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If you care about schools, social services, transit, 911 services, and the county jail, then you might want to get involved with the county commissioner race that’s coming up. Candidates file in December for a March 3rd election. Four of the seven seats on the board are up, and all the incumbents are seeking re-election. Three seats on the Orange County School Board are also up for election. What do the County Commissioners do? The County Commissioners are responsible for the local funding of public schools, including the blighted condition of many of our school buildings. The County targets 48.1% of its operating budget to fund our two county schools systems. The Board is also responsible for school capital needs and the physical condition of our schools. They also fund social services, the transit taxes, and emergency services. Many county functions like transit, libraries, solid waste, and law enforcement overlap with town functions. That means without good cooperation, town residents pay twice for services. The county also funds its own parks, which are separate from town parks and greenways, and controls the transit taxes that were used for light rail. These areas are ripe for better governance and cooperation to assure that town residents are getting their fair share of county resources. We would like to see Chapel Hill have a bigger voice in transit decisions since Chapel Hill Transit serves Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC with transit and the Town of Chapel Hill’s land use plans is where the greatest transit needs reside. The commissioners are responsible for county taxes, including the CHCCS supplement. County taxes are about 2/3rds of our tax bill. Commissioners receive a base honorarium of $24,000 or more. Adding stipends for phone, travel, and health insurance brings compensation to over $40,000. Commissioners serving more than two terms are eligible for health benefits for life. Commissioners Rich, Dorosin and Price will be eligible for lifetime health benefits if re-elected. Whose up and when is the election? Four out of seven seats on the present Orange County Commission are up for re-election in March. Two of the three District 1 seats are up; one of the two District 2 seats is up; and one of the two at-large seats are up. District 1 corresponds roughly to the CHCCS district; District 2 covers the Orange County school district; At-large is county wide. If you live in the Chapel Hill School District you are in District 1, otherwise you are in District 2. Everyone votes for the “at large” candidate. An electoral district map is here. Info on tax rates by location here. The seats that are up for election in March (incumbents seeking re-election) are listed below:
When to file? There is not much time. The candidate filing deadline is December 20 and election day is March 3rd. The race will be decided in the Democratic primary, so you must be a registered Democrat or unaffiliated voter to vote for county commissioner. Registered Republicans cannot vote in the Democratic primary
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