Gardner Promotes Large Urban County Priority Needs In Washington

6/21/2007

Wake County Commissioner Kenn Gardner this week joined a team of elected and appointed officials representing the nation's largest counties to encourage members of Congress and the Bush Administration to fully support their federal funding priorities and help them better understand the needs of urban counties.

The Capitol Hill and White House meetings were part of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Large Urban County Caucus "fly-in" held June 19-21 in Washington, D.C.

In meetings with key national representatives including Congressman David Price, Commissioner Gardner advocated for key national and local priorities, among them the need for federal partnership funding of the Western Wake Regional Water Reclamation facility with Cary, Durham County and Research Triangle Park; for funding to support future mental health facilities for the County's continuum of care; and a request on behalf of the City of Raleigh to bring its police department onto the County's 800-MHz interoperable radio communication system.

"These are important regional infrastructure projects that will greatly benefit from federal support and partnership," Gardner said.

The Large Urban County Caucus’ national priorities focus on the need for additional Homeland Security and Justice Assistance Grant funding. The caucus also supports repeal of an unfunded mandate requiring counties to withhold 3 percent of every service contract, which Gardner says penalizes the wrong people.

"Law-abiding businesses are being penalized to cover a ‘tax gap’ created by those businesses that are not paying their taxes to the IRS," Gardner said. "This is like a trooper pulling over someone going the speed limit and writing him a ticket. It penalizes the wrong people and forces the county to become the collection agent."

At a meeting with White House officials earlier today, Gardner also stressed issues closer to home, notably asking for relief from North Carolina’s requirement that counties pay a portion of the federal Medicaid match (North Carolina is the only state requiring full participation by counties). Congressman G.K. Butterfield has introduced the Medicaid County Protection Act to further this relief.

Gardner also expressed concerns that the failing National Weather Satellite conditions could have serious negative impacts on citizens of a hurricane-prone state such as North Carolina. Stressing the need for Homeland Security funding for coordination among counties, local hospitals and governments, the Centers for Disease Control, and law enforcement at all levels, Gardner noted that his daughter was one of 10 North Carolinians who had to be quarantined during the SARS incident several years ago.

Commissioner Gardner was appointed in 2006 to NACo's Large Urban County Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of the nation's 100 largest counties representing more than 130 million people.

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