Stay tuned to short session

We must be on our game in what looks to be a fast and furious legislative session

It’s March, and to many North Carolinians, it’s the best time of the year for one reason: the NCAA tournament, a.k.a. “March Madness.” Here in the heart of college basketball country, this annual celebration keeps us glued to the television well past our normal bedtimes. When our alma maters or “adopted” teams are playing, we make sure that we find a television – unless we’re lucky enough to obtain tickets and accommodations to see them play in person. We don’t leave the house without our brackets, diligently making note of who wins each game. The on-the-court action is fast and furious, and we wouldn’t dare miss a minute of it.

When the General Assembly convenes for its 2008 short session on May 13, you can expect that same breath-taking, heart-pounding action to take place in the halls and offices of the legislative buildings and in the House and Senate chambers. While we have come to love the mad dash to the finish of the college basketball season that March and April bring, there may not be so much to love about the 2008 session in May, June and July if we aren’t paying close attention.

The late Jim Valvano is credited with coining the term “survive and advance” during N.C. State’s surprising march to the national title in 1983. From a county perspective, the same could be said of the 2007-08 General Assembly. In 2007, we advanced, winning county Medicaid relief and the right to seek alternative revenue options.

In 2008, it seems we must survive. That’s why it’s so important that you make the trip to Raleigh – a long one for a lot of us, I know – on June 10 for the Association’s County Assembly Day. The annual event was rescheduled from its original date of May 21, so mark your calendars if you haven’t already done so. It is imperative that we attend, as some issues under consideration could have a major impact on county budgets.

Attacks on the property tax base are in particular upsetting. Among those seeking exemptions are environmental groups that want tax breaks equal to that of farmers. We have a strong agricultural tradition in North Carolina, and we protect our farmers. If everyone gets the same exemptions they have, it dilutes the benefit we provide our agricultural community.

A lot of your local decision-making authority will be on the line. Solid waste franchising, electronics recycling, water resource management, economic development, collective bargaining for public employees and, of course, transportation funding, will all be big issues.

We are matched up against strong opponents on all these issues, but we can prevail if we impress upon our elected brethren in the Legislature the detrimental impact some of these bills will have on our counties as a whole.

Making matters more intense will be a tight timeframe with which we have to work with legislators on fair solutions to these issues.

In short, we must be ready to play. We’re reviewing our game plan during April’s district meetings, and I know all of you are having conversations with your local legislators in your home counties to discuss many of these critical issues. On June 10, we all need to follow up on those conversations and make our voices heard in Raleigh. If needed, we need to be ready to hit the road and drive back to the state capital at a moment’s notice.

You wouldn’t miss a minute of a crucial game in the “Big Dance.” I ask you to pay due diligence to the action in Raleigh this summer. There will be winners and losers – and we don’t want to end up on the sidelines as mere observers as the session’s final days play out.