Our day, our future

June 10 an important day for counties in upcoming legislative short session

In government, it’s never too early to start planning for the future, whether that future is next year’s budget or a vision of where you want your government to be in 10 years. With that in mind, I want to urge all county commissioners to mark June 10 on your calendar now and make plans to attend the Association’s annual County Assembly Day in Raleigh.

Our state is in transition. We are experiencing rapid growth, which is not going to end anytime soon. These new citizens are straining the ability of local and state governments to provide for the infrastructure – schools, roads, water, etc. – needed to keep pace with our growth.

The General Assembly is going to be dealing with a lot of critical growth-related issues this year, such as transportation needs, school funding and property tax abatements, among others. All of these issues impact county governments – and that’s why we need you in Raleigh.

Local elected officials have an important role to play in our intergovernmental system. Decisions made in Raleigh often have far-reaching – and unintended – consequences for our counties. All too often, these decisions are made without any direct input from local officials.

As a result, it is imperative that local elected officials become actively involved in advocating on behalf of their jurisdictions in the Legislature. June 10 is our day to make sure that the General Assembly understands that these issues and others have direct impacts on counties.

I know that serving as a local elected official takes a considerable time commitment, and many of us have full-time jobs, with family responsibilities to boot. Being asked to wear yet another hat – that of lobbyist for local governments – is difficult, but it must be done.

The Association offers several opportunities throughout the year to get involved in the legislative process, but County Assembly Day is our prime opportunity to take our concerns to our legislators.

Two years ago, we really got the ball rolling on Medicaid relief on County Assembly Day when more than 300 county officials came to Raleigh. We spent the day patrolling the halls of the General Assembly and speaking with every legislator we could find about the need for a permanent Medicaid solution.

We need that kind of turnout again this year. The course of our state’s future will be set this spring, and counties need to make sure that we take advantage of every opportunity that we are given to make our concerns heard.