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County Connection - May 2015
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A Message from Your County Manager

Davie County Residents,
It's hard to believe the time has rolled around for another issue of the County Connection.  As you can imagine, budget season is a busy time of year in our offices, but we are thankful to have this method of communication in place to share with you information that is both relevant and vital.  Again, we are continuing to see an increase in our number of newsletter subscribers and our engagement on social media is excellent--we are thrilled by the response we are receiving.

As I mentioned, the Davie County Budget season is in full swing and rightly so, as we are required to adopt our fiscal year budget for 2015-16 no later than July 1, 2015.  We are continuing to use our 2015-16 Budget Web Page to post information and we hope that you have found it useful.  A few of the items we have posted, in case you have not visited the page, include:

Press Release Summarizing County Manager's Proposed Budget following May 18th Special Called Meeting
PowerPoint Presentation to Commissioners presented on May 18th
Projected Revenues for FY 2015-16
Projected Expenses for FY 2015-16
Related Meeting Materials (Meeting Portal)

The next steps in the budget process include hearing from all departments during an all day work session scheduled for June 3rd from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Administrative Conference Room, followed by a public hearing on June 15th.  The budget, based on the outcome of these events, will need to be adopted in its final form no later than July 1, 2015.  Please continue to monitor the 2015-16 Budget page for more updates as they become available.

In other news, much activity is taking place in Raleigh which will have an impact on Davie County specifically.  Some of the bills that are in discussion include:

HB 130:
AN ACT AUTHORIZING DAVIE COUNTY TO CONTRACT WITH THE LOCAL BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR THE PROVISION OF MEALS TO INMATES IN THE COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY. The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: SECTION 1. Notwithstanding G.S. 66-58 or any other provision of law, the County and the Sheriff may enter into a contract with the local board of education to provide meals for inmates in the County's detention facility. Meals provided under the contract shall meet the minimum standards established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as provided in G.S. 153A-221 and Subchapter 14J of Title 10A of the North Carolina Administrative Code. Any contract authorized under this section shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. SECTION 2. This act applies to Davie County only. SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law. In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of May, 2015. s/ Daniel J. Forest President of the Senate s/ Tim Moore Speaker of the House of Representatives.  
Why is this positive for Davie County?  This bill was a local bill to exempt the County and School System from the Umstead Act (which prohibits North Carolina government agencies from competing with the private commercial activities in North Carolina--all exemptions from the law have to be approved through legislation passed by the General Assembly) for the purposes of preparing and delivering inmate meals.  Davie County solicited bids from private vendors earlier this year.  Only two bids were received, both of which required the County to provide a commercial kitchen in which the meals could be prepared.  This would have cost Davie County over $250,000 in addition to the per-meal price quoted by both vendors.  The County discussed the possibility of the School System preparing and delivering the meals through an interlocal agreement and terms and conditions were agreed upon; however, for the agreement to move forward, legislation exempting both organizations from the requirement of the Umstead Act had to be approved.  State Representative Julia Howard introduced the legislation, which was approved by both the House in April and the Senate in May. Its approval not only saved the County over $250,000 but also illustrates how the two organizations can work together to solve problems for each other. 
 

HB 730:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 2 AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE DOUBLE TAXATION OF CITY RESIDENTS FOR 911 3 DISPATCH SERVICES.  This Bill flew through the House and is presently in the Senate Rules Committee.  If approved, (and the opinion in Raleigh is it has a good chance), it will prohibit Davie County from charging the Town of Mocksville for 911 Dispatch for Police Services.  We presently received $45,000 from the Town to dispatch police services.  The bill has flawed thinking because police services are a municipal function.  It is not double taxation as County Sheriff services are also provided inside the Town.  Municipalities incorporate to provide a higher level of services than counties provide such as police, fire and recreation.  If this bill passes, unincorporated county taxpayers will be helping to pay for services that their elected boards do not control.
 
SB 369:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 2 AN ACT TO PHASE-IN THE CONVERSION OF THE LOCAL SALES AND USE TAXES 3 AUTHORIZED UNDER ARTICLES 39, 40, AND 42 TO A STATE SALES AND USE 4 TAX THAT IS ALLOCATED TO THE COUNTIES AND CITIES ON A PER CAPITA 5 BASIS AS A LOCAL REVENUE SOURCE. This bill would change the way local sales taxes (2% in Davie County)  are redistributed to Davie back to you.  It would redistribute the entire 2% based on our per capital population.  Presently 1% of the 2% is redistributed this way.  The other 1% is redistributed based on point of sale favoring major urban counties with large malls and shopping centers. If approved, it would mean more than $2 million for the County and Davie County Schools.  The Senate Leadership, much more powerful than the House, favors the legislation.  Governor McCrory (a former Charlotte Mayor) has said he will veto it.

As you can see, much takes place around the clock that impacts our community.  We encourage you to stay up-to-date on all of these matters and exercise your ability to contact decision makers at both the local and state level.  Again, we hope you will continue to follow our ongoing communication efforts and welcome your input on other issues you would like to hear more about.  Requests can be sent to info@daviecountync.gov.

Sincerely,


Mike Ruffin, County Manager
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