Three Guilford County commissioners have been named to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners steering committees.
The association is a group consisting of commissioners from counties across the state that works each year to do things like petition state and federal legislators to make laws beneficial to counties – and it pursues efforts to bring about collaborative plans for initiatives such as expanded broadband internet access and rural transportation improvement.
The association’s seven steering committees help the Board of Directors set policy regarding agriculture, environment, general government, health and human services, justice and public safety, public education, and tax and finance.
District 5 Commissioner Carly Cooke and At-Large Commissioner Kay Cashion have been appointed to two steering committees, while District 7 Commissioner Frankie Jones, Jr. has been appointed to one.
Jones will serve on the NCACC Tax and Finance Steering Committee.
He stated in a press release announcing the appointments that, “The overarching goal of the steering committee will be to ensure all 100 counties – small to large – are assured local input and control when it comes to looking at all tax/revenue-related issues affecting them.”
Cooke has been named to the NCACC Public Education and Health and Human Services committees.
Cooke hopes to see the Health and Human Services Steering Committee work on policy recommendations to the state that advocate for “increased investment in early childhood environments, including affordable childcare solutions and universal pre-K,” as well as policies and funding meant to address the increasing behavioral health services needs in the state.
Cashion – who has a long history of representing Guilford County at both the state and national levels – has added the NC Association of County Commissioners General Government and the Tax and Finance steering committees to her resume.
Cashion said she’s going to work to persuade the General Assembly to adopt a guiding principle that state government “should seek input from counties when developing rules and regulations that impact counties particularly concerning property rights.”
She also said she will be advocating for more funding for broadband and digital service in “unserved and underserved” areas of the state, and push for more funding for economic development related infrastructure like roads, railways, and “multi-model” transportation – recognizing that “one size does not fit all counties across the state.”
The three commissioners will serve on those committees until July 31, 2024.
Steering committee membership is limited to county commissioners. However, top county staff, like Guilford County Manager Mike Halford, often attend association meetings and go to state and national conferences.
I have a few suggestions: Eliminate tax on food in Guilford County; eliminate voluntary annexation because it is a ruse; for the State Board of Elections, eliminate early voting and at the same time require polls to remain open for 12 hours (6:00 am-6:00 pm) with additional polling sites open for voting to prevent long wait times to vote, eliminate college students voting in local elections if their permanent home is elsewhere as shown on the students’ driver’s license.