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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19990603APPROVED 12/7199 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL MEETING June 3, 1999 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a budget public hearing on Thursday, June 3, 1999, at 7:30 p.m., at the Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Alice M. Gordon, and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs. COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Moses Carey, Jr. COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Albert Kittrell, and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (all other staff members will be identified appropriately below). 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 5 YEARS. Chair Gordon called the meeting to order and introduced County Manager John Link for presentation of the Recommended Orange County 1999-2000 Budget. 1. BUDGET PRESENTATION Manager Link began his presentation by thanking the Board for its time and consideration in the matter of the budget, as well as the citizens of Orange County who were in attendance. Additionally, he expressed his appreciation for the work of his staff in preparing the budget. Manager Link also mentioned the excellent coordination and response time to requests from the School Superintendents and their staff. The Manager's recommended 1999-2000 Orange County budget is $100,621,502.00. The budget gives top priority to funding school mandates and new school start-up costs. The Manager believes the budget improves the County's ability to provide responsive and effective public safety and emergency services, as well as sustaining basic County services. The budget establishes a General Fund property tax rate at 92.9 cents per $100.00 valuation, a 2.7-cent increase. For the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools District, the tax rate is set at 22 cents per $100.00 valuation, an increase of 2.8 cents for start-up costs for Scroggs Elementary and the addition to East Chapel Hill High School. As to property taxes, the tax base continues to strengthen, with projected growth in the overall tax base to more than $6.9 billion. This represents a 4.6 percent increase over the original 1998-1999 budget estimates. With regard to sales taxes, positive growth trends are found in both the one cent and half-cent scenarios. A one-cent tax collection for the current fiscal year is projected to grow at about $1.3 million, or 25 percent over 1996-1997 collections. For next year, the one-cent tax collection is projected at 5.5 percent over the current year estimate. The projected growth for half cent sales taxes is between 6 and 8 percent. Current education expense funding meets the initiatives mandated by the State. This funding increases the per pupil allocation by $216.00, from $2,040.00 to $2,256.00. This increase of 13.52 percent surpasses the average yearly increase over the past ten (10) years of 11.5 percent. In total contributions per pupil, which includes capital, Orange County is number one in the State of North Carolina, a hallmark of which all County citizens should be proud. Our neighbors are close, but based on the recommendations of their County Managers, Orange County should retain that ranking in the coming years. School expenditures demonstrate the County's continued commitment to students by ensuring that funding remains in the highest percentile within all County expenditures. The total requested appropriation for the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District budget, inclusive of both the general fund per pupil allocation and the special district tax. is $30.7 million. The recommended total appropriation is $29.7 million. The Orange County system does not have a district tax, so its local source of revenue is solely dependent upon the general fund. The total requested appropriation for the Orange County School District was $15.2 million. The recommended total appropriation is $14.45 million. The budget presented stresses the following County overall priorities: ? New positions address increased level of service to citizens and community; ? Support Board of County Commissioner goals; and ? Maintain current County facilities County Human Service priorities include Healthy Carolinians, offering mental health crisis programs, and a wastewater treatment management (WTMP) program. The Manager is recommending two (2) additional staff members for the Healthy Carolinians program, to aid in combating a number of physical ills experienced by County citizens. Mental Health resources have experienced a crisis in the past year due to reduced Medicaid and State funding, so the Manager has recommended higher than normal budget increases to compensate for these severe reductions in funding. The Wastewater Treatment Management Program (WTMP) is a 3-pronged approach of education, inspection, and homeowner incentives for extending the life of current septic systems, as well as protecting both the ground and surface water supplies in the County. There is a reserve fund within the budget which may be used throughout the fiscal year to aid the implementation of this program. Public Safety priorities are: ? COPSFAST and Domestic Violence Assistance program positions being converted from grant to County funding; ? Additional resources for Emergency Medical Initial Response Program; and ? Joint effort with all law enforcement agencies for a new firearms training facility Solid Waste priorities include the transition from the Town of Chapel Hill to Orange County which is anticipated during fiscal year 1999-2000. All transition implementation costs will be addressed through the Landfill Fund. As to employee pay and benefits, the following recommendations are made: ? Cost-of-Living Adjustment of 3.5 percent, effective July 1, 1999; ? In-Range Salary Increase of 2.5 percent for employees whose work performance is proficient or higher, effective with annual performance review; •3 Meritorious Service Awards of $1,500.00 for exceptional service and $750.00 for superior service; and ? Implementation of a 401(k) plan The budget stresses innovation and efficiency by addressing reactivation of the Board-appointed citizen Innovation and Efficiency (I&E) Committee, and evaluation of the County's building space needs for the next ten to twenty years. On the horizon, the budget provides for debt service, the landfill budget, and school start-up costs. For Debt Service: Expect the first sale of general obligation bonds from the 1997 bond referendum to occur in early 2000; Bonds will be sold for schools, recreation and park projects, affordable housing, and sewer expansion Expect to pursue AAA bond rating to lower debt service costs For the Landfill Budget: ? Fiscal year 2000-2001 brings a full year responsibility for developing, implementing, and administering the landfill ? Important decisions in the coming year on siting and construction of major solid waste facilities, including a C&D waste facility For School Start-up Costs: ? Start-up costs for Scroggs Elementary and East Chapel Hill High School addition are addressed with the district tax in 1999-2000 ? Start-up costs for Orange County Schools' elementary and high school to be addressed in future years through the use of their non-appropriated fund balance In summary, the budget presented continues the County's commitment to education; improves responsiveness in public safety and emergency medical services; includes a competitive pay and benefits package to enable the County to retain its talented, motivated workforce; and addresses the goals identified by the Board of County Commissioners. Manager Link ended his presentation and turned the floor over for any Board comments or questions. Being none, Chair Gordon declared that the public hearing portion of the meeting was opened. Chair Gordon explained that the budget is roughly divided into two (2) segments. Approximately one-half of the budget consists of funding for the two (2) school districts, while the remainder of the budget addresses other County expenditures. School District expenditures are done on a lump sum per pupil basis, where other County expenditures are specifically addressed within the budget based on a set of priorities. The schedule for citizen comments and work sessions is listed below June 3 Public Hearing (Southern Human Services Center) June 8 Work Session (Southern Human Services Center) June 15 Work Session (Southern Human Services Center) June 21 Adoption (Southern Human Services Center) The Chair opened the floor for public comments to the Manager's recommended budget. A sign-up sheet was distributed among the audience and the first speaker, Ken Touw, was introduced. 2. PUBLIC HEARING Ken Touw, a member of the Chapel-Hill/Carrboro City School Board of Education spoke in support of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools budget as presented. He said that this year recommendations were prioritized. Mr. Touw stated that the long collaboration between the School Districts and the Board of County Commissioners was demonstrated by the continuing progression in academic prowess among Orange County students. This year, 91 percent of Orange County students were proficient on the end-of-grade test in reading and math. The number of students increases each year and the County must maintain equivalency in pay to attract and keep quality teachers. This year, proficiency standards were implemented, which required increased funding and advance preparations. Hence, there is little within this budget that was not predictable. Even though the budget was anticipated to be tight, $8 million in additional needs were identified this year. The school district prioritized their requests this year, per the Board's requirements. If the funding remains at the recommended level this year, the following programs will not be funded: ? Limited English Proficiency recommendations; ? No improved support for previously purchased technology and software to improve educational services, as the County continues to lose technically-proficient individuals to local, higher paying technology companies; ? No enhancement of local support for quality teachers and administrators; ? Cannot remove the cap for credit for teaching experience outside of Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District; ? No tuition reimbursement for teachers, nor assistance in obtaining national board certification Mr. Touw believes these budget items are key to the success of Orange County students. Eligible limited English proficient students will not be served, retention of students will snowball, our investment in technology will not be realized, and Orange County will not be able to attract and retain the best teachers. Mr. Touw requested that the Board find a way to fund these very necessary elements of the education program. Additionally, he stated that it would take an increase of 1.8 cents on the Countywide tax and al/2- cent increase on the district tax above the County Manager's recommendations to fully fund both school budgets. Maria Palmer asked that the County Commissioners fully fund the schools budget. Ms. Palmer serves as a representative of the Hispanic families in the community. In particular, she addressed the limited English proficiency funding for students. She believes that without this funding, the County will still end up expending the money in providing services through social services. If students, particularly young males, do not stay in school because they cannot receive the aid they need in obtaining English proficiency, they will drop out of school, be unable to obtain their driver's license, and have very little job marketability. The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) task force worked very hard on their recommendations and presented just the most basic areas for funding. She believes this is important for Hispanic families to succeed. She said that there are families who cannot afford to pay County taxes, but if you ask these families if they are willing to pay $100.00 or more a year to provide aid in English proficiency, they will readily agree. It is expensive to live in Orange County, but Ms. Palmer wants to stay because she believes the possibilities that exist here are important. She emphasized her request that the Board fully fund the school budgets. Trish Hussey, Freedom House Recovery Center Director, stated that her organization has a wonderful new facility that will open in the near future. Freedom House Recovery Center is a non-profit agency that treats people in residence for alcohol and other drug problems. It has existed for almost 30 years, serving as a halfway house for women and a detoxification center. Four (4) years ago, the Center collaborated with the County and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro through Home Funding and Criminal Justice Partnership Funding to build a men's facility. She expressed her thanks for the help received from County staff such as Sharon Siler and John Link, as well as Commissioner Carey, who chaired the Criminal Justice Partnership Board. She has been heartened by the level of community support. The Center has been seeking operational funding to aid the men at the Center in obtaining life skills and education. The funding is being sought as of July 1, 1999, when the new Center will open. The Center made a request in early spring for $15,000 in County funds, but no new agencies or facilities were added to those normally funded for the County. She requested that the Board reconsider the Center's funding request of $15,000.00. Martha Oxenfeldt, member of the Commission For Women, spoke about some of their programs held during this last year, which were done with a lot of volunteer help, but little money. She represents a large contingency from the Commission For Women who are in attendance. She said that the Commission represents all women in Orange County. She reiterated the numerous times the Commission has come before the board to share the progress of its programs, such as the Family Law Series, the Safe Skills Course, various projects with the Department of Social Services, their advocacy projects with the Women's Agenda Assembly, the Volunteer Fair, and the Businesswomen's Roundtable. The Commission has been able to accomplish all these goals with a lot of hard work, but no money. The Commission believes it can better serve the women of Orange County if the Board would increase the Commissions' funding for programs and activities. Additionally, staff support would be helpful so these tasks could be performed in the office, rather than volunteers' homes. The Commission is particularly concerned about a population of the County which is not served, which are citizens living from week to week. As such, if there is an emergency, there is no help available. The working poor do not fit into the profile to receive public aid. Several members of the Commission have committed to establishing a fund and outlining a program called Temporary Crisis Assistance to aid this segment of the County's citizenry. The program would be administered through OCIM and the Interfaith Council, but the Commission will be raising the funds. Lastly, several attorneys on the Commission have raised the issue of women who are abandoned or are faced with a separation or a divorce, but have no funds available for an attorney. Often, they are poorly educated with limited job skills, but there is no assistance currently available for them. The Legal Aid Society is not funded for this type of legal assistance. The Commission would like to research and establish a program to provide legal assistance to these women. She thanked the Board for their time and stressed the Commissions' need for funding for programming and staff support. Jacky Philips stated that the Commission For Women requests funding every year for new initiatives. The volunteer force performs above and beyond expectations. At one time, the Commission was a self- supporting entity, but now works under the Human Relations umbrella, a department that serves two (2) commissions plus ESL. This lack of funding makes it very difficult for those volunteers who care and work for the Commission. She understands that the Board believes the best it can offer is half a director, a small amount of administrative assistance, and a Civil Rights Specialist. They want to make the Commission for Women a model Commission in the state of North Carolina, but this is hampered by a lack of support and funds. There is much to be done, both proven programs and new projects, but the Commission is in desperate need of adequate staff and financial support. Elizabeth Lovas is the newly-elected Vice Chair for the Commission for Women. She is here to request $21,000.00 to fulfill the Commission's goals in our Human Rights and Relations Department. The Orange County Commission for Women is rich with potential and energy, but poor in funds. The Commission is being asked to strengthen its role as an advocate for Orange County women, but to be an effective voice for these women, the Commission must have the capacity to conduct research to learn about that contingency. The Commission needs staff support for outreach to women in outlying areas of the County, as well as to meet the needs of the County's growing Latino population. Each of these goals is strongly linked to the Commission's goal to take proactive measures on the racial and socioeconomic diversification of Orange County's women. The funding request will allow the Commission to fulfill its public charge, rather than being underfunded and only able to provide the most basic services. She urged the Board to consider the $21,000.00 increase in the budget over the previous fiscal year's amount to fulfill the Commissions goals in our Human Rights and Relations Department and to be an effective support access and source of information for the County's growing Latina population. Louinga Groves - Not Here. Dan Costa, Chair of the Chapel Hill Recreation and Parks Board, distributed a handout showing the basis for their budget and the origin of their funding. Chapel Hill represents 41 percent of the County's population, but only receives 8.7 percent of the total County parks and recreation operational funding. The per capita funding for residents of Chapel Hill is 14 percent of per capita funding for residents of the rest of Orange County. About 20 percent of Orange County participate in Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation programs, but only about four (4) percent of the cost is contributed by Orange County. There is an even greater disparity with regard to day camp participation. Thirty-nine (39) percent of the participants were from Orange County, and of that percentage, 94 percent received full fee waivers, which translates to $20,106.00 contributed by the citizens of Chapel Hill for other Orange County participants. There is currently a waiting list of approximately 40 persons for this year's day camp, many of which are Town residents. The Town of Chapel Hill would not like to be placed in the position of excluding other Orange County participants, just to serve its own citizens. He concluded by stating that within Orange County, citizens of Chapel Hill receive substantially less County financial support for the operation of parks and recreation programs and activities than other citizens of Orange County. Citizens of Chapel Hill, through their Town taxes, subsidize use of the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department programs by other Orange County residents. Chapel Hill residents, through their County taxes, subsidize parks and recreation activities for residents of the rest of Orange County. Citizens of Chapel Hill, through their Town taxes, subsidize a significant percentage of fee waivers for other Orange County residents in summer day camp programs. Mr. Costa presented the following solutions. ? Reimburse the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department for costs incurred in serving Orange County residents as program participants who are not residents of Chapel Hill. ? Develop a timeline to increase the Orange County portion of resources currently devoted to parks and recreation programs. ? Provide equivalent parks and recreation services to all citizens of Orange County. Mr. Costa, in answer to a question, explained that Carrboro was included as part of the County, not as part of the Chapel Hill figures. He thanked the Board for its time. Dianne Jackson, President of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Federation of Teachers, spoke about the teachers who are dedicated to the education of children. She asked for additional funding to fund pay equity for Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools. She stated that they need employees to provide technical support. Also, she would like to lift the supplement cap for career employees in Chapel Hill. This cap on experience outside the County has created an inequity in salary with area colleagues. Many Orange County teachers have a variety of accomplishment, including serving on national, state, and local committees and conferences, as well as being successful authors and grant writers. Some of them are nationally board- certified teachers and all of them are dedicated, hard-working teachers. The County cannot afford to ignore pay equity. Ms. Jackson is a media specialist and for the last two (2) months her school has been without a technology specialist. The prior one had left for a higher paying position in private industry. This support is necessary to troubleshoot computer and technology problems. Without such support, time is taken away from classroom work. Additionally, problems beyond other staffs capabilities require a wait of several days for help from another school's technology specialist. Meanwhile, students and staff are left to work without the technological tools upon which they have come to rely. The district's librarians have informed Ms. Jackson that two (2) more technology specialists will soon be lost to higher paying positions. Ms. Jackson contends that additional funding to increase the pay range of these positions would resolve this continuing problem. In an era of growing student and teacher accountability, she proposes that all County citizens should be accountable. Give the schools the funding and tools they need and their staff will get the job done. Ruta Stankus, President of the Chapel Hill PTA Council, stated that there are 14 PTAs in the district. She further stated that they do not mind paying the extra tax needed to fully fund the budget for the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City School Board of Education as presented. They need to be able to provide for the additional teachers needed for the influx of students. She also asked that the County Commissioners consider funding their expansion budget. She believes these needs are important. She asked that the County Commissioners consider all the needs of all the students in the County and encouraged the County Commissioners to fully fund the request of the School Board. While she appreciates the hard work that went into Manager Link's budget, she stated that additional funding is necessary to provide for additional teachers based on the continued influx of students. By not fully funding the expansion budget, these needs will not be addressed: ? Funds for students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) ? Increases to minimum supplement offered to our beginning teachers, which are needed to attract and retain qualified staff; ? Removal of the cap on our supplement paid to our experienced teachers; ? Employment of computer and technology specialists to troubleshoot computer system problems, many of whom are being lured away by higher paying salaries in local industry Ms. Stankus believes these needs are critical to adequate school support in Orange County. Many of the additional funds will go to support students whose needs are greatest and who may not have the parents' support before the Board at this meeting. She thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak. Alison Weiner is here to update the County Commissioners on the activities of the Community Land Trust of Orange County. She reminded the Board of the public forum the Land Trust is hosting, to be held at the Carrboro Town Hall on June 10, 1999 at 5:30 p.m. On May 11, 1999, the Land Trust was officially incorporated, establishing Bylaws, and seating an initial Board of Directors. These items were accomplished through a lot of hard work and great support from government staff, including Tara Fikes. The Land Trust is contracting with the Orange Community Housing Corporation to handle all administrative tasks, as suggested by the County Manager and the Chapel Hill Town Manager. The first year will see efforts focused on a 14- unit townhouse development on Scarlett Drive in Chapel Hill, which is being developed by Orange Community Housing Corporation. Chapel Hill is donating the land to the Land Trust. This was chosen as the lead-off project because it was already underway and the Town of Chapel Hill was eager to make it both an affordable housing project and the first Land Trust project. Since the fall, the Land Trust has received an 18- month technical plan of assistance from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Land Trust will receive 23 days of technical assistance from HUD at no cost. Also received from HUD was $4,000.00, which allowed four (4) members to attend the National Land Trust Conference in April 1999. Tara Fikes was one of the attendees. One of HUD's strongest recommendations was to hire a part-time administrative staff person. As a result, HUD will provide a $10,000.00 matching grant, provided the Land Trust can match those funds with support from local governments in a 2-to-1 ratio. Orange Community Housing Corporation, on behalf of the Land Trust, has submitted a request of $18,000.00, which equates to $8,000.00 from Orange County, $8,000.00 from the Town of Chapel Hill, and $1,000.00 each from the Towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough. The Land Trust's requests have been included in the proposed budgets for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The County Manager has not included the Land Trust's $8,000.00 request in his recommended budget. Although the first project will be in Chapel Hill, the Land Trust was established to serve all of Orange County and can play a crucial role in creating long-term, affordable housing. There have been good efforts to develop affordable housing; unfortunately, with regard to home ownership, housing does not remain affordable. The Land Trust applauds the County and the commitment of its citizens to quality education but asked the Board to consider the opportunity at hand in empowering the Land Trust to meet its founding principles of providing affordable housing and thereby enhancing the diversity of the County's population. The Land Trust's request for $8,000.00 will guarantee HUD's matching grant, allowing the Land Trust to hire needed administrative staff, and to begin its work for Orange County's citizens. Sue Battle stated that she is a member of the Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate Program associated with the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District. The program currently has 36 mentors serving 42 children in 13 schools. It is focused on low-income, disorganized families, typically children living with one (1) relative. Mentors are assigned to families to provide the child with a stable, supportive relationship, and to advocate for the child within the school system. This encourages the child to further itself in academic, social, and athletic skills. Family life in our busy society is often failing to provide our children with personal attention and care, as well as structure and discipline. Mentors act as a catalyst between the child and school, parents, and the larger community. By serving as role models, the mentor aids in creating a positive internal image within the child. This opens up the child to the opportunities available to him/her in our society. The core message of the desperate people behind recent school violence is "Pay attention to me". Continuance and extension of the mentoring program is intimately connected to the funding received by the school systems, so the program requests full funding for the area schools. Joyce Holmes is here representing 14 child service agencies in Orange County. Her major concern is child abuse and the goal of this group of agencies is to adequately address this issue in Orange County. In working with children from the County, she realized that 100 percent of these children had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD). She began to collaborate with area colleagues for their input into this finding. Gail Ellsworth, Guardian ad Litem program, ventured that virtually all of the children in her program also suffered from these disorders and learning disabilities. In talking with prison counselors and workers, they also found a prevalence of ADHD and learning disabilities among the prison population. Obviously, children afflicted with these disorders are growing to adults who pursue unhealthy, possible criminal activities. These children have cognitive differences in that they process information in other alternative ways. They have attention span difficulties and can become emotional and frustrated easily, with impulsiveness problems. Working with these children becomes a difficult process, both in home and in the outer world. Parents many times do not understand the obstacles the children face, creating tension within families, because the ADHD has not been identified and addressed. Use of more discipline only causes these children to become defiant, leading to a potential spiral into child abuse. Research showed that very little action is being taken to address this issue. The study did show that these children were more likely to be depressed, to drink, smoke, use drugs, drop out of school, join gangs, be illiterate, and become unemployable. Therefore, the group of agencies seeks to develop a program to address this need by first identifying these children in preschool at the ages of three (3) to four (4). Then, the agencies can reach out to the parents to provide guidance on navigating these disabilities. Ms. Holmes talked about the progression of the disorder in some children, possibly leading to destructive behavior to self and others. The group would like to hire a Program Manager and is requesting that the Board allocate $5,000.00 in County funds to hire a part-time person to initiate and maintain this program. Permanent, long-term funding can then be pursued through alternate sources. Ellen Hoe[ is a parent of two (2) children who attend schools within the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District. Her family has resided in Chapel Hill for nine (9) years. Her husband commutes to Raleigh each day, while Mrs. Hoel has a job in Durham. They chose to make these drives and live in Chapel Hill due to the quality of life and the excellence in the school system. She would like to see these traditions continued. She requested that the Board fully fund the School Districts' budget items, including those listed as critical needs. If necessary, taxes should be raised to meet these needs. Mrs. Hoe[ was disappointed to learn that Orange County places a cap on experienced teachers' supplements. Our teachers deserve the best and she encouraged the Board to continue to give it to them. Karen Lamont: Not here. Neeli Lambert, science teacher at East Chapel Hill High School, stated that this is her second year of teaching. She previously taught in Virginia. When she came here two (2) years ago, she took a $7,000.00 pay cut. She does appreciate the Board increasing the amount of school spending in the proposed budget. However, she noted that the County almost lost her services due to the aggressive pursuit of other area school districts. The only reason Ms. Lambert did chose to stay in Orange County was because of the excellence of the school system. However, she feels that to maintain that excellence, the County must fully fund the proposed budget for the school system. Ms. Lambert stated that it was particularly difficult to receive technology support for her classroom, thus hindering her teaching abilities. The technicians that are available are too few and forced to service too many facilities. She encouraged the Board to fund the full school budget because it will make a difference. Judy Jones, biology teacher at Chapel Hill High School, encouraged full funding of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools budget. She encouraged the Board to fully fund the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District budget, and thanked the Board for almost complete funding. For less than $1 million, the Board would meet full funding. So much energy has been spent prioritizing, eliminating, adding, and trimming the budget request, that full funding would honor that hard work and effort. This budget will improve the level of performance of the students, while attracting and retaining quality teachers, as well as meeting the needs of limited English proficient and special needs students. Other neighboring counties and states offer higher wages and succeed in attracting teachers to their districts. Ms. Jones reiterated that had the school system lost Neeli Lambert to a higher paying school district, it truly would have been a terrible loss based on her excellent reputation with parents, students, and colleagues. Last year, another quality, diversified, experienced teacher was lost by leaving to work at Durham Academy at a $10,000.00 annual increase, even though he would have preferred to continue working within the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District. Valuable resources are being lost in experienced, caring, qualified, excellent teachers who are only seeking a better way of life with a higher salary. East Chapel Hill High School has seen three (3) technology specialists within its three (3) years of operation. These employees did not leave out of a dislike for their employment, but for purely financial reasons. Ms. Jones stated her commitment to the incorporation of technology into the teaching process and she strongly urges the Board to honor the hard work put into the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District budget request by fully funding their budget. Faith Becker stated she supports fully funding the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District's proposed budget. She feels the most critical item is to lift the existing cap on supplements for veteran teachers. Ms. Becker is a native Chapel Hillian and a product of its school district. While she now teaches in Chapel Hill, she garnered her experience while working in surrounding area systems for 18 years. Her move to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District has been marred by the supplement cap. Although having taught school for 20 years, Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District has capped her supplement to ten (10) years. In essence, the system is ignoring ten (10) years of her experience. There are 112 experienced employees who share in this predicament. A colleague of Ms. Becker has been teaching for 24 years and now works with psychiatrically referred children, a hard-to-fill position. Her supplement was also capped at ten (10) years, causing her to work beside fellow employees, while making significantly less money, despite her level of experience. Ms. Becker requested equal pay for equal work and to remove the supplement caps for veteran teachers. Peter Morcombe is the parent of children who attend or will attend schools in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro district. For years, Mr. Morcombe attended public hearings to protest what he considered wasteful spending by this same school district. The services and administrative sections of the budget were growing at a much greater rate than the classroom expenditure portion. Recently, Mr. Morcombe has seen the priorities shift to the hiring and retention of high-quality teachers, reduction in class sizes, and thereby relieving stress on those teachers who can now offer more personalized instruction to our children. As a taxpayer, he is pleased with the progress in prioritizing expenses moreso than he was five (5) years ago. These are good economic times and he supports the idea of an increase in funding for our schools. However, he also agrees with Commissioner Gordon's request that the school budgeting process be improved. This year's budget requests saw a 24 percent increase in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District and an 18 percent increase in the remainder of Orange County. If these trends continued over the next few years, soon there will be inadequate funding for other vital services, such as police and fire. Mr. Morcombe suggests using these abundant years to prepare for the lean years yet to come. At present, most of the funds in the school districts' requests are in the form of continuation budgets, which remain untouchable. The Commissioners are left to review only the expansion and supplementary budget elements. Mr. Morcombe proposes that the County fully fund the proposed school districts' budgets on the condition that next year there will be no continuation budget. In future years, all school spending should be subject to review by the Commissioners. He believes this is an offer the school districts cannot refuse, for to do so could be seen as denying accountability. Mr. Morcombe declared his vested interest in that he is a member of an organization that has created five (5) charter schools. There are five (5) principals and 55 teachers to serve over 600 students in grades K through 12. He would like his employees to receive the appropriate pay raises they have earned by their hard work and dedication. Additionally, the funding would allow the hiring of one to two more teachers per school. Mr. Morcombe also requested that the Board fund a request for six (6) school buses, or one (1) per 100 students. At present, buses are retired from use by state school systems after 164,000 miles; however, this does not hold true in charter schools. Mr. Morcombe would like to see this inequity remedied to ensure the safety of his students. The buses will cost $50,000.00 each, translating into a $500.00 per student expense. While this may seem like a significant sum, compare this figure to the $20,000.00 per student costs to build a new school. Debbie LeMay is the President of the PTSA at Guy Phillips Middle School in Chapel Hill, as well as being involved in the PTSA Board at East Chapel Hill High School. Ms. LeMay stated she has lived in Chapel Hill for seven (7) years and moved to this area because of the high-quality schools. In her state of origin, teachers are highly paid to attract the very best individuals. She believes that Orange County will only get what it pays for, and getting and keeping the best teachers will require higher salaries. During her tenure here, she has seen a great deal of growth. To maintain the school districts' excellent reputation will require raising teacher salaries to afford the best-qualified persons. This also becomes important in functioning as a role model to encourage this generation of students to become teachers themselves. Although this is a large budget request, there are no frills added. Without funding this request, Ms. LeMay is concerned that the new addition to East Chapel Hill High School will not be opened on time, although there will be 300 additional students. She asked the Commissioners to fully fund the school districts' budget and serve as an advocate for the County's children. Joe Robbins is President of the Board of the Friends of Orange County Department of Social Services and is here to speak on behalf of social services. Friends is a non-profit organization that has been in existence for six (6) years. The organization assists the clients of DSS who cannot be served properly in that context due to funding, timing, regulations, and so forth. He would like to be able to increase services to clients. He state that Friends has contributed at least $22,000.00 each year to the County to help their clients to overcome their difficulties. This past year, over 300 clients have been aided with clothing, furniture, appliances, and other services. Friends serves as a partner with the County. Friends had an appreciation breakfast this year for the DSS workers. Awards were given to various individuals for their success in helping clients reclaim their lives. The budget increase requests are for foster care, and aid for abused and neglected children. He requested that the Commissioners please review and approve the budget as requested by the Department of Social Services. Gloria Fraly thanked the Commissioners for their past support for school budgets, although she disagrees with the County Manager's recommended budget. She appreciates the Commissioners' desire to establish accountability for school expenditures. She pointed out how well the schools have performed, particularly on the State writing test to improve proficiency. She supports specific items of the budget. As a founding member of Stop Overcrowding Schools (SOS), she strongly supports the start-up funds for the Scroggs Elementary School. In the past, she has spoken before the County Commissioners to express that the school system is the best resource of Orange County. The quality of schools serves to attract potential residents to the community. The teachers of the schools are the best assets, yet they are not paid enough or supported enough. Tonight, there is surely a teacher somewhere looking for a way to meet the needs of one of their pupils in the face of a lack of financial support. Any funding that supports and enhances the teachers situation has her backing. She further stated her support for the limited English proficiency funding. She works as a volunteer with Hispanic children who dream of someday fulfilling their potential. She requested that the Commissioners fully fund the school districts' budget. Joe Capowski declined to speak. Susan Dodge thanked the Commissioners for their commitment to the students of Orange County. She serves as a tech specialist in the school system. She feels that the recommended budget does not address the very real need for support to the technology program. Our state mandates that students acquire certain skills as they move through the school system. This presents a challenge with limited funding to find creative ways to meet this requirement. There needs to be more tools in the classroom, as well as training and support for teachers to encourage the growth of the technology program. Although her job description calls upon her to educate students as to technology, the County's computer systems are becoming so large and diverse that too much time is being spent servicing the equipment. The Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District has recognized this need by establishing technology as a priority in its proposed budget request. Additional technicians are needed, as well as providing longer tech support contracts to retain employees. She strongly urges the Commissioners to take whatever means are necessary to provide full funding to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District to ensure the success of the technology program. Chair Gordon stated that all persons who had signed up to speak had done so, but if there were other interested members of the audience, they were welcomed to provide their comments. Steven Scroggs stated his support for funding the full budget. All of his family are graduates of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District and the new elementary school is named for his mother, Mary Scroggs. He asked various members of the audience to stand up who are teachers whose salaries are capped. He believes these teachers are irreplaceable, they work with hard-to-reach students, and their loss would be immeasurable. Each of these teachers has touched their students in long-lasting ways. As a parent, he stated that his son was taught by Judy Jones, a previous speaker. Without her help, Mr. Scroggs does not know if his son would still be in school. The County needs to support such teachers in any manner possible. He fears that his son may not make it through the school system and asked the Commissioners to fully fund the budget so that no more children suffer like his son. Jane Bedford said that she has been involved with the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District for seven (7) years. She expressed her support of Maria Palmer's previous remarks regarding support for Hispanic children, as well as all other children in Orange County. Fully funding the school districts can only serve to the good of the County and its citizens. She previously sent a letter to the Commissioners on behalf of lifting the cap on supplements for experienced teachers. She supports the Excellent Schools Act. She believes it is necessary to hire technical staff at secondary schools. Students with limited English proficiency already have enough obstacles to overcome and funding is needed to expand that program. The school population rate is growing at such a rate that funding is necessary to lower class size in an effort to meet goals. Not reducing class size will make a tremendous negative difference in student performance. To meet the needs of these special students, Ms. Bedford sincerely recommends full funding of the budget for the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District. Chair Gordon asked if any other citizens or if any of the Commissioners had any further questions or comments. Without response she thanked all the audience members for taking the time to appear at the public hearing to share their thoughts with the Board of County Commissioners. 3. ADJOURNMENT With no further items to be considered, Chair Gordon adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m. The next meeting as listed on the regular meeting calendar is scheduled for June 8 at 5:00 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Alice M. Gordon, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk