At the end of a six-hour goal-setting session, the commissioners moved the state group’s fifth item – revisions to the National Flood Insurance Program – to the top of their compilation.
“North Carolina Counties, both coastal and inland, have reported that their homeowners and businesses are facing drastically increasing annual NFIP flood insurance premiums due to the Biggert-Waters Flood insurance Reform Act of 2012 phase-outs of subsidized premium rates,” according to the document. “North Carolina counties support a delay in implementation of rate increases and an affordability study … to determine impacts.”
The commissioners also moved an even lower priority to their No. 2 spot, asking the federal government to create and implement “a realistic, fair and enforceable immigration policy,” adding, at the end, an additional wish that such a policy not forget about securing borders and following the rule of law.
Finally, the commissioners added their support for maintaining a federal role in beach nourishment projects, and killed a clause supporting the need for web-based businesses to collect sales taxes from out-of-state buyers.
Earlier in the session, the commissioners decided to take a fresh look at the county’s vision and mission statements, which were created more than a decade ago.
At Commissioner Frank Williams’ suggestion, a new committee headed by him and including Commissioner Randy Thompson will review and rewrite the document. The two commissioners will appoint citizen members of the committee for a task that may employ some university interns as well as staff and may take up to a year to complete.
The commissioners also expressed an interest in sitting down with leaders of the county’s beach communities to revisit the distribution and spending of tourists’ tax dollars.
Brunswick County is currently legislatively restricted to collecting no more than 6 percent as an occupancy tax on hotel and other short-term rentals. The vast majority – 5 of the 6 percent – stays with the municipal governments, which spend the money on both marketing and beach nourishment. The county takes its one percent but is restricted to spending it, through the Tourism Authority, only on marketing.
The issue came to the fore with Oak Island’s request that the county kick in $500,000 for a dredging and beach nourishment effort.
The commissioners thought loosening the restriction that Raleigh has put on its tourism dollars might be a good idea, but Assistant County Manager Steve Stone told them that approaching legislators without first securing municipal backing would likely be fruitless.
No specific date was set for a meeting.
Metro desk: 343-2389
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