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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19830221 • MINUTES FEBRUARY 21, 1983 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in special joint session with the • Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County Boards of Educatfon,at 6:00 P.M. on Monday February 21, 1983, in the Cafeteria of the Estes Hills Elementary School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Commissioners present: Richard E. Whitted, Chair, and Commissioners Shirley E. CMarshall, Norman Walker and Don Willhoit. I Commissioners absent: Ben Lloyd. Chapel Hill Carrboro Board of Education Members present: Edwin Caldwell, Chair, band Edith Elliott, Verla Insko, Barbara Thornton and Ann Wileman. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education Members absent: Ted Parrish and Phyllis Sockwell• Orange County Board of Education Members present: Max Kennedy, Chair, and Lindsay Efland, Walter Faribault, Jr. (who arrived at 6:56 P.M.) Norman Haithcock, Frank Miller and John Thomas Walker. Orange County Board of Education Members absent: Robert Bateman, The Boards had a buffet dinner at 6:00 P.M. followed by a,work session on capital 7needs for all three entities which began at 6:53 P.M. I Commissioner Whitted announced that this was a follow-up meeting to the one the Boards W held in October, 1982; Staff has completed the capital needs documents *for the three Boards. Commissioner Whitted said the total for 1983-84 was $2.6 million, i 'Which was twice as much as the Board of Commissioners had budgeted this year,for the othree Boards' current capital needs. Both school Boards expressed frustration at delaying their capital needs in order -for the County to complete some projects. Mr. Caldwell said the State had not provided .6 capital funds recently as it had in the past and this increased the ,pressure at the Glocal level. Orange County Superintendent Mike Simmons said it was frustrating - additionally from an administrative viewpoint to plan for long range capital projects *when it was "unrealistic to assume" they would be able to "make a dent." Mr. Simmons -suggested placing all capital for one year in one system and rotating through the three *bodies; he felt that this way he could "phase in" projects and better plan if he knew •how much money would be available in a given year. Mr. Kennedy added that the schools • were being funded less recently in-proportion to previous years. Ms. Insko agreed with that statement but added that the County had had population growth and bond funds coming in while it was completing some of its own capital • projects; that is no longer the case: Ms. Insko asked, rather, "at what point do • we return" to the previous funding level? • Commissioner Whitted said that some of the County's projects, the jail for example, • had taken considerably longer to complete than anticipated while the schools' projected five year capital projects had taken only two years to finish. The County is- still completing projects identified several years earlier. Commissioner Whitted cited three wags to get increased funds: 1) increase property tax; 2) ask for�;a :bond issue; , 3). support Senator Royall 's bill. He reminded the Boards that the voters had soundly defeated the 1979 bond issue. . Ms. Insko said the Boards of Education needed to pressure the State to increase ., its current expense funding so that counties could increase capital funding. Ms. Carolyn , Freeman, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Finance Officer, said there were items in their . capital projects that didn't appear ten years ago; she cited examples such as roof . replacement (the schools were new ten years ago) and site development. Commissioner Whitted said the schools were experiencing what the County had i . experienced prior to 1976; that is, delaying capital projects in order to fund other ,needs. The County did not have an on-going capital projects fund prior to 1976. ,He continued saying that some assumptions and known quantities for next year were: . 1) assume no tax increase; 2) debt service $900,000. Commissioner Whitted agreed v ,with Mr. Caldwell 's suggestion of a small committee to work up school 's funding for this next fiscal year. Responding to Mr. Faribault's concern regarding long term ,capital funding, Mr. Whitted said the suggested committee could work on that issue also; new school const =tion, he said, would necessitate a bond issue. Mr. Caldwell said that knowing a realistic amount that the schools could expect from the L. County would facilitate the Rom-ls w wkinv ,m R rpasnn-Lh1p T,,,,Mt_ ?. Mr. Kennedy said the Orange County Board of Education was going to continue to 3- identify needs and ask for funding of those needs. The needs of the Orange County ,schools are greater, he said. Mr. Haithcock said due to growth expanded facilities 5-would be needed. 61 Mr. Caldwell moved, seconded by Ms. Thornton, that the administrative heads of 7,both Boards of Education, with their Finance Officers and the County Manager with his 8, 9. ,0. • i� Finance Officer form a small committee to "tentatively look at next year's!,budget I� and based on projections from the County get a plan for next year's budget." Ms. Freeman suggested that the amount available, about 1.3 million, be divided three ways thereby giving each-unit $440,000. Commissioner Willhoit said he had no problem with that but he thought it was important to note that this tight situation had not been created by any of the bodies at this meeting. That the Federal �. government had cut back in its aid to education and the State was not meeting its commitments regarding current funding and transportation. He said that the Boards I• should accumulate data demonstrating these facts in order to show the impact of such decisions. Commissioner Whitted told the committee under consideration for a vote to assume: 1) no tax increase,and, 2) work variables into the calculations such as y� a State teacher's salary increase. Mr. Efland said that he did not wish to divide the available capital funds by • three that his district's needs were greater. His system is not keeping up with current maintenance and an increase in capital funding must come from somewhere and that the Commissioners must do a "better.-job of capital funding." Mr. Haithcock agreed with Mr. Efland saying the Orange County Board of Education's job is to identify needs and the Board of Commissioner's job to "fund those needs." 30 Vote on Mr. Caldwell 's motion: Ayes, 13; noes, 2 (Messrs. Efland and Kennedy). 4.0 Superintendent Mayer asked if the Commi"tree-could return with two • options: 1) a.;budget assuming no tax increase ; and, 2) a budget assuming �'!n" amount of tax increase. Commissioner Whitted told Ms. Mayer the Committee could ,return with those options if it so chose. 0 With no further business to consider the Boards adjourned by consensus. 01 Richard E. Whitted, Chair 1.Paulette Pridgen, Clerk 2. .3. 4- �5. 16. 17. 48, 39. �o.