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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19960612APPROVED 815196 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING JUNE 12, 1996 The Orange County Board of Commissioners held a Public Hearing on the Manager's recommended 1996-1997 Orange County budget on Monday, June 12, 1996 at 7:30 p.m. in Superior Courtroom, New County Courthouse, Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners William L. Crowther, Alice M. Gordon, Stephen H. Halkiotis and Don Willhoit COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Albert Kittrell., and Deputy Clerk to the Board of Commissioners Kathy Baker. (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below). NOTE: ALL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON ALL ITEMS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES IS IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. PRESENTATION OF THE 1996-1997 BUDGET: John Link gave an overview of the 1996-1997 Recommended Budget as outlined in the yellow flyer which was distributed prior to the meeting. The recommended tax rates call for a 4.25 cent increase on the countywide tax rate from 94.75 cents per 100 dollar valuation to 99 cents per 100 dollar valuation. For the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District Tax the recommended increase is 3.6 cents from 15.4 cents to 19 cents per 100 dollar valuation. PUBLIC HEARING: Shirley Marshall, with Friends of the Orange County Department of Social Services, spoke in support of funding for this organization. She thanked the County Manager for his budget recommendation and in particular for the $75,000 in reserve. She requested that the Board of Commissioners approve that reserve. A copy of her comments is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. Tom Waldrop, Chair of the Orange County Arts Commission, requested that the Board of County Commissioners consider the Art Commission's need for a full time staff person. This Commission is also requesting a change in their agency status. They are officially considered an outside agency. They do not consider themselves an outside agency as they were created by Resolution of the Board of County Commissioners. He mentioned that the arts are a vital and important industry and an investment in the arts is good for Orange County's economy. Tom Metzguer, spoke in support of the Orange County School System's budget request being fully funded. He asserted that it is prudent to invest in the education of our youth. He also pointed out that the Orange County School Board approved their budget request unanimously. This is a school board known for its commitment to thriftiness. Barry Freeman spoke in support of the Orange County school system's budget request. He requested that the Board of County Commissioners fully fund the school boards request. Jackie Wolfe, a parent of children in the Orange County system, requested that the County Commissioners fully fund the Orange County School Board's budget request. Lisa Flynn spoke in support of full funding for this Orange County Schools budget request. In particular, she felt that remediation reading programs are needed by many of the students. Bert L'Homme, New Hope Elementary School Principal, spoke in support of fully funding this budget request. He mentioned that reading resource teachers are needed by the students in this system. Steve Baldwin spoke in support of the Orange County School Board's budget request. He mentioned that he is more than willing to pay taxes to support quality education. Susan DeDeBartolo, a teacher and President of the Orange County educators, requested that the school budget be fully funded. Lisa Stuckey, President of the PTA Council for Chapel Hill/Carrboro, spoke in support of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board's budget request. She stated that fully funding this request would make it possible for the schools to provide for all students. Nerys Levy, a member of the Friends of the Carrboro Library, thanked the Board of County Commissioners and the School Board for recognizing them as a branch of the Orange County Library. The staff and Friends of the Library have concerns about funding for books and staff. They are a new business and need to be treated as such if they are to succeed in meeting the needs of the community. She requested more funds for the Library for this budget year. Pat Rhodes, incoming Principal for Orange High School, urged the Board of Commissioners to fully fund the budget. Sharon Patterson, Principal of A.L. Stanback Middle School, thanked the Board of County Commissioners for their continued support for education. She spoke in support of the School Board's current request. She asserted that funding this budget would allow the equalization of offerings and opportunities for all students. She also requested that the Communities in Schools program be funded. Ed Bedford, a member of the School Governance Committee at Ephesus Elementary School, spoke in support of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro and the Orange County Schools budget requests. He mentioned that in a survey done at Ephesus, teachers repeatedly mentioned that they spent their own money on supplies and are disappointed in the library and general equipment at the school. In general, many of them feel that they do not have enough time to meet the needs of their students. Fully funding this budget will help alleviate some of these problems. Jill Rigsbee, a North Orange County resident, spoke on behalf of the county teachers. She also requested that the County Commissioners consider funding additional nurses for each school. She mentioned that she is a school nurse and is unable to see almost 2/3 of the referrals she receives. Parick Mulkey, resident of Bingham Township and candidate for Board of County Commissioners, requested that tax dollars be spent in a more fiscally responsible manner. He feels that there are too many employees in the schools and that travel is abused at all levels of Government. He spoke in support of the reading recovery program. Judy Butler spoke in support of fully funding the school's budget request. She also asked for additional support for the school nursing program. Rose Hertzell, spoke on behalf of the clerical workers in the school system. She asked that the budget request be fully funded. Dave Thaden, Principal of East Chapel Hill High, spoke in support of the paid clerical workers being more fairly compensated. He asked the Board of Commissioners to consider how the impact fee monies are released to the schools. If the money was released the same year it was collected, it would be a great help in start-up costs for the new schools opening this year. Dee Dee Zwettler, a parent and first grade teacher, spoke in support of the School Board's entire budget request. She indicated that she was willing to pay higher taxes to support quality education. Ryan Miller, a resident of Orange County, spoke in support of funding the entire budget request. Ms. Kramer, a mental health professional, spoke in support of a proposed increase in nursing positions. The school nurse is often the only health professional a student has access to for all of their health needs. It is a very difficult job with limited resources. She requested that the Board of County Commissioners consider the health needs of the students when making these budget decisions. Myles Moore spoke in support of the Board of County Commissioners funding this entire budget request. The Orange County students have increased their scores in all of the State testing. He mentioned that a new policy will be implemented which will require all students to pass an intergrade test in order to be promoted. This is going to require that additional intervention and assistance be offered to many of the students. Fully funding the budget request will make this intervention a reality. Barbara Dewey, President of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Educators, spoke in support of full funding for both of the budget requests. In particular, full funding would provide funds for the enrichment specialists and technology support staff to be hired. Susan Spalt, a parent and employee of the city schools, supported the full funding of the School Boards budget request. She quoted Marion Wright Eldelman, who said "it is always the right time to do the right thing." Rut Tufts, a parent and member of the Orange County High School Governance Committee, spoke in support of full funding for the School Board's budget request. Minnilue Braverman, a Orange County resident and parent, spoke in support of full funding of the Orange County School Board's budget request. Betty Stephan, a teacher and parent, spoke in support of the Orange County School Board's budget request. Mary Mason, a reading recovery teacher, asked the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund this budget request so that they could continue to provide necessary services. Keith Cook, a member of the Orange County School Board, asserted that their budget request has no frills in it and needs to be fully funded. Everything that has been requested is essential to the quality of education in Orange County. Ann McPherson requested that the Board of Commissioners fully fund this budget request. She also spoke in support of the soon to be opened year-round school. Patty Pieper spoke in support of full funding for the Orange County School Board's budget request. Lilyn Hester mentioned that money does not educate students but rather teachers educate students. She requested that the school boards keep that in mind as they determine their budget requests. She also requested that the Orange County System be brought in line with the quality of education found in Chapel Hill. David Hunt, an Orange County parent, reminded the Board of County Commissioners that "a stitch in time saves nine". It is prudent to fund the entire budget request. Stephen Kage, an Orange County parent, requested that the Board of County Commissioners fund the entire budget for the Orange County system. Faith Vandusan, a teacher at the New Hope Elementary School, spoke in support of the Orange County School Board's budget request. She felt that this budget, as submitted, was already as lean as possible. Every item requested is necessary to maintain the level of education that is currently available. Laura Trinka spoke in support of full funding for the Orange County School Board's budget request. Donnie Black, an Orange County resident and a parent, requested that the Board of County Commissioners fully fund the school boards budget request. Delores Simpson, a member of the Orange County School Board, spoke in support of this budget request. The School Board is 100% behind this budget proposal. Student performance and test scores are on the rise. The full funding of this budget will assure that the trend continues. Burnice Wilson, a school social worker for Orange County schools, spoke for all of the school support nurses, social workers and families who were unable to attend. This budget must be approved. The support staff and nurses hope that the Board of County Commissioners will respond to their needs by approving this budget request. Wanda Whitford, a parent of 5 children, stated that she fully supported the requests made in this budget. This budget supports the needs of the students and the staff at each of the schools. There being no further comments, the Public Hearing was closed. The School Board members present were invited to the front of the room to participate in a worksession with the Board of Commissioners. WORK SESSION: Mark Royster, Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board member, thanked County Manager John Link and the Board of County Commissioners for their equitable approach to funding both of the school systems. He stated that this was a very difficult year for the school board. There are no frills in this budget request. The term "discretionary" is misleading in that it implies that they are optional and not needed. The reality is that each of these items is sorely needed. He requested that a new word be sought that more clearly described what is meant by this term. Neil Pedersen provided a brief overview of the School Board's budget request. He thanked the Board of Commissioners and County Manager John Link for the recommended increase. With the opening of two new schools, however, that amount is not sufficient to cover the cost of starting up those schools. The issue of salary compression is very real for the school administration and must be dealt with. It does not support the education goals of the school system to have the support staff falling behind in salary each year. He requested an additional sum of money for start-up costs. One cent of the district tax could be allocated for planning for new schools. The items listed under discretionary are not optional. For example, the recycling coordinator is necessary in order to comply with the legally required 40% reduction in the waste stream. Commissioner Crowther pointed out that Orange County is committed to funding education. The average spending for school needs is 35%. Orange County spends over 45% of the budget for the school and if the discretionary items were added it would be over 50%. Orange County is to be commended for their commitment to education. Other County Departments have had zero growth for the last two years which has caused a strain in those areas of service. Chair Carey agreed that the Board of Commissioners have done the best job possible under the circumstances. Commissioner Willhoit commented that Orange County is Number Three in the State for per pupil allocations of local resources. That is a move from #15 in 1991. There has been a tremendous boost toward equalized spending for the two schools. The growth in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro System has caused there to be a tremendous growth in funding. The current expense allocation has more than doubled, from 10 million to 21 million dollars. It was suggested that the terms used in the budget process, in particular, the word "discretionary" be re-evaluated and more accurate words be chosen wherever possible. The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be held on June 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Homestead Community Center in Chapel Hill. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Kathy Baker, Deputy Clerk