President's Perspective
Counties should not ignore lottery’s revenue potential

Judging by the conversations I had with many North Carolina county commissioners during the recent NACo Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., the recent decision by the NCACC Board of Directors to back a county-option education lottery has caused quite a bit of discussion.

President's Perspective By Breeden Blackwell President's Perspective Archive

At its Feb. 23 meeting, the Board heard a presentation from Rep. Bill Owens (Pasquotank) on a bill he introduced that would give counties the option of approving a lottery. Rep. Owens, a former NCACC president and Pasquotank County commissioner, explained the rationale behind his bill and then answered questions from the Board.

After Rep. Owens left, the Board then discussed the pros and cons of his bill and of the general concept of a county-option lottery.

During my tenure as an NCACC officer, this was the most heavily debated agenda item I have witnessed. The discussion lasted for more than an hour. Nearly every person on the Board weighed in with their own perspective. Some spoke to the issue more than once.

Before we broke for lunch, the Board asked staff to create a resolution in support of a county-option lottery with a “substantial portion” of the proceeds going to counties to provide funds for school construction. After lunch the Board continued to discuss the issue and eventually decided to vote on the resolution. The resolution passed, but it was not a unanimous vote.

Many commissioners wanted to know why this issue was not discussed at the NCACC’s Legislative Goals Conference, which was held Jan. 13-14 in High Point. The reason it wasn’t discussed then was because no one proposed it as a legislative goal. It wasn’t until Rep. Owens asked to speak to our Board that this became an issue.

It is important to remember that the NCACC Board of Directors is comprised to represent the demographics of the entire state. The Board has a representative number of Republicans and Democrats, males, females and minorities to accurately reflect the makeup of the 570 county commissioners in the state. We strive to make sure that when the Board tackles a tough issue, it hears from all perspectives. The Board not only has the authority to address controversial topics when they come up, but also the duty.

The county-option lottery may not have been one of the goals that were adopted at our Legislative Goals Conference, but this approach does address two of our priority issues. The membership voted to make a public school bond issue and a menu of revenue options two of our three priority goals, along with Medicaid relief.

The Board decided a county-option lottery could be another approach to helping counties fulfill their mandated duty to provide adequate public school capital needs and to provide a new revenue stream for counties.