The Moore County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution to fight opioid addiction at its Oct. 18 agenda meeting.
“We are asking our attorney general to take action,” Chairman Frank Quis said about the drugs coming into America on the southern border, which are not measured in pounds but in tons.
Moore County overdoses increased 33.7% from 2018 to 2020.
The resolution reads, “NOW,THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Moore County Board of Commissioners is grateful for the effort given toward the opioid settlement and hereby urgently requests North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and Governor Roy Cooper to continue fighting the opioid battle, including joining efforts to mitigate the influx of people and drugs entering the United States via the southern border, and communicating to President Biden the vital need for action to gain control of the border and protect the lives of our citizens.”
Read the full resolution here. Click on “D” under new business.
N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein met with Moore County Commissioners and potential opioid-abuse treatment partners Sept. 26. Read the discussion about using $6,258,160 being released to Moore County over the next 18 years to treat opioid addiction with medications in this article.
In new business, the board approved redistribution of American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The redistribution was possible because the broadband extension was less than expected. Moore County Public Utilities will receive $4,689,690 for water and sewer line extension projects in needy areas. The extensions will connect the county system from the Harnett County area to West End.
Internal Auditor and Budget Manager Tami Golden presented the General Fund overview on assigned and committed fund balances.
Assigned fund balances may be changed without formal action and do not need designation by the board.
The board approved assignment of the tax revaluation, which is completed every year, to the committed fund at $800,000.
The parks and recreation program, Keep Moore Beautiful, at $11,722, which is collected from golf tournaments, was designated as an assigned fund.
Golden said 2022 was a great year. The county collected $5.2 million in sales tax, and any amount over $3.1 million is automatically transferred to Fund 255, which helps pay for schools.
The board approved $14,158,196 in assignments for the General Fund. The funds list includes government projects, the courthouse, solid waste, sheriff vehicles, salaries, property management, environmental health vendors, property management vehicles and risk management.
The board amended the budget to cover $433,262 for emergency services vehicles and additional salaries, to cover $24,000 for transportation services’ salaries, to cover $1,500 in self-insurance salaries, to cover $50,000 for Water Pollution Control Plant salaries, and to cover $90,000 for public utilities’ salaries.
The board approved Capital Project Ordinance revisions, which may be reviewed on pages 23-30 of the agenda packet.
Spatial Data Consultants was contracted at $185,500 to provide aerial photography, with three-inch resolution in the county, and six-inch resolution everywhere else, for the county’s geographic information system (GIS) used for tax revaluations.
The GIS public safety data is available to the public.
Judy Martin, custodian of register of deeds, said a free Real Estate Recording Notification Service went live on the website Sept. 19. Citizens registering documents receive an email alert, but the service cannot prevent fraudulent attempts.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel Journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Contact her at [email protected]
File photo.
