Agenda 08-26-2025; 8-a - Minutes

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3 1 country lies in the ability to disagree with debate and to move forward together even when we 2 see things differently. She said as the Orange County representative to the NC Association of 3 County Commissioners (NCACC), she has asked the executive director to issue a statement 4 condemning political violence. She said that it is time to speak in a unified voice. She said she 5 also attended the County Advocacy Days at NCACC and urged legislators to vote no on Senate 6 Bill 205. She said the bill's title is around swimming pool regulations, but the text includes 7 sweeping land use regulations that were pulled from HB 765. She said the regulations 8 undermine local authority over development decisions. She said that she had the chance to 9 speak with Rep. Price over these concerns but was unable to connect with the full Orange 10 County delegation. She said that legislators need to continue to hear from them about the 11 serious problems of the bill. She said some of the key issues are strict and inflexible times to 12 review development applications with automatic approvals if local government miss a deadline, 13 even if the application is incomplete. She said there is also language that increases the legal 14 risk for local governments. She said there is language that limits zoning and other land use tools 15 that they depend on like density classifications, conditional rezonings, and UDO language 16 changes. She said the changes take power from local governments and hand it over to the state 17 without regard for local context or consequences. She said that she is asking the Board to 18 support a resolution opposing the land use provisions in SB 205 as recommended by NCACC. 19 Chair Bedford said the request matches the record of the Board as shown in the adopted 20 legislative agenda and that Board can approve a resolution in July if it is timely. 21 Commissioner Greene echoed Commissioner Portie-Ascott's comments on political 22 violence. She shared two petitions. She said the first one involves the presentation of the transit 23 work plan and she said that she believes they can do better on presenting the plans to the 24 public along with the regional transit tracker which shows how transit money is being spent. She 25 said that the second petition is about development proposals. She said the Board and public 26 could benefit if the decision were to be made over the course of two meetings. She said that the 27 presentation can occur at the first and then approval at the second. 28 Chair Bedford said they will work out a way to prevent redundant comments. She said 29 they will figure a way to manage the public comments with the time needed for the Board to 30 discuss and decide. 31 Vice-Chair Hamilton said on June 5th, the Board had a work session on the budget that 32 will be adopted today. She said this has been the most difficult budget since she became a 33 commissioner. She said they are dealing with federal and state cuts, and concerns about 34 property valuations and fairness. She said she takes concerns seriously and that she will be 35 following up and keeping the conversations going. She said there will be a business meeting on 36 July 8th and petitioned to have a report on the property valuation and the fairness. She said she 37 has tried to be as balanced as they can be and move forward with projects that invest in the 38 future. She thanked Orange County staff and recognized they are only getting 2% raises. She 39 said Alliance Health provides physical and mental health care for people that are uninsured and 40 on Medicaid and covers seven counties. She echoed comments about the assassination and 41 attempted assassination in Minnesota. She said her thoughts and prayers are with everyone 42 that is witnessing the unraveling of the nation's civic and peaceful democracy. She said she 43 attended the No Kings rally and appreciated the civil process it represented. She said that we 44 are all Americans and will find our way with liberty and justice for all. 45 Commissioner Carter thanked the residents who came out tonight who continue to share 46 information with the Board and staff that helps them get better. She thanked staff for holding the 47 increase on the tax rate as low as possible and said they are coming in at 1.19 cents over the 48 revenue neutral rate. She said that staff has worked hard to try to reduce the impact. She also 49 condemned political violence and supported Commissioner Portie-Ascott's petition. She said 50 NACo has issued a statement about the events in Minnesota. She quoted some of the 51 statement. She said that political violence is unacceptable. She said she extended her