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November 10, 2022

Weekly Highlight

NCACC Policy Team Summarizes Midterm Election Results Impacting Counties

County Commissioner Election Results

Voters elected county commissioners Tuesday in 98 counties – all but Durham and Wayne. North Carolina has 587 county commission seats statewide, and 314 were up for election. Of the 224 incumbents running, nearly half were unopposed.

County Sales Tax Referenda Summary

On Tuesday, five counties held referenda for local sales and use taxes; all measures were defeated.

New Hanover asked voters to approve a quarter-cent transit tax under Article 43. By law, six counties may levy a half-cent transit tax and the other 94 have authority for a quarter-cent. New Hanover’s referendum represents the first attempt by a county to levy a quarter-cent transit tax. To date, four counties have approved the half-cent transit tax: Durham, Mecklenburg, Orange, and Wake.

In addition, Bladen, Cleveland, Macon, and Wayne counties each held referenda for the Article 46 optional quarter-cent. Of the four, only Macon had never put the question to voters. With these defeats, 47 counties levy the optional quarter cent, 31 counties have tried but failed to get voter approval, and 22 counties have never put the tax to the voters.

County Bond Referenda Summary

Also in election news, 6 counties held 11 bond referenda; all were successful. The six were: Buncombe (Open Space and Housing bonds); Durham (School, Community College, and Museum of Life and Science bonds); Johnston (School bonds); Pender (School bonds); Union (School and community college bonds); and Wake (School and community college bonds)

NCACC Updates

Commissioners Vickie Adamson and James Shores Share Perspectives on Service of Military Veterans

As Veterans Day approaches, two county supporters of Operation Green Light — Wake County Commissioner Vickie Adamson and Davidson County Commissioner James Shores (also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps) — share their perspectives in a video on what their communities are doing to show appreciation for military veterans. To watch the video, click here. To learn more about Operation Green Light, click here.

Legislative Goals Conference Next Week: Register, View the Agenda, and Designate Voting Delegates

The conference kicks off in Raleigh next Wednesday with a half day “advocacy session” which will include a midterm election briefing from Dr. David McLennan, Professor of Political Science at Meredith College and will be followed by a panel discussion and workshop on elected-to-elected advocacy featuring members of the General Assembly’s County Caucus and the NCACC Government Relations Team.

To view the event agenda and to register, click here. To register your county voting delegate, click here or contact Alisa Cobb at alisa.cobb@ncacc.org.
The deadline to submit your county’s voting delegate is November 14.

Events

Legislative Goals Conference — November 16-18 in Wake County

NCACC Risk Management Fall Regional Membership Meetings

Wednesday, November 9 in Granville County
Thursday, November 10 in Beaufort County
Monday, November 14 on Zoom

View the NCACC Event Calendar

National Opioid Settlement Updates

November 14 'Opioid Strategies' Webinar Focuses on Recovery Housing Support

The NCACC and NC Department of Health and Human Services are co-hosting a series of webinars on evidence-based, high-impact strategies that local governments may pursue to address the opioid overdose epidemic utilizing funds from the national litigation settlement.
Two webinars are currently scheduled for the remainder of 2022:

Monday, November 14: Recovery Housing Support (Register Here)
Monday December 12: Criminal Justice Diversion Programs (Register Here)

The most recent webinar, held October 10, included an overview of an effective collaborative strategic planning process from NCACC Director of Strategic Health and Opioid Initiatives Nidhi Sachdeva, a look at Cumberland County's planning process from Health Director Jennifer Green, and a synopsis of recommendations for Gaston County from the William Gross of the Gaston Controlled Substances Coalition. Access the on-demand webinar recording here.

Click here to access on-demand webinars from the “Strategies to Address the Opioid Epidemic” series, the three-part medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in jails series, and others. Click here to access the NCACC opioid settlement assistance webpage, which includes links to crucial documents and recommended resources.

A Note of Thanks from the NCACC, NC Department of Justice, and CORE-NC at UNC

We want to take a moment to thank all county and municipal staff who worked to achieve a statewide 100 percent compliance rate with the Annual Financial Reports required by the opioid settlement Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). We appreciate the patience and understanding as we together navigate the first year of the MOA requirements. North Carolina is viewed as a nationwide leader, unique in our aim to establish a thoughtful and transparent approach to using opioid settlement funds to save lives and build healthier and safer communities, from the mountains to the coast. We are proud of these efforts and look forward to working with local governments to better serve North Carolinians!

NACo Seeks County Leaders to Join National Network of Opioid Settlement Decision-Makers

The National Association of Counties is seeking participants for the Opioid Solutions Leadership Network, a learning and leadership-building community of county officials pursuing innovative and evidence-based opioid solutions with opioid settlement funds. Network members will explore successful county-led abatement strategies and support one another in customizing and implementing these strategies in their home jurisdictions. NACo invites county officials involved in the allocation of opioid settlement funds to apply; the deadline has been extended to November 18. Up to 26 county officials will be selected to participate.

State & Federal Updates

Sales Tax Update — November 2022

ARPA Resource Roundup — November 8, 2022

CountyQuarterly Summer
2022 Edition — In This Issue

Cabarrus County's Commitment to Collaboration
Breaking Bread Breaks Down Barriers to Progress

Click here to read the article.

Local Elected Leaders Academy Programs

Registration Opens for Essentials of County Government

The School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill and the NCACC are again partnering to offer newly elected commissioners a crash course on the essentials of county government. This program, designed to help county commissioners successfully transition from campaigning to governing, will introduce the basic functions of county government and the role of the governing board.

Registration is now open for three offerings – two in-person and one online:

December 15-16, 2022, in Buncombe County (8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday)
January 12-13, 2023, in Durham County (8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday)
January 18-20, 2023, online (8 a.m. – 1 p.m., Wednesday through Friday)

January 19 – Strategic Planning: Linking Strategies to Results
Effective leaders not only deal with the challenges at hand each day, but they also anticipate future challenges – a growing population that needs another school; an aging population that needs a senior center; another farm being subdivided that needs water and sewer line extensions – and seek to shape the future intentionally. In this class you will learn the principles and processes involved in strategic planning. You will learn how to use your budget as a planning tool to execute your vision over a multi-year period, and you will explore the leadership behaviors that are important elements of success.

Starting in Early 2023 – Leading the Way to Board Excellence
Leading the Way to Board Excellence is designed to help you better understand yourself as a leader and to provide you with the skills and tools to work effectively with others towards a common goal. Material is covered two days a month over the course of four months, in a hybrid environment. Applications are due November 18.

NOTE: When registering for LELA programming, use the code NCACC-SOG-LELA to receive the 20 percent county commissioner discount.

County News

Dare County

The Dare County Board of Commissioners declared Monday, November 7, 2022, as “Election Hero Day” to show appreciation and support for Dare County Elections department staff members and precinct workers throughout the county. Click here for the county news release.

Scotland County

Scotland County Commissioners Betty Blue Gholston and Carol McCall were recognized for their decades of outstanding service to Scotland County and the community. As a token of appreciation both commissioners were presented with plaques in the shape of Scotland County. Click here to read an article on the presentation.

NCACC is seeking information on new county programs and announcements to share. Please email communications@ncacc.org with your county’s news and to be included in the NCACC Weekly Update.