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POLICY STATEMENT ON TAXATION AND FINANCE Introduction The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners establishes as a pnnciple the goal of providing Cbntrol of essential public services at the level of government most capable of delivering them. In Order for counties to be effective partners with the state and federal governments, county commissioners must. have the authority to generate optional revenues at the local level which are sufficient to meet pbblic service needs and which are responsive to economic change. The county tax base Should be broad and balanced, permiiting County governments to raise revenues from various sources rather than being overly depend6nt on any single revenue source. A proper balance of service responsibility and revenue raising authority is imperative for effec- tive governance by counties. Any restmctaring of responsibilities assigned to counties should be coupled with restructuring of local revenue sources to meet those responsibilities. Refining Mandates and Financing . Countyofficials rec6gnize their responsibilities to cazry out policies formulated by the General Assembly. At the same time, state policy makers should recognize the 'limitations of the county revenue base and the variati0n~ in revenue producing capabilities among counties in mandating programs for county financial participatiou. The division of responsibilities for financing mandated programs should be drawn as follows: · Where the s~ate has mandated county financing idbroad terms, permitting county commis- sioners discretion as to the level of service to be provided, counties should have the primary responsibility for financing. · In those cases where the General Assembly has deemed that a minimum or basic service should be equally available to all state residents regardless of where they live or the ability of county officials to finance the service, the state should have the responsibility. Couuty financial participation should be limited to sharing the adminisU'ative costs of the program. · Those services initiated by the federal government to provide income maintenance for all citizens should be financed by the federal government. The Mix of County Revenue The property t~ system is the mainstay of the county tax base. Therefore, the Association recog- nizes the importance of efforts to make the property tax system more efficient and equitable. At the same time, the Association will seek to broaden and diversify the county tax base to include ap~ propriate optional sources. In the past several years, the property tax base has been eroded by exemptions and exclusions by the General Asse~nbly,.se~mingly wi[bout regard to the effects on local govemmem revenues. If counties are expected to participate as partners with the State in providing a variety of services and the facilities to house these functions, they must have access to diverse revenue sources that are responsive tO economic change and equitable in terms of impact on residents. Therefore, the Association will seek optional sources of revenues with the goals of systemati- cally broadening and diversifying the sources of tax revenue which are at the disposal of county of- ficials. The Association will be guided ay the followingprinciples in this effort: · Counties should have authority to generate optional revenues sufficient to meet their responsibilities, especially those programs already mandated by the state and federal governraents. However, new taxing authority should not be seen as encouragement for new State and federal mandates. State-mandated programs for basic or minimum services shOuld be funded from state-generated revenues. This avoids undue burden on counties and provides for even funding of mandated programs across the state. -OVER-