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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19990527APPROVED 8/17199 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING MAY 27,1999 The Orange County Board of Commissioners held a Public Hearing on the Manager's recommended 1999-2000 Orange County budget on Thursday, May 27, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Alice M. Gordon, and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs. COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Albert Kittrell and Rod Visser, Budget Director Donna Dean and Deputy Clerk to the Board Kathy Baker. Other staff will be identified as necessary. NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR FIVE YEARS. PRESENTATION OF THE 1999-2000 BUDGET: John Link gave an overview of the 1999-2000 recommended budget. That information, in its entirety, is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. John Link indicated that this funding plan strengthens the County's historical commitment to public education, improves the County's ability to provide responsive and effective public safety and emergency services, and sustains the program of basic County services, all at a reasonable cost to the County's citizens. Several highlights of the recommended budget are listed below: ? The County's General Fund budget totals $100,621,502 which represents an overall increase of approximately $7.9 million, or 8.6 percent, from the original 1998-1999 budget of $92,685,104. ? Funding for current school expense will increase by more than $4.1 million from the 1998-1999 level of $30.4 million. ? The Countywide ad valorem tax rate would increase 2.7 cents from the current level of 90.2 cents per $100 valuation, to 92.9 cents. ? The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools special district tax rate would rise from the current level of 19.2 cents per $100 valuation to 22 cents. This 2.8-cent increase, coupled with growth in the district tax base, would produce over $9.7 million. This represents an additional $1.5 million for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools start-up costs for the new elementary school and the high school addition. ? The budget implements the employee pay and benefits plan developed by the Board in October 1998 and ratified during the budget work sessions in April and May 1999. The recommendation includes a 2.5 percent cost of living increase, effective July 1, 1999, and a 2.5 percent in-range salary increase for employees, whose work performance is proficient or higher. ? Ten new general fund positions were also recommended. John Link reported that programmed expenditures for education and County services would increase by about 8.6 percent, however, the increase in the countywide property tax rate was limited to 3 percent. This was a result of Orange County's robust growth in tax base, which increased approximately 4.6 percent over the original estimates for 1998-1999. The combination of a strong tax base growth and the recommended increase in the tax rate is expected to produce about $4.2 million more in revenue in 1999-2000, compared to the original 1998-1999 budget. John Link indicated that the details of possible scenarios to achieve a lower countywide tax rate could be found in the budget document under Appendix "F." The three scenarios include a two-cent increase, a one-cent increase and no-increase in the overall budget. He mentioned that the County will face several important developments with budgetary impacts beyond FY 1999-2000. Several of those developments are listed below. ¦ The first sale of general obligation bonds will occur in early 2000. County staff is hopeful that the County's strong fund balance, sound overall financial position, and other positive economic conditions may assist the County in pursuing an "AAA" bond rating, which would lead to a lower debt service. ¦ The County will have responsibility for developing, implementing, and administering the Landfill Fund budget in the year 2000-2001. The Board of Commissioners will also face important decisions in the coming years on the siting and construction of several major solid waste facilities, including a construction and demolition (C&D) waste facility, a materials recovery facility (MRF), and a transfer station. ¦ There will be start-up costs associated with the new Scroggs Elementary School and additional costs associated with the expansion of East Chapel Hill High. There will also be start-up costs associated with the new elementary and high schools in Orange County and the new Smith Middle School in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district. QUESTIONS AND/OR COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS: Paul Fare[, Vice-Chair of the Chapel Hill Public Library Board of Trustees, spoke in support of increased funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library. He stated that he was speaking on behalf of the Chapel Hill Town Council. He thanked the Board of County Commissioners for last year's support in the amount of $199,975. He indicated that this was a 7.3°x6 increase over the previous year's funding. He presented facts pertaining to the library's operations, including the fact that the Chapel Hill Library leads the state in the number of books loaned to residents. The Town Council and the Library Board are requesting that the Board of Commissioners increase their financial support for the Library. He mentioned that Orange County's overall library support is lower than that of other areas and should be increased for all of the libraries in the County. He also mentioned that the Chapel Hill Library serves a significant number of non-Chapel Hill patrons who live in Orange County. He pointed out that the Town of Chapel Hill generates a significant amount of tax revenue for the County, yet receives only half the library support granted to residents in the rest of the County. A copy of his comments, along with documentation, is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. Carla Turner spoke on behalf of the Orange County Schools. She stated that she had a child in the Orange County system and she requested that the Commissioners increase their overall funding to the schools. She also asked that they allocate additional funds for school nurses to help with the student assessment. Mitch Cox, a teacher in the Orange County system, spoke in support of the Orange County School Board's funding request. He stated that he has observed the schools making great progress during his 17 years with the school system. The School Board's funding request must be approved in order to continue this trend. Judith Bergman, a Speech Language Pathologist at Glenwood Elementary School, spoke on behalf of the faculty members whose supplements are subject to the 10% cap. Those teachers whose salaries are capped represent 14.7% of all teachers in the district receiving supplements. She strongly urged the Commissioners to fully support the recommended budget so that the school board can fund this line item. She asked the Board of County Commissioners to compare the salary that is being offered in Orange County to new and relocating teachers, to what is being offered by Wake County. Wake County offers higher supplements than Orange County and they will be recruiting for 1000 new teachers in the next several years. Liam Cox, a junior at Orange High School, mentioned that Orange High recently accepted the Cool Schools Award. This Award is an international honor awarded to schools for exceptional web page design. He spoke in support of the Orange County School Board's budget request. He mentioned that in order to maintain excellence in the technological field, it is imperative that the entire school budget request be funded. Becky Smith, a Chapel Hill resident and teacher at Orange High, spoke in support of the Orange County School's budget request. She stated that there is no fluff in the request. Within that budget is a 13th science position which is desperately needed. If the full budget request is not met, this science position and other important needs will be in jeopardy . They will have to cut offerings in the science department in order to meet state mandated graduation requirements. Their department already has four state tests required annually and there are plans for the state to increase that to six tests. Finally, many of their classes are at, or above, the state maximum for class size. This additional position would alleviate overcrowding for the coming year. Ann Chockley, a teacher and Orange County resident, spoke in support of the Orange County Schools' budget. She asked the Board of County Commissioners to fund the entire budget request. She mentioned that the teacher pool is very small and it is critical that the school system be in a position to offer an attractive package to teachers. The Orange County Schools are succeeding in the field of technology because of past funding and they appreciate that. She thanked the Board of County Commissioners for that funding. All of the program areas need to be supported. She asked everyone in attendance to stand if they support the full funding of the Orange County School Board's funding request. Many of those in attendance stood as a show of support. Susanne Tilley, a parent of children in the Orange County School System, spoke in support of the School Board's funding request. She asked for additional support for the year-round program and mentioned that this program is very effective. She also asked that Spanish be introduced into the elementary schools. Angela Rose spoke in support of the Orange County Schools Budget request. She mentioned that there is a need for an additional teacher at the first grade level at Central Elementary. This would allow class sizes to be kept low, which would continue the trend toward keeping the class sizes below maximum. She also spoke in support of additional Reading Recovery teachers. Michelle Rimmer spoke in support of the Orange County Schools' budget request. She mentioned that she was also speaking for Mary, Bennie and Sarah Mack. Both she and the Mack's have students in the Orange County system and they request that the Board of County Commissioners fully fund the School Board's request. Peter Kramer, a parent of several students in the Orange County system, spoke in support of the School Board's budget request. He mentioned that he has become aware of a particular need at C.W. Stanford for an additional clerical assistant. This is a very important position within any school. The clerical assistants in the office set the tone for how the school operates. They are responsible for a wide range of duties, including dispensing medication to students. He also spoke in support of the request for an assistant to the band director. The band director for C.W. Stanford is a gifted and talented teacher and she is in critical need of an assistant. He also mentioned that the Foundation for the Orange County Schools has been revived. This Foundation realizes that government cannot do everything and the members of this Foundation intend to augment the efforts of the School Board and the Board of County Commissioners. Pam Saunders, an Orange County Schoolteacher, spoke in support of the Orange County Schools budget request. In particular, she spoke of several needs at A. L. Stanback. This is a combined year- round and traditional school and there is a need for a year-round resource teacher for the exceptional students. Barbara Dewey, media coordinator in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, spoke in support of fully funding the School Board's budget request. The cost of educating children is high and with a mandate for smaller class size, new school construction is a necessity. Providing the support needed to enable failing students to master their curriculum is also a high priority. In addition to those needs, there is a morale problem with the teachers whose salary has been capped. She spoke in support of that cap being removed. Jan Dunn spoke in support of full funding for both of the school systems. She said that she was willing to pay more for quality education. She stated that her children were already receiving a quality education in Orange County and that she was committed to that quality education continuing. Sherry Walters, a parent of children in the Orange County schools, spoke in support of full funding for the School Board's funding request. There have been times during the last six years when the Reading Recovery position at her son's school has been vacant and he was not able to get the help that he needed. Full funding of this budget request would help to alleviate this situation. Great strides have been made in the last several years and full funding would help to continue this trend. Melissa Link, a fourth grade teacher at Central Elementary School, spoke in support of the School Board's proposed budget. She specifically addressed the need to maintain the additional first grade teaching position. It is critical that the trend toward smaller class sizes be continued, particularly in the primary grades. She asked that the Board of County Commissioners support this request. Greg Samsa, a parent of four children in the Orange County school system, spoke in support of the Orange County School Board's request being fully funded. He stated that he has been very active both in the school itself and with the PTA and school administration. He was very impressed with the quality of the education his children are receiving. His middle school children attend C.W. Stanford and participate in both sports and the band. His first grader at Hillsborough Elementary started out a year behind his class in his reading skills. Through the Reading Recovery Program he has advanced several years ahead of his grade. He mentioned that the music teacher at C.W. Stanfrord has done an excellent job with all of the students. He asked that the Board of County Commissioners assure that she receive the assistant that she needs. He said that each of the items in the education budget have been carefully thought out and need to be fully funded. Stephanie Doyle, a teacher at A. L. Stanback, spoke as an advocate for public education in general and the exceptional children programs, in particular. A. L. Stanback has both a year-round and a traditional school in one building. There is a need for an exceptional children's teacher for each program. There is currently only one resource teacher teaching both programs. She asked that the Board of County Commissioners fund the entire budget request. Kathy Henderson, co-President of Orange County Association of Educators, spoke in support of both the Orange County School System and its teachers. Orange County schools have a very effective budget process which included teachers, parents and administrators. She stated that full funding of the School Board's budget request is necessary in order for the schools to stay competitive. Susan DeBartolo, a teacher in the Orange County Schools, spoke in support of the Orange County funding request. She stated that she had attended many School Board meetings over the years. The Board spends many hours going over the requests from each of the nine schools. The budget forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners reflects only those items which are necessary to maintain a standard of excellence. She asked that the Board of County Commissioners fully fund the School Board's budget request. Jennifer Miller, a parent with a daughter at Orange High School, spoke in support of the Orange County Schools budget request. She mentioned that her daughter is in the Seminar Program at Orange High which is a program that teaches in an interdisciplinary way. This has been an extremely effective program. She asked the Board of County Commissioners to fund the entire budget request so that this program can be offered to all of the students who would like to participate. Keith Cook, a member of the Orange County School Board, acknowledged the citizens who have spoken in support of the School Board's budget request. He also thanked the Board of County Commissioners for their support over the years. This budget request is intended to help the Orange County school system continue programs that have already been implemented as well as continue improving their overall services. He acknowledged that the Commissioners were faced with a difficult task. However, he asked that education and the children be the number one priority and that the Commissioners keep education the number one priority until all of Orange County's children have an equal opportunity to learn. He mentioned that social promotion is a thing of the past, as well it should be. Those children who were promoted for social, rather than academic reasons, often became permanent members of the underclass and were both underemployed and unable to fully care for themselves and families. In the past, schools taught those who were easy to teach and did not request additional resources. Three years ago, Orange County voted to discontinue the practice of social promotions and now the State of North Carolina has also ended the practice of social promotion. All students have a right to a sound, basic education and this requires that everyone contribute more resources. The children who were once socially promoted are capable of learning but they need extra resources to make it happen. He asked that the Board of County Commissioners fully fund the School Board's budget request so that the needs of these children can be met. He acknowledged that the Manager was recommending a budget that would fund all of the mandates for the Orange County Schools. He thanked the Manager for having recommended that level of funding. However, he voiced his concern that only $498,000 was left to fund the expansion budget which totals $1.2 million dollars. This is a shortfall of $775,000 which represents many necessary programs. He mentioned that some of the programs included those for exceptional children, additional teachers, foreign language instructions, and technology technicians. One of the real issues in northern Orange is the number of children who start school without reading skills. The Orange County school system is addressing this problem in a very small way by adding a pre-K teacher, however, they really need four or five pre-K teachers. This budget request also includes an increase in the local supplement for their teachers. The school administration must maintain competitiveness in order to retain their excellent teachers. That will cost approximately $311,000. He asked that the Commissioners not settle for an arbitrary dollar amount for the Orange County School's budget. He asked that they remember the many unmet needs of both exceptional and special students and fund the entire budget as presented. Eleanor McConnell, a parent of students in the Orange County schools system, spoke in support of full funding for the Orange County schools budget request. In particular, she asked that the band program at C.W. Stanford be funded at a level that would allow an assistant to be hired. Eileen Kugler, Chair of the Human Relations Commission, thanked the Board of County Commissioners for their past and current support of the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance and the Department of Human Rights and Relations. She asked for their continued support, in particular, for the new positions being requested for this Department. They are requesting that the Investigator position be converted from time-limited to permanent. In addition, they are requesting another Investigator position and for increased hours for the administrative position. She said that these positions are crucial to fulfilling the mission of the Commission. Karen Latta, a parent of a student at New Hope Elementary, spoke in support of fully funding the School Board's budget request. She stated that education is one of the most important facets of our children's growth. She agreed that an increase in teacher's supplements is necessary so that the best teachers can be attracted and retained. She asked that the exceptional children's programs be funded to the highest level possible so that additional teachers can be hired.. She felt that these children often are overlooked because they are doing so well. Kathleen Turner, Executive Director of the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, spoke in support of increased funding for the Orange County Historical Museum and the Burroughs School historical site. Although the Alliance's funding request is relatively modest it goes a long way toward reaching their goals. She thanked the Board of County Commissioners and said that the Alliance is requesting a small increase in their request for both the museum and the school. They are expanding and changing the focus so that these sites can be more relevant to more Orange County citizens. An investment in these two sites will result in a tremendous payoff in terms of the number of people served and increased appreciation for the heritage of both Hillsborough and Orange County. Support for these sites goes a long way beyond dollars and cents. It creates a greater pride in one's heritage and maintains a sense of place. This latter point is of great importance in this time when the growth of the Triangle region is pushing ever westward toward Orange County and Hillsborough. These sites have come a long way in the last several years. They have increased special exhibits and programs and seen a marked increase in the number of residents and visitors who have come to learn about the northern Orange County heritage. Both of these sites have a positive impact on schools. The "traveling trunks" programs take artifacts to several dozen Orange County classrooms each year. These trunks have artifacts from the museum and allows the children to experience them in the classrooms. Both the museum and the school also host tours from many classrooms each year. She briefly discussed several of the new programs that they hope to introduce to visitors and students in the upcoming year. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis, to close the Public Hearing. VOTE: UNANIMOUS ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis, to adjourn the meeting. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of County Commissioners will be held on June 1, 1999 in the Judge F. Gordon Battle Courtroom, Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, North Carolina. Alice M. Gordon, Chair Kathy Baker, Deputy Clerk