The pre-registration deadline is just ahead! Don’t wait to save your spot at the year’s most important conference for North Carolina cities and towns -- Connect CityVision 2017, scheduled for Sept. 20-23 in Greenville. Pre-register by Aug. 18. Seats are filling quickly. Don't miss your chance to join with hundreds of municipal officials from across North Carolina to network and learn best practices for connecting to technology, to neighboring cities and towns, to regional projects and organizations, and to influential leadership skills. The annual conference also is where members elect officers and make any constitutional or bylaw changes. There's no other event like CityVision. Register now!
Though 2020 is still a few years away, preparations for that year’s decennial U.S. Census continue in North Carolina. The N.C. State Data Center recently put together this brief summary of efforts currently underway and those that are coming in the future. Last month, local elected officials across the state – likely mayors in N.C. municipalities – should have received invitation letters to participate in the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA), the once-in-a-decade verification of residential addresses. Elected officials are encouraged to register and designate a local liaison for the LUCA program by September 2017, as LUCA training will be held later this year. LUCA materials will be mailed out beginning in February 2018, with participants having 120 days to verify addresses at that time. If you have any questions about Census preparations, please email League Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives Chris Nida.
Sign up now for the League's Aug. 15 webinar on small-cell wireless legislation that recently passed the General Assembly and learn what it means for local governments. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar, which will begin at 10 a.m.
A few of Gov. Roy Cooper’s recently announced state board appointees carry municipal experience with them. They include Charles Penny, a retired city manager from Rocky Mount with more than three decades of local government knowledge and expertise in city finance and budgeting, says a press release announcing Penny’s appointment to the State Property Tax Commission. Additionally, longtime Durham Mayor Bill Bell was appointment to an at-large seat on the N.C. Railroad Board of Directors. And Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump was appointed to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. They’re among many individuals named in the governor's Aug. 8 press release. "I appreciate that North Carolinians from a variety of walks of life have agreed to help our state by serving on these boards and commissions," Governor Cooper said. LINC’ed IN reported last week that Concord Mayor Scott Padgett had received appointment from the governor to serve on the Local Government Commission. He is also named in the governor’s release.
The National League of Cities (NLC) says it hopes President Trump's declaration of a national emergency over the opioid crisis will give local governments the flexibility and attention needed to combat it, and that the federal response will focus on medical treatment as opposed to criminal punishment. In a statement this week, NLC CEO Clarence Anthony said: "True progress will only come if federal, state and local governments work together on solutions. Local leaders, law enforcement officers and medical providers stress the importance of alternatives to arrest and flexibility in dealing with addicts. That flexibility must be a priority as we work to address this crisis." Learn more about how the local governments are combatting opioid damage at opioidaction.org. In North Carolina, state legislation on the matter received strong support this year.
The N.C. Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) is set to install Durham County Commissioner Brenda Howerton as its new president. On the agenda to be sworn in on Saturday at NCACC's 110th Annual Conference, Howerton will succeed the statewide leadership of Davidson County Commissioner Fred McClure. The League congratulates Howerton and wishes her the best for her term ahead, which Howerton outlined in a Durham Herald-Sun article. Howerton has served on the Durham County Commission since 2008. In July, Gov. Roy Cooper announced he was appointing Howerton to serve on the Local Government Employees' Retirement System Board of Trustees.
