GRANVILLE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: The Granville County Board of Commissioners is seeking qualified applicants to fill roles on several citizen advisory boards and committees. Most positions will be filled by citizens who reside in the district listed, but final appointment decisions are at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. Additionally, some positions must be filled by residents that reside within the Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction of a municipality (ETJ), which is roughly a one-mile radius outside of the municipal limits. These appointees serve as county representatives on those municipal advisory boards.

Applications are available on the Granville County website at this link: https://www.granvillecounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/BOC-Application PDF2023.pdf. Completed applications should be returned to Debra Weary, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners, by email at debra.weary@granvillecounty.org, hand delivered in person to the County Administration Office located at 104 Belle Street in Oxford, or by mail to PO Box 906 Oxford, NC 27565 to the attention of Debra Weary.

To verify your district, please visit the NC State Board of Elections website: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/ Look for the district number beside “County Commissioner” under “your jurisdictions.” If you need additional assistance, contact the Granville County Addressing and GIS Mapping Coordinator at 919-692-1278. Detailed information about each committee can be found on the Granville County website: https://www.granvillecounty.org/government/other-boards-commissions/.

Vacant seats are available for the following boards and committees:

• Butner Board of Adjustment (ETJ, should reside in District 7). The Butner Board of Adjustment meetsmonthly on Thursdays at 7 p.m.

• Butner Planning Board (ETJ, should reside in District 7). The Butner Planning Board meets monthly on Thursdays at 7 p.m.

• Granville County Planning Board (District 7). The Planning Board meets monthly on Thursdays at 7 p.m.

• Granville County Social Services Board (At-Large County Appointment). The Social Services Board meetsmonthly on Tuesdays at 5 p.m.

Raleigh, NC – Today, NC House Republicans held a press conference to address the US border crisis and its impact on North Carolina. House Republicans also shared a letter signed by all 72 NC House Republicans, urging Governor Cooper to take more significant action on behalf of our state. The letter was sent to Governor Cooper earlier today.

Representative Frank Sossamon emphasized the urgency of addressing the US border crisis and its impact on North Carolina, stating, “Our state cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the challenges posed by the unsecured border. The safety and well-being of North Carolinians must be our top priority. I join my fellow House Republicans in urging Governor Cooper to take decisive action to protect our communities."

The North Carolina House of Representatives urge Governor Cooper take the following actions:

· Deploy additional North Carolina National Guard troops to assist Governor Abbott, not under ineffectual federal authority, but in coordination with Texas leadership and request any needed additional resources for this deployment in your upcoming state budget submission.

· Commit to signing legislation that mandates cooperation with ICE by local police departments to remove illegal immigrants who are committing crimes. Many illegal immigrants are unaccompanied military-aged men with military or cartel experience.

· Halt any discretionary cooperation with the federal government to place and house illegal migrants in the State.

NC House Speaker Tim Moore said, "The Biden Administration has utterly failed to secure our border. Consequently, every state in the country is now a border state, including North Carolina. It is past time for Governor Cooper to take swift action on behalf of all North Carolinians."

Contact Clai Keel (919) 733-5824

GRANVILLE COUNTY TAX ADMINISTRATION: In the coming weeks, property owners in Granville County will receive letters that will show the tax values of their property. The tax value of each property must be updated with a regular “revaluation” as required by the State of North Carolina. As will come as no surprise to anyone who has watched the real estate market in the last few years, most property owners will see an increase in their property values. An increase in tax value could result in a higher tax bill, but this will only be decided after local elected officials including the Granville County Board of Commissioners decide on the tax rate during the annual budget process this spring.

How will the 2024 revaluation affect my taxes?

Two factors contribute to property taxes:

1. The property’s assessed value.

2. The tax rate per $100 of assessed value, which is set each year by elected officials.

Granville County will be required to identify and publish a revenue neutral tax rate. The revenue neutral tax rate is calculated by determining a tax rate that would generate the same amount of revenue as the previous year after allowing for normal growth. Considering the overall increase in property values, the revenue neutral tax rate is likely to be lower than the current tax rate. As of this writing, the revenue neutral tax rate is still being calculated. A future announcement will include that information.

As part of the annual budget process, the County Manager will recommend options to the Board of Commissioners for the tax rate needed to fund Granville County services. After a series of public meetings and a formal public hearing, the Board of Commissioners will approve a tax rate as part of the annual budget ordinance. This will occur no later than June 30, 2024, and the new tax rate will be reflected on 2024 tax bills.

Why is this happening?

North Carolina requires a regular property revaluation and Granville County last completed this process in 2018. The revaluation process sets the tax value of all land (residential and commercial) and structures like homes, office buildings, stores, and farms. Property tax is Granville County’s largest source of revenue to fund key services like public education, law enforcement, social services, and a host of other community and public services.

Property taxes are based on assessed value and revaluations ensure that the assessed property value is up to date and reflects changes in the market.

What’s next? Where can I find additional resources?

The new values will be available soon to property owners on the Granville County website along with a tool called “Comper” that allows property owners to compare their values to others. All Granville County property owners will receive mailed notices. Property owners wishing to appeal their new assessed value will be able to do so by utilizing the “Comper” tool and providing additional evidence to Tax Administration staff that may have been unknown during the revaluation process.

Granville County will continue to provide additional information to residents on the Granville County website by at www.granvillecounty.org/reval

If you have any questions, staff in the Granville County Tax Administration Office are ready to help you. Call 919- 693-8161 or email reval.2024@granvillecounty.org

On Friday, January 19, 2024, NC State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, and other dignitaries, visited G.C. Hawley Middle School and South Granville High School to see a typical GCPS school day in action. She visited our Career and Technical Education classes, electives, and core subjects. Superintendent Truitt saw everything from agriculture, Health Occupations, Virtual Enterprise, and band to math, English Language Arts, and science courses. During her visit, Superintendent Truitt even got to see the new baby goat in our high school agriculture class. As a special treat, students in South Granville’s Virtual Enterprise course presented their business plan, which recently won second place in the NC Business Plan Competition and Trade Show. Superintendent Truitt also toured the new SparkNC lab located on South Granville’s campus.

GCPS was excited that Ms. Truitt could visit our schools and see the great things happening in our classrooms every day! Truitt has been the NC State Superintendent for three years; this is the first time she has visited GCPS. Dr. Winborne, GCPS Superintendent, commented, "We certainly were honored to have Superintendent Truitt come for a visit. It is always wonderful to allow our state and local leaders to see the amazing work our educators do every single day. We thank her for supporting our schools.”

Along with Superintendent Catherine Truitt, G.C. Hawley Middle School and South Granville High School had more visitors. Representative Frank Sossamon; Senator Mary Wills Bode; Granville County Commissioners, Chair Tim Karan, Vice-Chair Jimmy Gooch, and Dr. Tony Cozart; Granville County Manager Drew Cummings; GCPS Board of Education Members, Chair Glenda Williams, Vice-Chair Dr. Helen Lindsey, Leonard Peace, and Danielle Hayes; Creedmoor Police, Chief Troy Wheless, Jessica Laws, and Rickie Cates; NCDPI representatives Dr. Michael Maher, Tabari Wallace, Dr. Kendra King; and Jamey Falkenbury were all in attendance.

GRANVILLE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: The Granville County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting on Tuesday, January 2 at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center. The meeting featured the approval of a partnership with NC Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) and Spectrum under the Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program that will fund the construction of fiber-optic broadband infrastructure capable of servicing at least 1,530 addresses in Granville County. Granville’s contribution to this project will be $10,000, while the State of North Carolina will contribute $4 million, and Spectrum will invest $7.9 million. Additional information on broadband expansion in Granville County can be found on the Granville County website: https://www.granvillecounty.org/government/administration/broadband-initiative/.

In other business conducted on January 2, The Board of Commissioners:

• Approved recruitment and retention bonuses along with salary adjustments for Department of Social Services (DSS) employees. This includes a sign-on bonus of up to $4,000 for new DSS employees along with retention bonuses of up to $4,000 for existing employees earning an annual salary of $50,000 or less and $1,500 for those earning more than $50,000 per year. The approved plan also includes salary adjustments and a new classification plan for all DSS employees.

• Approved a recommendation from the Fire Commission to modify the part-time staffing plan for the 12 volunteer fire departments in Granville County. The new plan will allow flexibility for days of the week and the number of paid fire fighters staffing each station based on the availability of qualified candidates and departmental needs. The Fire Commission will evaluate the modified staffing plan in April 2024.

• Approved a scrap metal/white goods recycling contract with Mike’s Auto Salvage at $100 per ton. This contract produces approximately $50,000 per year in revenue for Granville County.

• Approved a proposal from Paul Williford Builder, LLC to complete interior alterations for the Berea Branch Library to convert a storage room into an administrative office and meeting space at a cost of $23,600.

• Reappointed Mark Pennington to the Town of Butner Board of Adjustment.

• Reappointed Mike Wood and appointed Kate Sellgren to the Citizens Advisory Committee for Environmental Affairs.

• Reappointed Karen Alley and Amy Wester to the Library System Board of Trustees.

• Reappointed Sharon Pittman, Carolyn White, and Bridget Waters and appointed Kelly Claiborne to the Granville-Vance District Board of Health.

• Reappointed David Smith and Carol Jo Harris to the Senior Services Advisory Committee.

• Approved budget amendment #5 for fiscal year 2023-2024.

• Approved tax refunds ($4,915.41), releases ($1,799.82), and write-offs ($10.84).

• Approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2023 audit contract with Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co.

The next meeting of the Granville County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center.

To stay informed about upcoming meetings of the Board of Commissioners, visit the Granville County website www.granvillecounty.org where you can sign up for the “Sunshine List” and follow the county on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GranvilleCountyGov.