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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20070604APPROVED 8/21/2007 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING June 4, 2007 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center, on the UNC Campus, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The purpose of this meeting was to hold a public hearing on the County Manager's recommended 2007-2008 budget. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Barry Jacobs, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (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. 1. Openina Remarks- Chair Chair Carey welcomed everyone present. He dispensed with the reading of the public charge. He reviewed the handouts that everyone was given as they entered (multi-colored sheets). He asked the speakers to limit their comments to three minutes if possible so that everyone who wants to will have an opportunity to speak. 2. Presentatian of Caunty Manager's Recommended FY 2007-08 Budget (PawerPoint Presentation) Laura Blackmon made this PowerPoint presentation. Manager's Recommended Budget Fiscal Year 2007-08 Orange County, NC June 4, 2007 Public Hearing Tax Goal Meeting pressing needs and mandates related to children, seniors, economically disadvantaged has come at a price • Commissioners concerned that historical tax rate increases and rising property valuations have become a burden for same taxpayers • April 2007 Board Adopted Tax Goal - Fiscal year 2007-08 targeted tax rate increase is amount required to pay new debt service obligations Recommended General Fund Budget Totals $172.2 Million • Recommendation represents a 5.3 percent increase over 2006-07 original budget Increase of $8.7 million over original fiscal year 2006-07 budget of $163.5 million Recommended Tax Rates • Countywide ad valorem tax rate of 94 cents per $100 of assessed valuation - Increase of 3.7 cents over the 2006-07 rate of 90.3 cents • Impact on taxpayer with $350,000 in valued property is $130 per year - One cent on property tax rate generates $1,247,881 • Maintains Chapel Hill Carrboro Special District tax rate at 18.85 cents per $100 of assessed valuation - One cent on property tax rate generates $802,246 General Fund Revenues -chart Education Funding Overview • Overall Education support totals $82.5 million -Includes funding for local school systems and Orange County Satellite Campus -Durham Technical Community College Education Funding Current Expense • Provides funding for 18,530 elementary, middle and high school students - Increase of 338 students from previous school year - Recommended budget maintains per pupil appropriation for CHCCS and OCS at $2,957 • Total current expense funding equals $55 million - Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools - $33.7 million - Orange County Schools - $21.1 million - Durham Technical Community College - $181,000 • CHCCS to receive additional $15,122,338 from district tax - Equivalent of $1,329 per pupil • Provides 4 months operational funding for community college satellite campus Per Pupil Allocations to Local Schools State Mandated Funding Formula -table Additional Education Funding • Recurring Capital - $2.4 million • Long-Range Capital - $4.1 million • Debt Service for School Facilities - $18.9 million • School Health Nurses - $566,744 • School Social Workers - $557,272 • Fair Funding for School Health and Public Safety Expenses - $800,000 Cost of Fully Funding Local School Requests • To fully fund Orange County Schools budget request increase of $3.7 million - Per pupil equivalent of $3,413 - a per pupil increase of $456 - Equates to $5.7 million increase for Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools - Would cost 7.6 cents on ad valorem tax rate - Impact of this increase on a property owner with $350,000 in property would be $266 per year. • To fully fund Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools budget request increase of $6.8 million - Per pupil equivalent of $3,510 - a per pupil increase of $553 - Equates to $4.4 million increase for Orange County Schools - Would cost 9.01 cents on ad valorem tax rate - Impact of this increase on a property owner with $350,000 in property would be $315 per year. Debt Service • County's obligation for debt increases by $4.6 million - $2.2 million far partial year debt service on $59 million new debt authorized to construct several new facilities including two schools, a technical community college satellite campus, senior center, justice facility and soccer complex - $2.4 million required to offset loss of Lottery proceeds previously dedicated to repay school related debt service Other Budget Highlights • Recommended funding for Medicaid increases $545,436 - Brings County's total Medicaid appropriation to $4,570,236 • County Employee Pay and Benefits - Majority of costs associated with recommended pay and benefits package offset by salary savings 9.1 New County Staff Resources - To comply with State mandates and staff new facilities - Net County cost = $276,000 Document Availability • Orange County Budget Office - 208 South Cameron Street, Hillsborough • Clerk to the Board - 200 South Cameron Street, Hillsborough • Public Libraries in Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Cedar Grove • County's website - www.ca.orange.nc.us Budget Schedule • Budget Public Hearings - May 31, Superior Courtroom, Hillsborough - June 4, Sonja Haynes Stone Center, UNC Campus, 150 South Road, Chapel Hill • Budget Work Sessions - June 5 - Southern Human Services Center - June 7 -Link Government Services Center - June 14 -Southern Human Services Center - June 18 -Link Government Services Center - June 21 -Southern Human Services Center • Budget Adoption - June 26 -Southern Human Services Center • All meetings start at 7:30 p. m. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Board of County Commissioners appropriates a lump sum to each school system and does not decide what gets cut from a school's budget. He said that the County Commissioners have received emails about why they did not anticipate the increased school casts. He said that construction costs have gone up tremendously for new schools. Also, the public has asked what they could do to help get more funds for schools and he said that one area is getting the State to lessen the burden of Medicaid funding. 3. Public Comment Sean Smith is a parent of OCS children and he said that he understands that one of the goals of this budget is protecting the taxpayers. He said that this budget places a burden on those people they are trying to help. In OCS, one of the suggestions is eliminating some teacher assistant positions, particularly in the 4t" and 5t" grades. These positions are critical for all children, but in particular, those children who are at risk. The second example is that the OCS is talking about eliminating sports in the middle school and the junior varsity in high school, and the burden will fall on the kids and the parents since the students have nowhere to go if there are no after-school sports. He said that these are just two examples, and we can pay a little more now or a lot more later. Karl Knapp is a CHCCS parent and a State employee. He said that he has spent his entire career working in budgets, so he understands the pressures that the County Commissioners are under. He also understands that the budget is a plan, not only for spending, but also for who we want to be as a community. He said that the choices made in spending define what is considered to be important. He said that as he looks at this budget, he wonders whether education remains important to the community. He said that in the budget services in other areas are funded at the current services level and there is money available for new positions to increase service levels. The County employees receive a pay increase and the senior center that just opened is funded to actually operate. He said that when he looks at the schools he sees something different - he sees enough money to pay for new students, but not enough to pay for the costs of educating those students. He does not see pay increases for the employees who are funded by the County, and he does not see enough money to open a new high school. He sees a situation in which the schools are going to be forced to cut items in order to keep mandated costs funded. He said that the schools couldn't cut by trimming the fat because there is not a lot of fat. The services will be cut, such as teaching assistants, language instruction, science education, services for academically gifted and exceptional children, etc. He said that if the County Commissioners choose not to fund education at the level that is necessary to maintain current services, then they are choosing to make those cuts in services. He asked the County Commissioners to fund the schools at the level necessary to give the children the type of education they deserve. He is willing to pay more taxes to fund this. Mark Peters asked the Board of County Commissioners to adopt a new policy. He said that parents should not have to come by the hundreds every single budget year just to keep the school systems from having to lay off teachers and cancel programs. He said that programs should be continued from year to year. The budget should not start every year by going backwards and cutting school programs. The school budget should start like the County's budget this year, which keeps all the staff, gives them a possible pay increase, and hires new employees to keep up with growth. He said that this dichotomy troubles him. He suggested a "Schools Lose No Ground" ordinance, which would require the County Manager to propose a budget every year that continues programs that currently exist, even with growth. He then spoke on behalf of the PTA Council. He said that all of the PTA's in the district passed six positions, and one of the positions was in support of the Board of Education's budget. Kimberly Holzer is an 8th grade language arts teacher in CHCCS. She said that she was not enough for a new girl that came to her class this year and introduced herself as saying, "I'm stupid." The student told her that her mother moved here for the schools because the previous situation was an alternative school. The student told her that she was tired of being called stupid by her teachers, and was tired of being stupid. She said that it was clear that she was not enough for this student because she refused to read and kept walking out of the roam. She said that the reading specialist helped her and she stopped walking out of her room and passed the EOG. She said that she could not have done this by herself -there was a team of people behind this student, keeping her in school. She asked the County Commissioners to not take away the resources. Emily Kleisch is a student at the UNC nursing school and she works as a Nursing Assistant in the ER at UNC Hospital. She also volunteers with SHAK. She said that this has given her a unique perspective on the County's health care needs. She said that a lot of people are using the emergency roam for primary health care. This increases the costs of health care. She encouraged the County Commissioners to continue funding the Orange County Health Department's Primary Care Clinics. Chris Harlan is a public health nurse and is Vice-Chair of the Board of Health. She said that there are critical facility needs of the Health Department, there is a need to retain quality public health staff in the Health Department, and there is a globalization of the population in Orange County. She said that all residents of Orange County benefit from the work of the Health Department. She said that there is a real problem with inappropriate use of the emergency department at UNC Hospitals. She said that it is important that resources be committed at the levels necessary to ensure that services are provided. The staff also needs to be supported to make sure that they are justly compensated for the work that they do. She said that the Health Department must also ensure that all residents of Orange County have access to appropriate health and dental care. She said that the society made a commitment to universal public education over 100 years ago, and she is amazed that they have still not made the same commitment to health services in the society. Until this is done, the Health Department has to be a player in assuring the health of all citizens. Vince Wingate is a CHCCS parent. He said that Chair Carey had a plan to merge the school districts, and the problem is that the OCS does not want to pay more taxes, but the CHCCS will fund the schools. He said that people here want to fund the schools and the Board of County Commissioners insults the school boards each year. He said that this year has been the most egregious yet -because the County Commissioners expect CHCCS to open a new high school and a new elementary school without more funding. He said that the people in Chapel Hill want the County Commissioners to fund the schools properly. Sue Russell read a prepared statement: "I am President of Child Care Services Association, anon-profit agency working in Orange County, across the Triangle and state and nationally to improve the accessibility of high quality child care. Orange County just received a statewide award for having some of the best quality childcare in the state. It has been hard and committed work on the part of child care teachers, directors, and family child care providers in the County to raise the baron quality. They have sacrificed their own earning potential and economic viability because they believe so much in their work with young children. Does quality matter? You bet it does. All the research is clear. If we provide high quality early childhood education, then children will come to school ready, need less remedial education, have great school success and greater success in life. Orange County is lucky to have such a system in place. But the reality for families is that child care costs more than most can afford in Orange County and across North Carolina. The latest market rate study produced by the NC Division of Child Development has established the rate for an infant in a four-star center as $1,Q$2 a month and the rate for atwo-year old as $936 a month. This is more than tuition at any UNC system university. CCSA operates a scholarship program to help families pay for childcare. Last year we helped 324 children and their families are able to afford high quality childcare. These families receiving assistance earned $21,7QQ a year on average. This means that without assistance they would have spent almost 5Q% of their gross earnings each month to access care. Instead, they paid about 1 Q% of their income, a much more affordable share. Yet there remain 461 children on the combined CCSAIDSS list. These families need our help. We hope that the County will continue to invest its resources in childcare assistance to help these families. Your dollars see an immediate return, as parents are able to work and contribute to Orange County's economy. You also see a long- term return as the children are enrolled in high quality settings, where their development and learning are enhanced. Thank you for understanding the importance of the first five years of a child's life and investing in them. According to James Heckman, the Nobel Price winning economist, `investments in high-quality early education programs have the highest rate of return of any social investment.' The `Too Little, Too Late' approach to education continues to fail our children. With your leadership, Orange County can do better. Thank you." B.D. Voyce thanked the County Commissioners for all of the funding they have given in the past for the school systems. He said that tonight the decision is not just thumbs up or thumbs down on increasing the property tax far the schools. He thinks that the decision should begin with the County Commissioners telling the citizens what is driving most of the County tax increases. He spoke about why Orange County has trouble funding its schools. He made reference to the letter that was in the newspaper from Ms. Parker, who lives in the CHCCS district. In the letter, Ms. Parker speaks about the increasing tax burden. He asked if Ms. Parker really knew why her County taxes are increasing so and if she knows about the January 2Q06 N. C. State Report, which details the costs of community services in Orange County. He said that the County population has graven from 77,QQQ to 121,QQQ in the past 25 years. He said that there is a systemic problem in Orange County. Every time a new subdivision is approved, the demand for County services goes up, and the result is net negative financial demand, more property taxes. He asked the County Commissioners to please fix the system. He asked the County Commissioners to spend less time on resolutions and foreign affairs and fix the system. Kate Sanford read a prepared statement: "Thank you for the continued financial support you have made available to families in Orange County. With these funds over the last three years, 85 children have received the benefits of high quality childcare enabling them to work or enroll in higher education. You are serving Orange County in the most fiscally responsible way, supporting the workforce and saving $17.00 to every $1.00 spent to support low-income children in our community. The children served through CCSA's Scholarship program this current fiscal year are a median size family of three making $19,500. As of May 1, 2007, there are 461 unduplicated children waiting to receive a childcare subsidy. These children are on the CCSA wait list or the Orange County DSS wait list or both. Children on the Orange County DSS wait list have an average wait time of four months. The County dollars for subsidy has made a difference. Two years ago the wait time was 6 to 12 months. Your goal of reducing the wait time has been a collective effort through the state and federal dollars, but the County has also contributed to this goal. 1. We hope that the County will continue to invest $100,000 a year to directly support children of low-income families who need child care and to continue to reimburse the subsidy system for County employee's usage of state and federal subsidy dollars in the preceding year. This investment has helped Orange County significantly reduce its waiting list. It has also been key in drawing down additional state and federal dollars that now have a match requirement. 2. In 2005 a fund of $50,000 was designed to generate a privatelpublic match to increase the availability of subsidy. The privatelpublic match required asix- month agreement where Department of Social Services paid 50% of the cost for a subsidized child and the private business paid the other 50°~. After the six months the families would be funded through Department of Social Services. This program has been operating for two years. The vast majority of businesses that have participated in this program have been the childcare industry, which is already subsidizing the casts of childcare. Although the child care industry supports the privatelpublic partnership, the financial commitment is too high. The program was based on families waiting far 6+ months to be picked up from the Department of Social Services waiting list. The Orange County Child Care Coalition is asking the County to continue your commitment of $50,000, but to reduce the public financial commitment to two months, making it more affordable for the businesses that are making the match, the childcare providers. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak before you this evening. The child care community appreciates the support the Commissioners have given the families and children in Orange County." Michael Berliner said that he moved here from Los Angeles last year, and his daughter goes to McDougle Middle School. He spoke in support of Superintendent Pedersen's proposal to raise taxes appropriately to cover the costs of the school system. He said that the local school system is one of the main reasons he chose to locate to this community. He said that, specifically, the reputation of the school system was what drove him here. Almost a year later, the quality of life is just as it was promised to be by the Visitor's Bureau. He said that he is disappointed, dismayed, and angry about the budget crisis of the school system. He is also upset about the downward trend of the school system. He asked the County Commissioners to please fully fund the schools. Michael Woods is an OCS parent. He said that he just came to this meeting from the OCS Board meeting. He said that there are two schools in OCS that are currently at risk of falling behind in the No Child Left Behind mandates. He said that this budget would cut the resources these schools have. It is imperative to fund the school systems at least at the minimum level to maintain the current services. He made reference to the comment from Commissioner Jacobs that the school systems here are first in the State, and said that we are in a world economy and not a state economy. Marc ter Horst is a CHCCS parent. He said that he wants to be the first speaker to address the 2008-2009 budget. He is genuinely concerned about the next budget cycle. He said that the population will no doubt grow over the next 12 months, inflation will continue, buildings will require repair, employees will require salary increases, and the schools will require funding for their operation and budget. He asked that the County Manager's Recommended Budget for the 2008-2009 budget year cover necessary expenditures. He asked that the County Commissioners prepare in the future to address the needs of County services according to the needs of the growing population, and also that they address the needs in the future for the new schools according to SAPFO. He asked the County Commissioners to be prepared and put it in writing -plan for future property tax rates, plan for a better commercial tax base, plan for growth. David Weinberg is from the CHCCS district. He said that he has attended at least three meetings just like this in the past six years, and he is forced to come to the conclusion that the budget process is flawed. He said that it does not make sense to him that a government process of this type should lead so regularly to turmoil in the community. He said that it does not make sense that right about the time that teachers are enjoying Teacher Appreciation Week, that they are receiving letters saying that their contracts might not be renewed. He said that the County employees are not receiving possible layoff notices every other year, so teachers should not either. He said that Superintendent Pedersen came to the County Commissioners earlier in the year and painted out that if they did not fund the district for the new expenses, he would be forced to cut minimally $4 million from the budget. He would have expected a dialogue to begin at this point. However, the County Commissioners instructed the County Manager to proceed with a zero increase budget. He suggested that the district tax be used to fund the schools. He also suggested that the lottery be budgeted. Dianne Ware-Furlow said that she went through the CHCCS system from kindergarten through 12t" grade. She said that this place is very special. She now has a child in kindergarten, and she moved back to Chapel Hill because she knew that the investment was worth it. She said that all of the CHCCS parents are willing to pay for additional taxes instead of sending their children to a private school. She begged the County Commissioners to fund the school system at the requested amount. Paul Van Raay is a CHCCS parent. He said that the largest contributor to income in the County is property taxes. He said that the driver of those property taxes is increased valuation of the property. He said that he personally moved here and paid the extra money because of the better school system. He said that keeping the funding per student static is actually dropping funding. He asked that the County Commissioners continue to fund the schools properly. Ray S. Martin is President of Chapel Hill-Carrboro Association of Educators. He said that last week at the public hearing he told the County Commissioners that he would be back with something special. He said that he is here to present the 2006-2007 Friend of Education Award. This award represents those people who work in education every day. He said that 300+ members of his association told him who these people should be. He said that the County Commissioners have been a friend of education for so long. He made reference to the Economic Development Commission's mission statement, which says, "The purpose of Orange County's Economic Development Commission is to have a smart county, innovative place, a great place to live and work." He said that this has been done, and the support for public education is what has made the County so great. He suggested convincing the state and federal leaders to fund us better also so that the counties can better fund the schools. Marty Hanson said that he was asked by his friends, family, and colleagues to speak tonight. He is an OCS parent. He said that he was told that it was appropriate to be polite, thoughtful, positive, and to advocate raising taxes to solve the huge funding shortfalls. He said that it has been suggested that an increase of only $3Q per month, per household in property taxes would solve these short-term funding needs. He thinks that there is a much bigger issue. He said that there needs to be in place along-term financial plan that is beyond this cost. He suggested that for the year 2QQ8-2QQ9 and beyond that it would be inappropriate and inconsistent for the County Commissioners to begin the budget process each year by cutting programs, cutting services, and cutting teachers. He said that the promise of new funds from the real estate transfer taxes, state lottery, etc., are all integral components to a balanced long- term financial plan. He suggested obtaining an on-site consultant long-term to provide Orange County's current and ten-year projected financial needs and make recommendations that deliver excellence in education to bath systems. He said that there should be full financial disclosure on the website that clearly details sources and uses of funds. Robert Dowling, Executive Director of Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, thanked the County Commissioners for the past support. The Land Trust is anon-profit agency and provides affordable homeownership to citizens of Orange County. Most of the 125 homes in the Land Trust are located in the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Land Trust homes are designed to remain affordable forever to serve future generations of low to moderate-income families. He said that they are one of the fastest growing land trusts in the country. He said that simply adding homes to the Land Trusts is little value if those homes are not well managed over time. In order to properly manage these properties over time, they need to hire a property manager. He asked for additional operating support from the County, specifically $39,QQQ. Adela Van Name read a prepared statement: "I am the Parent Chair of the Special Needs Advisory council for the Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools. I am also a parent of an EC child at Rashkis Elementary and two other children, one who attends Culbreth Middle and one who attends Chapel Hill High School. As chair of the SNAC committee, I am speaking on behalf of the affiliated EC population, which is well represented this evening by many parents of Exceptional Children. We have a difficult enough time keeping Special Education teachers with our current funding. If we were to reduce the amount of support these teachers have, our children will be at even greater risk. There is no room for any type of reduction or elimination of services that these cuts would insure. We are not working with any cushion or surplus. Two years ago, myself and another mom bought and donated leveled reading books for my son's classroom because there were none available for homework. That same year, as well as this year, my son's classroom ran out of paper bymid-April. Supplies can be donated, but how do you donate a teaching assistant or therapist? In closing, it would not be fair if I did not mention that all of our typical children deserve full funding for their educational needs as well. Please keep in mind, it is these children who will became our future leaders and whose compassion and understanding will build on our legacy as care providers for our EC Community. That legacy is our responsibility. Who should receive less of an education? The child who can't advocate for himself or the child that has to learn to advocate for everyone? I hope for the sake of all our children that you will fully fund the entire education budget for both school systems." Maria Romano is the Chair of the Transition Team far the Special Needs Advisory Council for CHCCS. She is also a parent of CHCCS children. She said that this past year her exceptional child's classroom was assigned to a trailer because of overcrowding. This trailer was not equipped with a bathroom or a covered walkway. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund both school systems so that all children can get a proper education. Nancy Taylor said that her only financial asset is her home, and it is imperative to her that property values remain high if she can have any sense of financial security. She said that the reason Chapel Hill can demand such high prices on real estate is because of the reputation of the schools. She said that she will gladly come up with $2Q-5Q dollars more a month in taxes to protect her investment. She said that if the quality of their schools go down, so will the property values. She asked the County Commissioners to please raise her taxes. Mia Burroughs is a CHCCS parent. She said that it is true weariness to watch the budget process. She said that she has come to see this budget process as a dance. She encouraged all parties involved to find ways to make the budget mare collaborative and less combative. She asked the County Commissioners to raise her taxes or to da whatever is necessary to fully fund both school systems. Kate Kennedy is the IT Faculty Ca-Chair at Seawell Elementary and a Gifted Education Specialist. She is also a spouse of a Special Education Inclusion Facilitator and the mother of a child with severe autism. She said that they are faced each year with these cuts and it affects morale. She asked the County Commissioners to fund both schools' budgets. Lynn Lehman is a CHCCS parent and President of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation. She expressed support for fully funded school budgets for both districts. She said that the citizens and the local government of Orange County have a social responsibility to provide adequate annual funding far those that need services, including funding for quality education services for all. She said that the proposed budget does not even come close to meeting the school districts' mandatory casts. The budget has the schools digressing and not moving forward. She said that for some students school is the safe place to land and the only place that they can turn. She said that the importance of after school programs, school counselors, specialists, and Schaal security has never been greater; yet these are the very positions an the chopping black if the schools are not funded. She said that the cost of raising the taxes will be a lot less than the long-term casts of not funding the schools. Joe Kennedy is a teacher at UNC. He made reference to the comments about the unfunded State mandates and where Orange County ranks statewide in county support for public education. He said that this is the Triangle and the nature of this area is to attract highly educated high wage earners who can afford to put their children in private education. He said that he understands that school is expensive and the education budget may seem extravagant, but it is the nature of the economy that the public school children need to be competitive. He said that the most substantial and reliable protection people have against hardship is a decent job. Far people living in this area, the gateway to the jobs will always be a good education. He said that fully funding the schools is the mast progressive thing that the County Commissioners can da. Rebecca McMillan is Vice-Chair of Parent Governance Committee at Mary Scroggs Elementary School. She presented a petition of 240 people that were in favor of fully funding the CHCCS budget. She said that Mary Scroggs is one of the mast crowded schools -with 700+ children in a school built to accommodate 575. She said that they are deeply concerned that the proposed budget farces CHCCS to choose between quality education and growth. Shell Brownstein said that she has been a taxpayer in Orange County for 14 years and she is a CHCCS parent. She has also served on a Superintendent's Ad Hoc Budget Committee this year. She testified that during that process every effort was made to trim the budget. There was a long list of items of possible cuts. She said that none of these cuts are tolerable. She said that the CHCCS budget cuts will hit the elementary schools particularly hard. She urged the County Commissioners to adopt bath school budgets without cutting out the heart and soul of the schools. She encouraged the Board to initiate long-term cooperative planning between the Town, County, and the state and federal governments for a smarter budget process, smarter land development, and alternative revenue services. Faith Nager is Vice-Chair of Chapel Hill Recreation Commission and she thanked the Board for recognizing the need for more recreational opportunities and in actively participating in the building of facilities that will provide year-round swimming, much needed playing fields, playgrounds, and other recreational opportunities. She said that as a parent of a CHCCS child and as a participant on the CHCCS Special Needs Advisory Council, she implores the Board to fully fund both schools' requested budgets. She understands that the Board does not decide haw the money is allocated ar dispersed, but she hopes that the County Commissioners will understands that without enough funds given to education, some of the current students will be drains on society throughout their adult lives. She said that all children should be given every opportunity to meet their full potential and have successful and productive lives. Anna Mercer McLean spoke about early childhood education. She supports the Orange County Child Care Coalition request to fund $50,000 for the public/private match and that the matching funds be reduced far child care providers, and that the County continue to invest $100,000 to support low-income families who need child care. She also asked for a way to make health care accessible to childcare providers through Orange County because the cost is so high for them through their own funding source. She said that she left packets for the County Commissioners regarding the Orange High School tennis courts. For the last three years, people have been advocating for the renovation of the tennis courts, and the request is $150,000 for the Orange High tennis courts. She presented a petition of 103 people who want to see these courts redone. Teresa Clark serves on the Advocacy Committee of the Special Needs Advisory Council. She said that whenever there are budget cuts, programs for exceptional children and special needs are usually the first ones to get cut. She said that in her grandson's class this year, at the beginning of the year, there were three children who could not write because they had special needs. At the end of the year, all of these children could write legibly. She asked the County Commissioners where they would be if they could not read or write. She said that this area is a lighthouse and there are people who move here because of the schools. Andrea Fleming is an OCS parent. She agreed with Mark Peters' comment that this budget should be a "Schools Lase No Ground" budget. She would love to see the school systems moving forward. She said that the requested budget did not include luxuries. Many of the requests will simply compound if they are not addressed this year. She said that her family chose to move here from Wake County mainly because of the schools and quality of life. She asked the County Commissioners to please fully fund the schools' budget requests. Alison Kaltz is an OCS parent. She requested full funding of the OCS budget. She said that anything less than full funding is a disservice to the children, teachers, additional school support staff, and the community. She is in favor of a tax increase in order to pay for the budget. She is a parent of a disabled child who receives support from the school system. Charlie Buckner is a CHCCS parent. He asked for full funding of the schools. He asked the County Commissioners to lead the process to develop alonger-term plan for school funding. He said that along-term perspective might help the districts plan more efficiently and help alleviate this annual panic. Linda Bowerman is a CHCCS parent. She said that it is good to see that the County Commissioners realize that high taxes are a burden for the fixed income seniors. However, this budget affects every person in the County, not just retired people living on fixed incomes. She said that if the Manager's recommended budget is approved, aver 100 people are slated to lose their jobs in the CHCCS system alone. She said that for all the work going into helping the working poor and the middle class, this budget represents the very antithesis of that ideal. She said that supporting this budget as written is a vote to cut the jobs of the very people we all want to keep in the community. She said that this budget is being balanced on the backs of the wonderful hard-working staff of our local schools. She said that the price will be paid by the children, who will no longer have the quality education that Orange County is known for. Neil Jones is an OCS parent. He said that he was at the last public hearing and it was pretty much clear-cut that citizens are willing to have taxes raised for education, but there were a few people that were not in favor of having taxes raised. He made reference to the statement by Commissioner Jacobs that the County Commissioners allocate a lump sum to the school boards to fund the schools. He said that he conducted an unofficial poll of parents and teachers about this comment and everyone said that it sounds like the accountability is on the schools and not the Board of County Commissioners. He asked the County Commissioners if they were willing to accept responsibility and be accountable for doing the right thing. Teresa Edwards is an OCS parent. She said that it may be true that the Orange County schools are rated highest in the State, but the State ranks low overall. She said that she wants the students to be competitive on national and international levels, and not just within the State borders. She said that OCS is not asking for alot -they just want warm water in the bathrooms, they want to retain teachers, etc. She said that it is not acceptable that the citizens have to go through all of this drama every year for these same issues. She said that she reviewed the OCS budget and she did not see any fat on it. She asked the County Commissioners to fund the schools this year and spend the next several months focusing on long-term solutions so that the citizens do not have to come back next year asking for the same things. Will Owens thanked all of the County Commissioners and said that they must be crazy to run for office. He said that almost any solution to the budget will certainly have an adverse affect on same groups in this County. He is an OCS parent and he asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the school system's budget as requested. He said that to not do so will force the school board to cut many vital teaching assistants and slash important student oriented services. He asked the County Commissioners to raise his taxes and to also look at ways to balance the local tax base. He asked the Board to avoid redundancy in doing business in this County the same old ways. Miranda Danku is an OC5 parent. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the school budget by increasing taxes. She said that not funding the schools will have an adverse affect on the community at-large. She said that right now less than half of students that speak English as a second language are able to receive ESL services because the teacher is shared with two other Orange County schools. She asked the County Commissioners to keep the big picture in mind. Eric Davis said that he is again asking for full funding for both school districts. He said that it is imperative that his child has a quality education. He said that he understands that the County Commissioners have to take care of a lot of people and especially those on fixed incomes. The County Commissioners need to be creative in their thinking. He said that the education of children in Orange County is the greatest need at this time and that the people are not fussing at the County Commissioners, but at the process. He said that for right now, the taxes should be raised, but at some point there will be a ceiling on this, so there should be some creative thinking. Victoria Krebs is a CHCCS parent. She said that they moved from Knoxville, Tennessee two years ago and decided to buy a house in Chapel Hill because of the schools. She said that if the school budget does not get funded, then it will discourage teachers from applying in Chapel Hill, it will further overwork the present teachers, and it will begin the downward spiral of the school systems. She said that CHCCS has a national reputation now for being phenomenal. It is really hard to rebuild a reputation. She is happy to pay more taxes to fund the schools. Vern Miller is from northern Orange County and said that people in the County are not downtrodden or poor, but they are regular folks that do not make a lot of money, and there are a lot of them. He said that they do not drive expensive cars or take lavish vacations. He said that these people have been paying taxes for a long time and they were born here. He said that longevity should account for something. He said that he does not want his taxes raised. He said that it seems that there should be a process for those that want to have their taxes raised, to open an account far the school systems and let people donate money to the school systems. Lorenzo Mesia is a CHCCS parent. He requested the County Commissioners to raise his taxes to fully fund the schools. He quoted several references that say that higher school performance affects property values positively. Gary Feng is a CHCCS parent. He said that tonight's message is loud and clear. He asked the County Commissioners to please fully fund the school system. Eileen McWlliam asked the County Commissioners to fully fund both school districts' budgets. She is the parent Co-Chair of the SGC at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School. She presented a petition from aver 100 parents at FPG who support full funding of both budgets. She said that she makes this request with the most gratitude for the County Commissioners' valiant efforts to grapple with the competing needs fairly. She believes that the struggle for equity is a noble one, but she fears that it underlies the reluctance to raise taxes in a counterproductive way. The struggle for equity takes place at the school level, the district level, and the County level. She said that the solution is surely not to under-fund all schoals equally. She said that this is not the year to take a stand on taxes. The State has mandated a raise in teacher's pay and CHCCS is opening a new high school. There is no choice but to pay these additional casts, and the district tax needs to be raised to do this. Matthew Davis is a CHCCS parent and said that he is here to support both school systems. He said that the teachers deserve their pay raises. He said that the budget documents do not talk about morale of the children. He asked the County Commissioners to think about morale for bath the children and the teachers. He said that there needs to be some accountability. He asked the County Commissioners what the schools could do to show that they are being accountable. Tom Barth said that his child starts kindergarten in the fall, hopefully in the dual language program. This program has received national acclaim, and yet it could be cut. He said that to fully fund the schools would be only a very modest increase. He said that we should get over the hump this year and think about controlling the growth in the future. JB Hue said that he came to Chapel Hill for UNC and then he realized that he also came here because of the schoals. He said that he decided to stay, even though he has opportunities to leave, because of the schools. He thanked the County Commissioners for making the schoals the best and he asked that they keep doing it. He thinks that this area is the capital of education in the State. He is willing to have his taxes raised. Mary Wolff is a CHCCS parent and a volunteer at the schools. She said that she cannot believe that the two options presented - to cut school programs and teachers, or to raise taxes -are the only two options to this budget crisis. She resents feeling that the County is holding her children's education hostage for a tax increase. She wants more choices. She said that the County Commissioners should identify all of the programs and budget increases that they are considering approving that are not part of the schools' budget; then she would like for them to come up with a budget that fully funds the necessary required expenses of the schools; then identify other expenses and programs that may be reduced, delayed, or eliminated to balance the budget so that there is little ar no need for a tax increase. She understands that the County Commissioners have raised taxes every year for the past 18 years. She does not believe that any community can sustain itself with a tax increase every year. Liz Grabill is a CHCCS parent. She said that she and her husband are both attorneys. She said that maintaining the current request of the Superintendent may not be sufficient, particularly far the best and brightest. She is particularly disturbed because the budget cuts will disproportionately impact the elementary schoals. She suggested that instead of fully funding the schools, that they spend even more. She said that she came from Maryland, where they spend about $8,000 per child. She does not feel that $2,957 is much. She is facing a personal dilemma about whether to stay here or to move somewhere else and put her children in private schools. She said that the property values will not continue going up if the quality of education goes down. Karen Kincaid Dunn works for Club Nova. She thanked the County Cammissioners for their past support. She is in favor of having taxes raised if that is what it takes to support mental health. She told a story of one of the members of Club Nova, who has suffered greatly. This person disappeared after his sister died, and they found him in his bed unresponsive. He did survive. She said that this is too close of a call and far too many citizens are living way too close to the edge. She said that Club Nova needs the same level of County support in the upcoming fiscal year as the current fiscal year. She said that Club Nova provides at least $70,000 of services that are not reimbursed and the State continues to find different ways to not pay for services. There are also new costs such as daily documentation. She said that their new costs are about $50,000, which covers casts of documentation, authorizations, audits, etc. She said that they count on County money far transportation of members. She said that they have made it through their first year as a private non-profit and any less support could be destabilizing. Deepak Sirdeshana said that the County Cammissioners' actions impact education and affect the reputation. He said that the thing that most bothers him is the passibility of losing the resource teachers. He said that he is happy to pay more taxes for the school budgets. Marne Meredith is a social worker with CHCCS and a CHCCS parent. She brought signatures from two different parent groups for which she coordinates meetings. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the schools' budgets and to raise taxes to do this. As a school employee, she asked the County Commissioners to not ask the teachers and other school staff to do more or the same amount of work with fewer resources. Aerin Benavides said that she is here as the President of the CHCCS PTA Council. She said that she is representing all of the children, though their parents are not here tonight. She said that the PTAs voted on a referendum supporting full funding of the school system. She said that the national average of the per pupil allocation for public schools is $6,857+. She said that this is saying a lot for CHCCS because it is one of the best school systems in the nation, and the per pupil allocation is much lower than this. She said that everyone has to work together to keep the programs going. Michael Buck said that he is a County resident and he thanked the County Commissioners for their attention and fortitude and far all of the time spent on the budget and attending events throughout the County. He said that a few weeks ago the County Commissioners altered the locations of the public hearings and they have bent over backwards to accommodate the public. He said that about 104 people have spoken at these public hearings, and all but four people have spoken in favor of full funding for the school systems. He said that there is support to make these decisions through the ad valorem tax. He said that if the majority of the people in the County disagree with this, then there is a huge disconnect that ought to be addressed. He hopes that the end result will be full funding of all schools. Hattie Fax works with the Durham-Orange Community Tennis Association and is also a tennis coach in the district and a parent of two children. She spoke in support of funding the renovation of the tennis courts at Orange High School. She said that the courts are in extreme disrepair and they are the largest courts open to the public. She said that in Chapel Hill there are at least 18 courts open to the public. She said that the citizens of Orange County support staying active through tennis. As a parent, she supports full funding of the school systems. Chris Bern is a CHCCS parents. He said that he is a product of public schools in Florida and he thinks that mediocre schools can still deliver good results. He said that there is nothing overall wrong with mediocrity. He said that the County Commissioners do not have to fund the schools fully -they will get by. He said that North Carolina and the United States have mediocre schools and they get by. He said that OCS and CHCCS are not about mediocrity; they are about being leaders. He said that this is an opportunity to maintain the leadership. He asked the County Commissioners to fully fund CHCCS. 4. Adiaurnment The meeting was adjourned at 10:31 p.m. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board