NCACC
P.O. Box 1488
Raleigh, NC 27602-1488
Tel: (919) 715-2893
Fax: (919) 733-1065
E-mail: ncacc@ncacc.org

Counties get defensive for 2008 session

After scoring wins on Medicaid relief and local-option sales and land transfer taxing authority during the 2007 long session, the Association is shoring up its defense in order to survive attacks on the county property tax base and local autonomy, in particular, this session.

Cumberland, Haywood voters OK quarter-cent sales tax

Voters in Cumberland and Haywood counties voiced approval May 6 for a local quarter-cent sales tax increase. Cumberland County commissioners passed a resolution to lower the county property tax rate by 2 cents if the sales tax referendum passed. Haywood County commissioners pledged to use the quarter-cent sales tax to improve classrooms at Haywood Community College.

North Carolina's thirst for water is only going to grow

Planning to meet future demand is focus of May 22 WaterVision conference
The recent record-setting drought focused a lot of attention on water and water resources in North Carolina. A surprisingly wet winter may have eased the pressure somewhat, but it has not eliminated the need for a comprehensive review of our water resources.

NCACC to hold seminars on maintaining the security and privacy of information

The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ Risk Management Pools will sponsor a seminar on maintaining the security and privacy of information on May 20 and 30 at the Quorum Center in Raleigh.

100 years of county unity
Chalk up a history of legislative victories to county unity

When the General Assembly included a Medicaid relief plan in its 2007-09 budget last summer, it was a direct result of the active involvement of county commissioners from around the state in the Association’s lobbying efforts. That concerted effort continued a tradition that has lasted nearly eight decades.

Proposal boosts age for juvenile offenders

Members of the NCACC Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee expressed concerns at their March 25 meeting with a proposal that would change the age at which an offender enters adult court jurisdiction from 16 to 18.

  • Click here for more information.

Tax calculator helps counties map their financial future

The NCACC is proud to announce the creation of a county revenue estimate calculator as part of its centennial celebration. County governments in North Carolina face extraordinary financial challenges in the years ahead. Using this simple educational tool, citizens, businesses and North Carolina county leaders are able to review and manipulate different choices over future revenues for each county.

  • Click here for more information.

Stormwater proposals worry coastal counties

Twenty North Carolina coastal counties will sustain huge hits to their tax bases, and residential and commercial development will slow considerably if amendments to the state Coastal Stormwater Rule are adopted as proposed, Carteret County Manager John Langdon told members of the Environment Steering Committee on Feb. 25.

  • Click here for more information.

Gubernatorial candidates campaign for county support

For the first time in eight years, North Carolina will see a new face in the Governor's Mansion in 2009. In the first step to helping the next governor better understand county issues, the Association has reached out to the seven gubernatorial candidates and posed three questions for their consideration. The initiative is one piece of a plan to further counties' relationship with state government as the next governor, cabinet members and freshman legislators take office in January 2009. The plan is being spearheaded by the NCACC strategic goals team charged with redefining the state-county relationship by creating a partnership with the state.

  • Click here for more information.

What will the future hold for North Carolina?

Molly Broad served as president of the 16-campus UNC system from 1997 – 2006. (Photo by Jason King)

Broad: Population shift, workforce talent gap present challenges
North Carolina is now in the midst of a profound change – one that holds “the potential to be a perfect storm,” according to Molly Corbett Broad, president emerita of the University of North Carolina system. Broad addressed North Carolina’s challenges and opportunities before the NCACC Board of Directors during its Feb. 6 meeting in Raleigh. Her presentation, developed for the inaugural Local Elected Leaders Academy, revealed a North Carolina with higher unemployment, a lower standard of living, greater inequity in wealth and wages, and increasing social and political polarization.

  • Click here for more information.

Medicaid relief made simple

A year-by-year look at how the phaseout impacts counties
A new day dawned in North Carolina on Oct. 1. That was the first day that counties began to reap the benefits of the recently enacted state plan to phase out the county Medicaid share. The multi-faceted plan accomplishes what has been counties’ No. 1 legislative goal for many years – the removal of the onerous requirement that counties foot 15 percent of the state’s Medicaid services bill. The plan’s working parts are such that some county officials may be confused over exactly how the Medicaid relief plan will play out. Here, then, is a year-by-year look at the three-year phase down.