Agenda 04-21-2026; 8-a - Minutes for March 19, 2026, March 21, 2026, and March 23, 2026

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4 1 Representative Price said it will be difficult for Orange County or any similar county to speak to 2 legislators and get them to listen. She said the county should focus on working with the state association. 3 She said the state is headed towards a fiscal cliff. She said tax breaks for seniors to help them stay in their 4 homes restrict the revenues for counties with a higher percentage of seniors. She said changes to the 5 Homestead Exemption disproportionately affect Tier 1 counties. She said the state should consider 6 changes to the uniformity clause. 7 Representative Buansi said NCACC has powerful communicators that work with legislators. He 8 said they have advocacy days to educate legislators on county services. He said the school board depends 9 on county funding, and suggested engaging with the educator's association to speak to legislators. 10 Representative Price said it hasn't been done in recent years, but it has happened in the past. 11 Vice-Chair Fowler said education wasn't in the top five originally, but she wanted it included 12 because the if the county is spending on education, it can't spend money on other items. She said in some 13 smaller counties, the largest employer is the school system so more state funding will help them. She 14 noted that private schools don't have to accept every single person. She said they get to choose,and they 15 don't choose folks with disabilities or people who are expensive to educate. She said it is critical to fund 16 public schools. 17 Commissioner Greene said there is a movement to starve government, and one way to do so is to 18 give voucher money, schools suffer, and more parents want to send their kids to private school. She 19 echoed Vice-Chair Fowler's point that if there was more money for schools,the county could spend funds 20 on other things. She said it is also true for housing. She said the Housing Trust Fund is starved. She said 21 Virginia has 10 times the funds for housing than North Carolina. She said local governments there draw 22 on those funds to subsidize housing. She said if there was more access to funding for subsidized housing, 23 then the county would have funding for other items. 24 Commissioner Bedford said the impact fee case is continuing to be appealed, but a recent jury 25 found in favor of Orange County. She asked how changes in majority leadership might change the General 26 Assembly. 27 Representative Buansi said it is not yet clear who will be the next leader of the majority. He hoped 28 a successor would be more collaborative. 29 Commissioner Bedford said the registry of unmet needs for people with IDD has grown with 30 Medicaid innovation waivers. She said due to the way the waivers are allocated, it's difficult for Orange 31 County to get any because of our small size. She said while increases in direct care wages were helpful, 32 inflation outpaces those increases. She said it is difficult to find employees in that field. 33 Representative Price said there are some legislators working on these issues, and she gave 34 examples of how elected officials experienced crises with their own family members which led them to 35 work on mental health. She said people will need to admit what is happening with Medicaid and come to 36 the table to develop legislation. 37 Commissioner McKee he plans to petition the Board to instruct staff to develop a possible 38 amendment to the long-term homeowner's assistance program to provide relief to low-wealth, older 39 homeowners for half of their taxes on their houses. He said he would like to see a constitutional 40 amendment to require a budget within 180 days after the opening of the legislature. 41 Representative Price said there is a bill being drafted to address the budget delay. 42 Chair Hamilton asked what the chance is of having a budget in the current fiscal year, and what 43 happens if there isn't a budget. 44 Representative Buansi said anything that was in the 2023 budget continues. He said that there 45 are a lot of non-recurring expenses that will roll off. He described some of the non-recurring expenses, 46 including funds for people with intellectual disabilities and to assist people with medical transportation 47 needs. He said the chance of not passing a comprehensive state budget is high. He said there is the 48 possibility of passing mini budgets to address specific needs.