COVID-19 Survey of Local Governments
As of this morning, we have only received complete responses from 83 municipalities and 15 counties. That is only around 12% of the counties and municipalities across the state.
We would really like to see this number grow substantially to around 32% of municipalities and counties. How can you help? I am glad you asked!
- If you are a manager, administrator, or elected official in North Carolina and you have not completed the survey yet, please take a few minutes to do that here - https://bit.ly/FallCovidSurvey. The current median completion time for the survey is only 6 minutes!
- If you have already completed the survey, please pass this message along to some of your colleagues and encourage them to respond. You can let them know that the survey should only take around 6 minutes to complete and their response will help form a more comprehensive understanding for all local governments across the state.
Our survey is currently scheduled to close on November 25. By hearing the challenges you face and the solutions you are creating, we can better respond to your needs and the needs of the people and communities you serve. For example, the Keys to Economic Growth and Recovery webinar series was a direct result of the survey conducted earlier this year.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer this very brief survey. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Anita Brown-Graham at brgraham@sog.unc.edu or Jason Jones at jason.jones@sog.unc.edu.
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North Carolina Introduces COVID-19 County
Alert System
This week, Governor Roy Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) announced a new COVID-19 County Alert System to pinpoint counties with the highest levels of viral spread and offer specific recommendations to bring numbers down. This system will help give local leaders another tool to understand how their county is faring and to make decisions about actions to slow viral spread. The map will be updated every four weeks.
The system uses metrics informed by the White House Coronavirus Task Force and North Carolina’s key metrics to categorize counties into three tiers:
Yellow: Significant Community Spread
Orange: Substantial Community Spread
Red: Critical Community Spread
Because no one metric provides a complete picture, the COVID-19 County Alert System uses a combination of three metrics: case rate, the percent of tests that are positive, and hospital impact within the county.
To be assigned to the red or orange tier, a county must meet the threshold for case rate for that tier AND the threshold for either percent positive OR hospital impact.
- Case Rate: The number of new cases in 14 days per 100,000 people
- Percent Positive: The percent of tests that are positive over 14 days
Hospital Impact: A composite score based on the impact that COVID-19 has had on hospitals including percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations, COVID-19 related visits to the Emergency Department, staffed open hospital beds, and critical staffing shortages over 14 days
Counties will remain categorized in these tiers through at least the 2nd week of December. Going forward, NCDHHS will publish an updated COVID-19 County Alert System report the 2nd week of every month.
Please see more in depth information as well as a county-by-county tier breakdown here: https://governor.nc.gov/news/north-carolina-introduces-covid-19-county-alert-system.
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myFutureNC County Profiles Webinar
Join the NC Rural Center, myFutureNC, and Carolina Demography on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 from 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. to learn more about their County Attainment Profiles and the customized data specific to your local county.
About the County Data Profiles
myFutureNC in partnership with Carolina Demography has created data profiles for every North Carolina county that highlight county-level educational attainment and key education and workforce performance metrics.
It is the hope that leaders can use these profiles to help facilitate conversations and informed decision-making on local priorities aimed at increasing education levels with a specific emphasis on the "opportunities for improvement" uniquely identified by county.
Registration: https://web.cvent.com/event/82990079-3c49-482b-9817-9f7ad8de4834/summary
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Career Advisor I - Avery Job Posting
The North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Workforce Solutions has a position for a Career Advisor/Employment Consultant that will be based in Avery County on Mayland’s Newland Campus. The position is posted on the Office State Human Resources site and it is listed on NCWorks and the Job Number is 11441127. If you know of any good candidates please share this information with them and have them to contact their local NCWorks Career Center for more information. Thank you for your assistance.
View the Job Bulletin here.
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Essentials of County Government Moves Online
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Join the School of Government and the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners this winter for the first virtual Essentials of County Government. Newly elected officials have the opportunity to register for one of two tracks, each spanning the course of three months.
Participants will complete pre-work, join three interactive sessions on Zoom, and receive direct advice and insight from School and Association faculty and staff during live "ask the expert" sessions. Click here for a sample agenda for the live sessions. This year's program will explore three key themes: roles and responsibilities of county governance; budgets, fiduciary duty, & financial condition; and ethics, conflicts of interest, & open government.
Learn More |
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North Carolina State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Offerings through 2021
Great opportunity for our area and the existing industry, please consider participating with us.
We will be talking all things STEP and will be answering questions that are presented. If you could help us spread the word, we would appreciate it very much. Also, feel free to join as well as it is sure to be a great refresher of how the program works and what is allowable. We would be very happy to coordinate a similar presentation for your local folks if you think it would be helpful. Let me know.
Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2881896253456555789
Description: Are you with a small-to-medium sized business (500 or fewer employees) that currently exports or is interested in exporting? Would you like to learn how to access a grant program that reimburses eligible companies up to $48,000, over two years, for a variety of export focused initiatives? If so, be sure to join this informative webinar to learn more.
The STEP Program export assistance funds include:
- Booth reimbursement up to $5,000
- Travel reimbursement up to $3,000
- Export Services reimbursements up to $16,000
During this webinar we will discuss eligibility requirements, qualifying activities, timelines, and approval and reimbursement processes. Additionally, we will discuss the international trade team and help you identify with whom to connect to learn more.
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MyFutureNC: County Data and Resources
In February 2020, myFutureNC and Carolina Demography collaborated to launch the myFutureNC Attainment Dashboard. The dashboard shows North Carolina’s progress toward the state’s overall 2030 goal for postsecondary educational attainment, as well as 18 educational performance indicators. The dashboard also includes county level profiles. These indicators span the education continuum, capturing key transition points for students from NC Pre-K through college completion and into the labor market. NC Rural Center will be hosting a webinar on December 9 where MyFutureNC dashboard will be presented. Stay tuned for registration details.
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Caregivers of Older Adults Survey
The High Country Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Support Program needs your help! The family caregiver support program is dedicated to help family caregivers in the High Country. Through this program we offer a multitude of services at no cost family caregivers. These services include but are not limited to case management, respite vouchers, information and assistance, and other supplemental services.
The High Country AAA is asking for your input to improve the organization's understanding of the needs of caregivers of older adults throughout our seven-county region during the COVID-19 pandemic. The family caregiver support program is dedicated to help family caregivers in the High Country. Through this program we offer a multitude of services at no cost to the family. These services include but are not limited to case management, respite vouchers, information and assistance, and other supplemental services.
The High Country AAA is asking for your input to improve the organization's understanding of the needs of caregivers of older adults throughout our seven-county region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please complete this Survey the best of your knowledge. Your assistance is greatly valued and appreciated! Your responses will be used to inform the High Country Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Support Program and will be kept confidential to AAA staff. Thank you for your dedication to the family caregivers of Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey Counties. Your assistance is greatly valued and appreciated! Your responses will be used to inform the High Country Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Support Program and will be kept confidential to AAA staff. Thank you for your dedication to the family caregivers of Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey Counties.
Survey Link: https://forms.gle/N3vY4w1McdrLRzQg8
I have also attached the referral form for the family caregiver support program, please refer anyone you might think will benefit from this program. The eligibility requirements are that the caregiver must be caring for some 60 years of age or older who needs help with at least two activities of daily living (toileting, bathing, ambulating, eating, getting in/out of bed or chair) or they must be caring for someone living with Dementia.
Feel free to share this survey to your networks or reach out to me if you have any questions.
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NC MedAssist Info Session - Free Prescriptions for the Uninsured
NC MedAssist will be holding two free information sessions on December 1 and December 2 at 11:30am. Join us to learn about the Free Pharmacy program and how uninsured individuals can receive FREE prescription medications mailed to their home through our nonprofit pharmacy! See attached flyer to view dates and register or click here: www.medassist.org/infosession. Feel free to forward this email and share with others!
Across North Carolina, our neighbors have found themselves with little to no income and no health insurance. They are struggling to purchase their medication and many of them are suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes or hypertension. The inability to purchase medications leads to risky behaviors such as taking less medication or sometimes going without it at all. Now more than ever, the choice between purchasing food or medicine is being felt by our neighbors and NC MedAssist is here to help!
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Local Government Training Program - Professional Development Scholarship
The Local Government Training Program (LGTP) is pleased to announce that we will be offering $200.00 scholarships to local government professionals in western North Carolina, to help pay for virtual professional development offerings from UNC’s School of Government. Due to the limitations for face-to-face instruction being offered in the western region, the LGTP is working to support our local government jurisdictions by helping to mitigate professional development training costs and increase attendance and participation in these opportunities. These scholarship dollars will be used to help pay for the tuition costs for upcoming virtual instruction. To see a list of upcoming courses offered by the School of Government please check https://www.sog.unc.edu/courses/.
In order to apply for these scholarship funds please complete the attached application and return it to Bob Boylan, rcboylan@email.wcu.edu, prior to registering for the program with the School of Government. Once you have received confirmation of your approval, you will then complete the registration process with UNC. When you submit your course registration form, you will be required to confirm your payment method; you should select the option to be invoiced. Scholarship funds will be applied to your balance at the end of the month in which you applied. Once your scholarship has been applied to your account, a final invoice will be generated with the remaining balance to be paid by your jurisdiction. If the cost of the workshop is less than $200.00, this scholarship will cover the entire tuition. Please share this information with any other employees in your jurisdiction who are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity. For additional information or if you have any questions please contact me via email or at (828)-227-3442.
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NCcareers.org for Job Seekers Video
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Keys to Economic Recovery from COVID-19
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What strategies will help local economies recover more quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic? The ncIMPACT Initiative at the UNC School of Government and NCGrowth at the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise are collaborating on a project to assess the short term impacts of local factors and local government actions that aim to help people feel safe engaging in activities that improve the economy.
Register for a free series of webinars where we will share what we learn and collect your input as the project progresses. Let's dive into the data and learn from each other as we navigate next steps in North Carolina.
Upcoming Webinar Dates:
January 27: Using Data to Drive Decisions in the Face of Crisis
All webinars begin at 2:00 p.m. EST
This project is supported by the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with funding from the North Carolina Coronavirus Relief Fund established and appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly.
Learn more and register once for the series at: https://go.unc.edu/s2N4T |
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Legal Basics for Advisory Boards Webinar
January 21, 2021
10 am – 2:45 pm (with a 45-minute lunch break)
Online | Zoom
We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Legal Basics for Advisory Boards Webinar on Thursday, January 21, 2021, from 10 am – 2:45 pm, with a 45-minute lunch break from 12 – 12:45 pm. The class will be held via Zoom, and will be available for on-demand purchase after the live webinar date.
Registration: To register for this course, please visit the course webpage. The registration fee is $150.
Topics: Municipalities and counties throughout the state rely on advisory boards for recommendations on a wide range of local government issues. This online crash course for advisory board members is designed to help them do their important work effectively and lawfully. Participants will gain a basic understanding of topics relevant to all local government advisory boards, including the open meetings law, the public records law, and board procedures. (NOTE: This course will not cover procedural requirements specific to planning boards or quasi-judicial proceedings.)
Materials: Any related documents will be posted under the “materials” tab on the course web page. Each registrant will receive Suggested Procedural Rules for Local Appointed Boards in an e-format.
Faculty coordinator: Trey Allen at tallen@sog.unc.edu
For more information: Contact Rachel Mintel, program associate, at mintel@sog.unc.edu
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Upcoming Local Elected Leaders Academy Courses
Dates, topics, and links for course descriptions and registration are included below. As a reminder, CPLG is offering 25% registration discounts in recognition of the budget disruptions local governments continue to experience as the NC economy slowly recovers. Our continued use of virtual platforms provides wide access to these offerings. I hope you can take advantage of some of these important options to hone your local leadership skills.
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