NCACC analysis of state budget

With a final vote early this morning, the N.C. General Assembly approved a state budget for the 2015-17 biennium that achieves several NCACC goals and has little negative effect on county government. Governor Pat McCrory has signed the legislation. The budget contains a tax plan to help struggling areas of the state by expanding the…

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Pending state legislation could adversely impact Brunswick County, municipalities

BOLIVIA, N.C. — Two items of pending North Carolina legislation have the potential to cause negative financial impacts to Brunswick County and its municipalities.   One bill, introduced in the House, would exempt builders from paying property taxes on some inventory for several years, with no later repayment. The other, a proposal to distribute sales…

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Former Brunswick County Hospital Building SOLD!

BOLIVIA, N.C. — The sale of the former hospital building off U.S. 17 in Brunswick County is now complete, after the sale officially closed Tuesday, June 30, 2015 and the transfer of funds was completed the morning of Wednesday, July 1, 2015. Centre Development Company II, LLC, purchased the property for $750,000. County staff is…

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Comments Regarding Economic Development

Over the past few days there have been several media reports related to possible changes in Brunswick County’s approach to economic development: – Port City Daily – Wilmington Star-News. As outlined in the Star-News’ article, there are some who are ready to completely change our approach to economic development by moving away from our economic…

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NCACC Analysis of State Senate budget’s impact on counties

Distributed by the N.C. Association of County Commissioners – June 19, 2015 The N.C. Senate passed its budget for the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium on June 18. This version of the state’s budget spends less than the House, putting more funds in reserve accounts. It also includes extensive policy modifications such as Medicaid Reform and tax…

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Exempt Builders’ Inventory Bill Could Lead to Revenue Loss to Counties, Creating De Facto Unfunded Mandate

The item below was just distributed by the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.  I sent a note to several members of the House about this issue; my note is included at the bottom of this post. From the NCACC: The House Finance Committee yesterday passed H168 Exempt Builders’ Inventory, and it is scheduled to be…

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A Few Comments on the Budget Process

Following the recent passage of our county’s budget for Fiscal Year 2015-16, I was contacted by a constituent who was unhappy about an item that was not funded in the budget. As I stated during the meeting at which the budget was adopted, there is a reason we have a board of commissioners.  No one…

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Brunswick County budget maintains revenue neutral tax rate

BOLIVIA,  N.C. — The fiscal year 2015-16 budget, unanimously approved by the Brunswick County Commissioners on Monday, June 15, maintains a revenue neutral tax rate. Every four years, Brunswick County conducts a property revaluation, adjusting property values to reflect current market conditions. In these years, the county calculates a revenue neutral tax rate. The revenue…

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NC Senate gives counties more time to update voting machines

From the N.C. Association of County Commissioners — June 12, 2015 — The Senate Rules Committee turned H836 (Elections Modifications), a House regulatory reform bill, into elections changes (while another committee simultaneously turned a different House bill into the regulatory reform replacement). The revised legislation gives county boards of elections the option to submit lists of…

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NC Senate unveils latest plan to distribute county sales taxes

From the N.C. Association of County Commissioners — June 12, 2015 — After several days of waiting, the N.C. Senate rolled out its latest plan to redistribute county-adopted sales tax revenues on Wednesday. The Senate plan was only presented in the Commerce Committee and is rumored to be included in the Senate budget that will be…

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