By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted on Tuesday to table a resolution supporting the end of Congress’s expenditure of tax dollars for the war in Afghanistan.
Board members said they would like to hear more from the public about whether the board should take a position on such a matter before approving the resolution. County resident Mark Marcoplos first proposed the resolution in September, stating that county residents are paying approximately $2,600 each annually for warfare.
The proposed resolution, which requests that members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation oppose legislation providing further war funding, states that “an inordinate level of military expenditure is being made by the U.S. federal government for warfare in Afghanistan,†which “creates great and unnecessary harm to the people of the nation of Afghanistan and to U.S. military personnel and their families.â€
“I don’t really, at this point, have an opinion as to whether it is or isn’t [appropriate for the board to take a position on the resolution],†Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said, “and I think that opinion would need to be informed by what the public has to say as to whether this board should take a position on a matter of national concern.
“For that reason, I’m very disinclined to support this resolution, regardless of what my personal feelings might be with regard to the specifics of the issue.â€
Yuhasz said he did not want to put a timeframe on collecting public input, and voted against an amendment proposed by Commissioner Alice Gordon adding a timeframe to his motion to table. That amendment passed 4-3; the amended motion then passed unanimously.
Commissioners Gordon and Pam Hemminger said they would like to see something in the resolution expressing gratitude for the service of those in the armed forces before they could support it.
Marcoplos said county residents rely on the board to represent them.
“Some people take the perspective that it’s not the business of local governments to make any statements regarding what some perceive as a federal matter, but beyond the fact that the economy right now is putting us in such a bind and we really need this money back here, there’s also the fact that the only leaders that can really speak for Orange County are you,†Marcoplos said. “You represent us here and that’s why I feel it’s entirely appropriate that you would support this resolution, both for the economy and as a matter of conscience.â€
The board will revisit the resolution at its meeting on Nov. 16.
In other action, the board:
• received a report on the I-40/N.C. 54 corridor that recommended improvements be made to the road to support an increase from 40,000 to 70,000 vehicles per day by 2035;
• voted unanimously to refund up to $103.6 million in municipal bonds, which have falling interest rates, for potential debt-service savings of about $4.6 million; and
• voted unanimously to move the county Parks Operation Base from its leased Cornerstone Court location in Hillsborough to the county-owned future Millhouse Road park site for annual savings of about $40,000.