On Friday morning, Feb. 10, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is meeting with the local delegation of state representatives to let the state reps know what moves in the coming 2023 legislative session would benefit the county.

The board meets with the legislators periodically to keep them apprised of which state laws and policies are hamstringing the county, what unfunded mandates are costing the county dearly, and what new state laws or policies county officials would like to see put in place.

The Feb. 10 meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in the Carolyn Q. Coleman Room on the first floor of the Old County Courthouse.  Since a majority of the county commissioners – a quorum – are expected to attend, the meeting by law must be open to the public.  Though the meeting is open, the county’s Clerk to the Board’s office has warned that space may be limited given the size of the room and the nature of the conversation.

The official stated purpose of the gathering is “to meet with members of the county’s local legislative delegation and county leadership team to discuss upcoming legislative goals.”

The meeting between the commissioners and the legislators was scheduled hastily this year.  The Guilford County commissioners held their annual retreat at the Bur-Mil Clubhouse in Greensboro late last week and a number of items discussed by the commissioners would clearly require state action.  Since there were only a few weeks before the deadline for the legislators to submit bills to change state laws, the county clerk to the board said she would schedule the meeting quickly.

Among other things, county officials would like to see from the state are changes that would help ease the property tax burden on low-income elderly and disabled property owners, more flexibility in bringing back retired county employees for work in special situations, changes in the health department accreditation criteria, and more funding and support for Adult Protective Services.

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