Dare County commissioners adopt proclamations, oppose S711 and set positions on state bills; approve contracts and capital adjustments

The Dare County Board of Commissioners used its April 16 meeting to adopt a series of proclamations, to formalize positions on multiple state bills and to approve several county contracts and budget adjustments.

Proclamations and formal recognitions - The board unanimously adopted a proclamation declaring April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and a separate proclamation recognizing the Week of the Young Child (April 5–11, 2025). Both were approved by voice vote with motions to adopt from vice chair House and seconded by Commissioner Burris. - Commissioners also adopted proclamations for National Library Week and Fair Housing Month; both motions carried unanimously.

State legislation: positions and lobbying directions - The board voted to ask its lobbyists to pursue adding Dare County to H306, a local bill that would expand authority to construct housing for local-government employees; the vote passed unanimously. - On H593 (local government audits) the board instructed lobbyists to oppose a provision that would require selection of auditors by lowest-bid process; commissioners said they support audit quality and timely completion but not a strict lowest-bid rule. Motion carried unanimously. - The board voted to support S419 / H24, legislation to restore local authority to initiate zoning changes (restoring down-zoning authority that had been limited by prior legislation). Motion passed unanimously. - Commissioners voted to oppose House Bill 765 after staff explained concerns about fiscal-analysis requirements, expanded vested-rights timeframes and a broad conflict-of-interest provision. Motion to oppose passed unanimously. - The board approved a resolution opposing Senate Bill 711, which would create a new county-administered code-of-ethics and a removal process for registers of deeds. The resolution said existing State statutes and court processes already provide remedies for misconduct and warned that the proposed S711 could risk politicized removal of an elected official. The resolution passed unanimously. - The board approved support for Senate Bill 248 to allow local registers of deeds to issue certified birth certificates to adopted persons, reducing time and cost for adoptees to obtain a certificate; motion passed unanimously.

County contracts, capital projects and other approvals - The board approved a multi-year debris-monitoring contract recommendation and authorized the county manager to negotiate and sign the agreement with Thompson Consulting (low bidder). The motion carried unanimously. - Commissioners adopted amendments to capital project ordinances, reallocating about $620,000 in project savings and interest income to reduce the next bond issue for phase 3 of the county’s capital projects. Motion to adopt carried unanimously. - The consent agenda, including items such as the audit contract for fiscal year ending June 30, 2025; shallow-draft dredging cost-share resolutions; and various budget amendments, was approved unanimously.

Closed-session action - After a closed session the board authorized the county manager to withdraw Dare County from certain Master Litigation Agreements (MLAs) related to the opioid litigation as requested by the county’s legal counsel/coalition. The board voted to authorize that action unanimously.

Why it matters: The combined actions direct the county’s legislative and budget priorities ahead of the 2025 General Assembly session and the upcoming county budget adoption. Approving the debris contract and capital adjustments positions the county for storm-response and upcoming capital work, while the S711 opposition and the other bill positions reflect the board’s priorities for local control and due process.

Votes at a glance: Where available, each motion passed by unanimous voice vote; the meeting record shows no roll-call split votes.