Name: Jeffrey Hoagland
Age: 40
Party affiliation: Republican
Campaign website: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EeNbUoQtG/
Occupation & employer: Supervisor nhanced semiconductor
Years lived in the area: 14
1. In your view, what are the three most pressing issues facing Orange County and—if you are running for a district seat—your district in particular? If elected, what will you do to address these issues?
Taxes, cost of living, and crime
2. How would your experience―in politics or otherwise in your career―make you an asset to the county’s decision-making process?
I know how to budget at scale and am very good at finding patterns and doing root cause to get to solutions
3. What’s the best or most important thing the Orange County Board of County Commissioners has done in the past year? Additionally, name a decision you believe the board should have handled differently. Please explain your answers.
I didn’t think they have done anything good in the last year, all of their decisions have increased our taxes and lowered our services. The board should have approved the buc-ees and the Walmart in the country, as the revenue from the Walmart would have equated the tax shortage we are having in the county now, and the buc-ees is only going to bring a huge amount of jobs and tax revenue to Alamance county
4. Property valuations have risen significantly in recent years and many Orange County residents are worried about their ability to continue to afford to pay taxes on their homes. What do you believe the county commission should do to make living here more affordable? If you support cutting taxes, where would you reduce government spending?
I first thing commissioners should do is freeze the taxed evaluation rate to when a resident moved to a property, as you shouldn’t be punished with a higher tax evaluation when you make a place better. And I do support cutting taxes, and the first things to cut are programs that have not improved what they claim they are improving
5. Where do you stand on the proposed amendment to the state constitution that would allow the legislature to limit counties’ taxing authority?
I agree, limiting government power is always a good thing
6. This year, Orange County commissioners voted to increase the property tax rate, primarily to allot more funding to Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Did you agree with this decision? Why or why not? With costs rising and declining enrollment bringing in less per pupil funding, how should the county balance the need to fund local schools with the tax burden on residents?
The county should recombine the two school districts while keeping the tax rate for both for 3 years. This would drastically lower the overall cost of the school system while allowing for the current deficit to be paid down.
7. What is your vision for how Orange County should grow economically? What policies would you like to see implemented to enhance economic development in Orange County?
The best way to improve any economy is to make physical things, we already have the advantage of having one of the best universities in the country in the county, so we just need at make it so those smart ideas can be made locally instead of being outsourced to other counties, States, or even countries.
8. With Orange County’s growth comes challenges related to suburban sprawl, transportation, and affordable housing. What have been the county’s successes in managing this growth in recent years? What about its failures? What would you do differently?
No success as the average rent has more than doubled on the last 10 years. The county needs to stop pushing the developer first Soviet style housing apartments and focus back on building single family homes that people, not corporations, can buy
9. Is the county doing enough to protect, preserve, and maintain its natural resources, including parks, waterways, and green spaces? What would you continue to do or do differently?
No, again they are pushing densification which destroys forest and grass fields. Single family homes with a yard keep spaces green and don’t build huge foundation blocks that act like a dam in the creek when it rain( looking at what they did on the blue hill district that resulted in the flooding of Camelot village, a real affordable housing area that got destroyed with flooding)
10. North Carolina is a “Dillon Rule” state, meaning that the only powers municipal and county governments have are the ones granted to them by the legislature. Would you like to see this changed? How would you work with state legislators from Orange County, as well as mayors and council members to ensure that Orange County, its municipalities, and the state are on the same page regarding policies that affect residents of Orange?
As someone who hates most HOAs, I do not want local governments to have the power up just Willy nilly give themselves more power.
11. Give an example of an opinion, policy, vote or action you changed based on constituent feedback. If you have not yet held elected office, describe a time when you changed your position on an issue after listening to those affected by it.
I used to think all big corporations were bad, but over time I realized the workers there are still your neighbor. And while the corporation is still a soulless entity, the people working for them can gain skills, that they can use to then compete with the big corporations, which in gives the local area more choices and more soul.
12. Are there any issues not included in this questionnaire that you would like to address?
The county does need to address the mental health problems that are affecting the safety of the towns and university, as the recent attack on students at UNC has shown
