View the PDF version

CountyLines: October 2011
Volume 37, No. 10

Counties shine in response to Irene's destructive blow

Mutual Aid System offers a helping hand to counties before and after the storm
When Hurricane Irene struck the eastern part of North Carolina in late August, county emergency responders from western N.C. raced across the state to help their counterparts in the path of the storm. This coordinated response effort is part of the Mutual Aid System set up by the N.C. Division of Emergency Management and helps all local governments manage their readiness and recovery efforts in a natural disaster.

• Click here for more information.
• Before, during and after: The Beaufort County story
• Managing Your Risk: Pools help counties get back to 'normal'

Task force looking for healthy solutions

A recent survey by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects per capita spending on health expenditures by state and local governments to increase from $968 in 2010 to $1,791 by 2019 – an increase of more than 85 percent over the next nine years. Is your budget ready to absorb this kind of increase in its public health costs? Because of statistics like these and others, the Association has created a Healthy Living Task Force for 2011-12. This group will be chaired by Orange County Commissioner Valerie Foushee, and members will be looking at ways that counties can try to exert some control over these rising healthcare costs.

• Click here for more information.

Remembering 9/11

County services bring citizens together for 10-year anniversary
While counties across the state commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, perhaps no tribute drew larger interest than the one held in Chatham County. An overflow crowd of about 350 attended Chatham County's tribute to 9/11 victims and first responders near Silk Hope. The event offered moving reflections by people directly involved in 9/11. Organizers also announced that the county's donated steel beam from the World Trade Center will find a permanent, privately funded home in a memorial about four miles west of Pittsboro off of U.S. Highway 64.

• Click here for more information.

County milestone celebrations 'weaving folks back together'

Avery, Clay, Hoke, Mitchell and Transylvania counties all have something in common this year: 2011 represents a milestone in each county's rich history, and each county is celebrating its anniversary in style.

• Click here for more information.

Entries for Outstanding County Program Awards due Feb. 17

Applications are now being accepted for the NCACC's 2011 Outstanding County Program Awards competition. To download an application, visit www.ncacc.org/awards/ocpa/about.html. Applications will be accepted through Feb. 17, 2012, and the winning programs will be recognized during a meeting of their board of county commissioners in April 2012 as part of the National County Government Month celebration. The intent of the Outstanding County Program Awards is to recognize and share information with other counties about programs that involve a uniquely innovative process, solution or idea to address a county or multi-jurisdictional issue and/or to prevent a future problem from developing.

• Click here for more information.

Deer in the headlights? Safety tips to avoid a collision

Liability and Property Pool loss statistics show that the most common time of year for deer strikes is between October and January, which also happens to coincide with the prime mating time and hunting season. Since 1999, the most prevalent cause of property damage to county vehicles has come from collisions with animals.

• Click here for more information.

PILT funding effort draws Graham County chairman to Capitol Hill

Graham County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Edwards was among county officials from across the nation to travel to Washington, D.C., recently to ask key members of Congress to pass mandatory funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.

• Click here for more information.

More from this month's CountyLines:
Briefs and shorts
NCACC adds two to staff
Career opportunities