Committees consider Medicaid proposal

Legislation, schools, courts among topics as seven NCACC steering committees meet in January

Reacting to a proposal from Sen. Tony Rand (Cumberland County), the Association has developed a Medicaid relief strategy that would provide for the state to take over the county Medicaid share in exchange for a sales tax swap.

The NCACC Human Resources Steering Committee, led by Chair Amy Stevens (center) of Lee County and newly appointed Vice Chair Joe Bryan (seated at left) of Wake County, led a discussion on a proposal for Medicaid relief during a Jan. 4 meeting. (Photo by Jason King)

Association staff and officers have been discussing this concept since last spring, when Sen. Rand first broached the idea of a sales tax swap for immediate and full Medicaid relief. In October, the Board of Directors asked staff to form a Medicaid relief task force comprised of county managers and finance officers to study Sen. Rand’s proposal and to examine other possibilities to relieve counties of the Medicaid burden.

After examining other options, the County Manager and Finance Officer Medicaid Relief Task Force concluded that Sen. Rand’s proposal to redirect proceeds from a local 1 cent sales tax to the state in exchange for elimination of county Medicaid financial participation, with local authority to enact an additional 1 cent sales tax, was the most viable option. The task force concluded that the state would not take over the county share of Medicaid without a new revenue source to cover the additional costs.

The proposal was discussed and approved by the Association’s Taxation and Finance Steering Committee during its Jan. 26 meeting. The proposal was discussed by the Human Resources Steering Committee at its Jan. 4 meeting and voted on during the Feb. 14 meeting. The NCACC Board of Directors was scheduled to hear from Sen. Rand and consider the proposal at its Feb. 16 meeting.

The month of January was a busy time at Association headquarters, as each of the NCACC’s seven steering committees met. Reports from each of the meetings follow.

Public Education (Jan. 10)

Chair: Mary Accor, Cleveland County
The committee discussed funding priorities adopted by the N.C. School Boards Association for the 2006 legislative session and heard from John Poteat, director of policy research with the Public School Forum, on the Forum’s 2005 Local School Finance Study.

Poteat noted the widening gap between education spending between counties and the degree to which “real estate capacity” (the tax value of property in a county) controls the spending gap. He also emphasized the drop in the percentage of state spending that flows to public schools and the problems created in poor counties by Medicaid spending responsibilities imposed by the state.

The committee also discussed the feasibility of year-round schools and asked NCACC staff to obtain information about implementation of year-round school programs across the state, to be discussed at a future meeting.

Environment (Jan. 12)

Chair: Second Vice President David Young, Buncombe County
The committee reviewed two pieces of legislation introduced in 2005, either or both of which may be considered in 2006.

S951, introduced by Sen. David Hoyle (Gaston County), would establish vested rights for solid waste haulers and make it more difficult for local governments to alter franchise agreements. The legislation was approved by the Senate in 2005 and is pending in the House. The Association opposed the bill in 2005 and continues to oppose its passage.

H900, introduced by Rep. Bruce Goforth (Buncombe County), would require local health departments to approve improvement permits and authorization for wastewater system construction (septic tanks) after examination of the systems by “licensed soil scientists.” The Association and local health directors and boards of health opposed the legislation in 2005 because it reduces county control over the quality of the systems without reducing liability. The bill remains in the House Health Committee.

Intergovernmental Relations (Jan. 19)

Chair: Past President Breeden Blackwell, Cumberland County
During its teleconference, the committee received an update on recent actions by the State Board of Elections regarding the purchase of new voting equipment and debated changes in the committee’s policy statement. The new language describes the partnership of county and state, while emphasizing the need for county fiscal independence.

The committee also discussed H1288, “Cleanup of Abandoned Mobile Homes” (Reps. Phillip Haire and Robert Grady), and attempted to reach a consensus on the committee’s vision of a state-level advanced disposal fee (ADF) funded program. The key policy issue was whether counties would be willing to collect an ADF at the permitting stage in order to fund a statewide abandoned manufactured home cleanup effort. Committee members requested more time to discuss the issue at the next IGRSC meeting, which is scheduled for Feb. 22.

Criminal Justice (Jan. 26)

Chair: Third Vice President George Brown, Craven County
Several representatives from state agencies addressed committee members. The committee program consisted of coordinated presentations related to drug treatment courts in North Carolina, the relationship of these courts to probation services and caseloads, and the intersection of their clients as target populations in mental health reform.

Sandy Pearce, administrator of Court Programs and Management Services for the Administrative Office of the Courts, discussed the 32 Drug Treatment Courts (DTC) in North Carolina. Pearce said that a DTC may be targeted to adults, youths or families and is now defined in statute as an Intermediate Sanction under structured sentencing. She said the courts are successful because of the degree of structure – the team approach to oversight, supervision and decision-making.

She also said that funding remained a concern. Pearce said that the Administrative Office of the Courts no longer receives funding to provide treatment; the treatment costs are being shifted to the public mental health system by July 1. Many local DTCs are asking counties for financial support.

Pearce also reported that the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics has awarded North Carolina a grant to conduct a rigorous evaluation of youth drug treatment courts. This will be a major three-year effort and will become the national definitive study on the effectiveness of drug treatment courts for youthful offenders.

The committee also discussed two issues of interest for the short session – capping the cost of inmate medical care and reductions in funding for pre-trial screening programs provided with CJPP funds. The next agenda will consist of a discussion of the recommendations of the State Judicial Council and other issues related to court funding. The next meeting has been scheduled for March 29.

Taxation and Finance (Jan. 26)

Chair: First Vice President Terry Garrison, Vance County
The committee heard progress on the Association’s tax and finance legislative goals and was given a legislative update by Forsyth County Tax Administrator Pete Rodda, chair of the Tax Assessor/Collector Associations’ legislative committee.

Much of the meeting’s discussion centered on the Medicaid relief strategy developed by the NCACC County Manager and Finance Officer Medicaid Relief Task Force.

The committee was also briefed on the implementation strategy for H1779, “Combined Motor Vehicle Registration Renewal & Property Tax Collection System,” and learned of the most recent actions by the State Board of Elections concerning the voting equipment issue.

Finally, the committee heard an update on N.C. Property Tax System, a comprehensive property tax billing, collections and assessment system jointly owned by the NCACC and Intelligent Information Systems (IIS). The NCACC Board of Directors will hear a similar presentation at its April meeting.

Agriculture (Jan. 31)

Chair: Norris Keever, Alexander County
Committee members met with representatives from the Land for Tomorrow Coalition (LFTC), which is asking the General Assembly to issue $1 billion in bonds to protect open space and preserve farmland, among other goals.

Committee members were concerned about the loss of property tax base resulting from state acquisition activities, as well as the diminution of assessed value due to the purchase of development rights on farms and other properties. Committee members were troubled that the LFTC report did not consider property tax loss as an expense in their detailed business plan and bond proposal.

LFTC asked the committee to support their proposal by issuing a favorable report to the NCACC Board of Directors. The committee instead chose to leave the issue to individual counties to decide whether to support or oppose the LFTC approach, citing the 2005-06 Association Legislative Goal that “supports legislation to require compensation from state agencies for lost property taxes when they obtain any real property interest in previously taxed lands for conservation or preservation purposes.”