br /> 33 Enabled acquisition/elevation of flood-prone properties locally. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Regarding disaster recovery: <br /> 36 <br /> 37 o The State's capability to support counties is largely funded by administrative <br /> 38 costs associated with Major Disaster Declarations. <br /> 39 North Carolina has not historically funded the positions necessary to <br /> 40 execute recovery. <br /> 41 o Diminishing the Federal or State's ability to administer these programs would <br /> 42 cause recovery to drag out even further. <br /> 43 This will force localities to dip into reserve funds, if they are <br /> 44 available, to finance disaster response. <br /> 45 <br /> 46 4. Removal of Federal tax exemption on interest received on municipal bond <br /> 47 holdings <br /> 48 <br /> 49 NACo shared that the impact of such a change would equate to an additional 2.1 <br /> 50 percentage point increase in bond interest rates. <br /> 51 <br />