Use it, don’t lose it

Make sure your county’s voice is heard during legislative goals process

It is an unfortunate fact that many of our constituents believe their opinion is not valued at the local government level. They believe they shouldn’t waste their time by getting involved and that they cannot make a difference. County commissioners across North Carolina clearly don’t hold on to that belief; otherwise we would never have become commissioners.

We understand that we can make a difference. That desire to improve our communities is why many of us ran for office in the first place.

We can not only affect the lives of citizens in our communities, but through our Association, we also have an opportunity to impact the lives of all North Carolinians. That is why all counties must be involved in our legislative goals process, and that is why the Association gives counties so many opportunities to impact our legislative agenda.

Even if your county did not submit any goals for consideration, you still have ample opportunity for engagement. The Association’s seven steering committees are meeting now through early November to debate the goals that have been submitted.

Membership on steering committees is open to all county commissioners as well as county staff. If you are not a member of an NCACC steering committee, I encourage you to contact the Association and sign up for one.

Once the goals have been approved by our Board of Directors in December, they will be distributed to all county commissioners in advance of our Legislative Goals Conference, which will be held Jan. 11-12 at Pinehurst Resort in Moore County. The process allows county officials enough time to review the goals and make an educated vote when we are deciding on our legislative agenda at the conference.

During the conference, counties have yet another opportunity to bring a resolution to the membership, even if it did not go through the official development conference. And, of course, all counties represented at the conference will be able to vote on legislative proposals.

Setting our legislative priorities is perhaps the most important endeavor we will undertake through our Association, and that’s why the process is designed to be as inclusive as possible. When our advocacy staff represents our interests and issues to members of the General Assembly, legislators will know that they are speaking for all 100 counties.

So please, make sure your county’s voice is heard.

Click here for a complete listing of steering committees and members.