FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                Contact:    Todd McGee, (919) 715-7336

April 4, 2008                                                                                 todd.mcgee@ncacc.org

NCACC to host essay contest on county government

As part of its centennial celebration, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners is inviting 10^th grade classes in North Carolina public and charter schools to participate in an essay contest on county government. The topic of the essay is, “How does my county government improve the lives of its citizens?” Essays will be limited to 500 words.

The winning student and his/her teacher will each receive $500 and will be invited to the NCACC’s Annual Conference in August to read the winning entry during a General Session. For more details, including a complete set of contest rules, please click the link below:

http://www.welcometoyourcounty.org/content/2008_essay_contest.shtm

The contest will kick off April 6-12 during National County Government Week. The deadline to enter the contest is May 9.

“This essay contest will help educate the next generation of community leaders about the many valuable services provided by county governments,” said NCACC President David Young, a Buncombe County Commissioner.

The NCACC has also unveiled a new Web site for civics teachers and students who would like to learn more about county government at www.welcometoyourcounty.org. The Web site contains sections on why counties and county governments exist, where counties receive their funding, what services they provide, who runs county governments, and more.

The Web site also includes a tax calculator that allows users to increase and decrease various revenue options including the impact on any particular county of an expansion of the sales tax base; total revenue generated or lost with incremental adjustments to the property tax rate; and/or yield from a local option sales tax, land transfer tax, or impact fee. The tax calculator was developed in conjunction with the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) at North Carolina State University and is designed to help North Carolina’s counties examine and illustrate financial tradeoffs as they prepare for a rapidly changing economic future.

For more information on the contest or the Web site, please contact Todd McGee, NCACC Communications Director, at (919) 715-7336 or todd.mcgee@ncacc.org.

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About the NCACC: The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) is the official voice of all 100 counties on issues being considered by the General Assembly, Congress and federal and state agencies. Founded in 1908, the Association provides expertise to counties in the areas of lobbying, fiscal and legal research, communications, intergovernmental relations, information technology, field visits and risk management services.