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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 05-23-2013 APPROVED 9/5/2013 MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING/CIP WORK SESSIOON May 23, 2013 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Public Hearing/CIP Work Session on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the DSS Offices, Hillsborough Commons, Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Mark Dorosin, Alice M. Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price, and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: Assistant County Managers Clarence Grier, Michael Talbert and Clerk to the Board Donna 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. Opening Remarks 2. Presentation of County Manager's Recommended FY 2013-14 Budget (PowerPoint Presentation) A copy of the County Manager' Recommended FY 2013-14 Budget can be found at the following website: http://www.orangecountync.gov/finance/index.asp County Manager's Recommended FY 2013-14 Annual Operating Budget and Capital Investment Plan Presentation Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill Orange County, NC May 21, 2013 Guiding Principles • Balances County's operating budget without a property tax rate increase — 5th Consecutive Year • Provides funding for County services at current levels • Funds local school districts enrollment growth, operational funding and debt service. Recommended General Fund Budget • Totals $185.9 million • Represents an increase of$5.9 million from original current year budget of $180.0 million, which is a 3.29 percent increase from previous year original budget • Represents a $6.2 million decrease in the current year's amended budget Components of General Fund Budget General Fund Revenues........................ $182,554,881 General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance........... $ 3,366.309 General Fund Expenditures........................... $ (185,921,190) Net...................................... $ Orange County Budget Past 6 Fiscal Years (Graph) Proposed Ad Valorem Tax Rate Effective July 1, 2013 • Proposed tax rate of 85.8 cents per$100 of assessed valuation • This rate produces $137.8 million in property tax revenues for FY 2013-2014 • Overall Real Property Valuation increased 2.7% • One cent on property tax estimated to generate $1,606,869 Orange County Property Tax Revenues Past 6 Fiscal Years (Graph) Sales Tax Revenues • Recommended Sales Tax Revenues of$17.2 million is $1.5 million higher than the $15.7 million budgeted in FY 2012-2013 due to an expected 2 to 3 increase in consumer spending , and current year projections • Actual sales tax revenues are down over 31% since the peak of$22.5 million in fiscal year 2007-2008 Orange County General Fund FY 2013-14 Revenues (Graph) Proposed Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools District Tax Rate Effective July 1, 2013 • Recommended tax rate of 18.84 cents per$100 of assessed valuation • Represents no increase in the property tax rate for the District - Recommended tax rate will generate $19.4 million for the Chapel Hill — Carrboro City School District • This represents an additional $1,584 per pupil above the County's allocation • One cent on district tax is estimated to generate $1,029,085 Recommended Funding for Chapel Hill - Carrboro City and Orange County Schools • Total General Fund appropriation totals $87.8 million • Funds day-to-day operations, repayment of school related debt, and capital • Equals an appropriation of 48.1 percent of total General Fund Revenues • Reflects $2.4 million increase from current year General Fund appropriation • Equates to a current expense allocation of$3,188 per student for each of the 19,908 students in both districts for day-to-day operating funds and projected enrollment growth. County Education Funding Fiscal Year Original Budget General Fund % of Revenues 2008-2009 $90,447,942 50.0% 2009-2010 $86,378,040 48.6% 2010-2011 $87,135,916 49.8% 2011-2012 $84,175,033 47.5% 2012-2013 $85,455,533 48.1% 2013-2014 $87,812,103 48.1% Additional Funding for Local Schools • In addition to the $87.8 million for operations, debt and capital, recommended budget allocates $1.9 million to fund non-mandated safety net initiatives for both school districts Some of these initiatives are: • School Health Nurses - $683,706 • School Resource Officers - $545,514 • School Social Workers - $692,283 • With these additional non-mandated funding initiatives, the total funding for the local school districts total 49.2% of the General Fund Revenues Major Funded County Initiatives • Maintains all County services at current levels • Funds the increase in medical insurance and fully funds the 401(k)/457 plans for non- sworn employees • A cost of living and in-range increase equating up to 3% in compensation for employees • Provides for and increases in positions for EMS Communicators, a Quality Assurance Training Officer, EMS Assistant Supervisors staggered over the year to address the recommendations of the Emergency Services Study and Work Group • Provides for six new positions in Information Technologies to address the recommendations included in the Information Technology Strategic Plan • Provides funding to the Town of Chapel Hill Library totaling $483,426 • Allocations provided to non-profit organizations total $1,030,100 for FY 13-14. • Long range/pay-as-you go County capital is $620,000. • Debt service for the General Fund will be $25.6 million Commissioner Dorosin arrived at 7:08:03 PM. Orange County General Fund FY 2013-14 Expenditures (graph) Solid Waste Initiatives • The closure of the landfill with public education and other related planning efforts of the landfill in FY2013-14. We expect to incur $3.2 million in closure cost in FY 2013-14. • The planning and design for the Eubanks Solid Waste Convenience Center improvements • New Landfill Mattress Fee of$10.00 per mattress • Recycling Fees - No additional 3-R Fee billings for the upcoming year, which results in a projected revenue loss of$1.1 million, and propose an increase in the Basic 3-R Fee from $37.00 to $47.00 per household • We propose increases in the sanitation household fee to be charged per household as follows: • Rural Residential Increase from $20.00 to $40.00 • Urban Household Increase from $10.00 to $20.00 • Multi — Family Increase from $2.00 to $4.00 Additional Funding Options • Appropriate Fund Balance, if necessary; The Board may use up to $650,000 without a negative impact on fund balance • Property tax rate increase • Increase in CHCCS Special District Tax Revenues Generated By Property Tax Increase Tax Increase Property Tax Revenues Per Pupil Equivalency Generated 1 cent $1,606,869 $80.71 2 cents $3,213,738 $161.43 2.4 cents $3,856,486 $193.72 4 cents $6,427,476 $322.86 5.5 cents $8,837,780 $443.93 Based on 19,908 students Revenues Generated By Increase in CHCCS Special District Tax Tax Increase Property Tax Revenues Per Pupil Equivalency Generated 1 cent $1,029,085 $84.06 2 cents $2,058,170 $168.12 5.5 cents $5,659,968 $462.34 Based on 12,242 projected students for the CHCCS School District County Capital Investment Plan Fiscal Year 2013-14 Appropriations County Capital Projects $5,895,268 Special Revenue Fund (Article 46 Sales Tax) Economic Development $1,319,500 Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools 801,900 Orange County Schools 516,850 Proprietary Capital Projects Water & Sewer Utilities 896,250 Solid Waste 3,513,936 Sportsplex 710,000 Schools Capital Projects Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools 3,130,742 Orange County Schools 1,947,918 TOTAL $18,732,364 Details of the Capital Investment Plan are included in the Budget Concerns and Issues for FY 2013-2014 • Federal Sequestration and State Budget Issues • Debt Service • County Capital Projects • School Capital Projects • Health Insurance • Post-employment Insurance benefit for retirees • Economic Development • Economy Public Hearings and Work Sessions (All Meetings Begin at 7:00 p.m.) Public Hearings May 23 d— Department of Social Services, 113 Mayo St., Hillsborough May 30th- Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Work Sessions June 6th—Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill June 11 th —Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Work Session/Adoption June 13th —Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Final Adoption June 18th —Southern Human services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Document Availability • Clerk to Board of Commissioners • County Finance & Administrative Services Office • Orange County Library • Chapel Hill Public Library • Carrboro/McDougle Branch Library • Cybrary, Carrboro • Orange County Website • www.orangecountync.gov Commissioner Price arrived at 7:15 PM. Chair Jacobs went over some of the guidelines of a public hearing. He said the County Commissioners appreciate the emails and comments. He pointed out some misconceptions. He said Orange County has not cut school spending. The State legislature has been cutting school spending for a long time. Orange County has remained one of the leaders in school spending. He said what the public is seeing so far is what the Manager is recommending, but it is still not a cut. It is just not what the schools have asked for. The County Commissioners have not made any decisions on school spending yet. 3. Public Comment Shannon Santos is a parent of a child at Efland Cheeks Elementary. She said they live in a caring neighborhood and they learned how good this school really was. She spoke about how her son's Teacher Assistant really helped him when he was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. She said the TA took diabetes classes and monitored her son's diabetes throughout the year. She spoke in support of keeping teacher assistants. Chair Jacobs asked the public to understand that the County Commissioners do not make recommendations for programs or hiring. The County Commissioners only give a lump sum. Elisabeth Welsby is a 23-year resident of Orange County and spoke on behalf of the Phillip's Middle School Improvement Team. She read a prepared statement. In short, the statement said that the school appreciates the support in the past and they understand that the State has been making the cuts. She said the Manager's budget does call for an increase in per-pupil funding, but it is too small and would result in further cuts for students and teachers. Sherri Carmichael is a resident of Orange County with two kids in CHCCS. She said the school boards have assured a quality education during economic downturns. She said the County must support the schools. Despite the support, North Carolina currently rates 48th in per pupil spending and teacher pay. She asked the County Commissioners to please fully fund both school systems. She said she received an email from one of her daughter's teachers who remained anonymous that asked her to please speak in support of fully funding the schools. Jane McIver teaches third grade at Central Elementary and asked them to fully fund both school systems. She said they can save money by keeping the teacher assistants in the classrooms. She reviewed what her teacher assistant does in her classroom. Joe Barnett thanked the County Commissioners for their service. He spoke on behalf of Efland Cheeks. He said he is here particularly for SROs, nurses, social workers, and teacher assistants. He said Orange County needs more economic development to help. Fay Jones is principal of Grady Brown Elementary School. She spoke about the ABC's of education —Assistants Benefit Children. She asked the County Commissioners to imagine one teacher in a classroom of 25 five-year olds. She knows that the state legislature wants to cut 33 TAs in the OCS. She said TA positions were created when classrooms grew larger and now they want to take them away. She said TAs are desperately needed. Lora Pitman is a parent of children at Grady Brown and she volunteers every Tuesday to assist in reading. She said there are different levels of abilities in one classroom and there is teamwork in the classroom by teacher and teacher assistants. She said teacher assistants are necessary in elementary schools. Ella Tucker is a student at Grady Brown and she asked the County Commissioners to please fund their schools. Julie Tucker thanked the County Commissioners for their service. She said she is here because of the potential elimination of 27 teacher assistants. She said TAs are fundamental in classroom construction and children's welfare. They are partners with their teachers to building character and compassion in their children. The other option is to decrease class size and add more teachers. TAs fill in the gaps. Raymond Raidy is a regular substitute teacher at Cedar Ridge High School and also on the football staff. He is here in support of the additional gymnasium/classroom building at their school. He said there is a shortage of classrooms. Also, other teams have had to delay practice time because of the use of the gym. Annette Smith spoke in support of Culbreth Middle School's proposed science wing. She said currently her students are in classrooms without water and there is one science lab to serve all six science teachers and multiple classes. She said this science wing achieves equity for all middle school students. Isabel Bravo is a student at Culbreth Middle School and she is here in support of the proposed science wing at her school. She is in 8th grade, but she hopes that this science wing can be built for the students in the future. Beverly Rudolph is principal at Culbreth Middle School and she is speaking on behalf of one of her teachers, Mr. Tyson, who could not attend tonight. She read Mr. Tyson's statement. The current building makes it difficult for the science teachers to be creative in teaching. The best way to learn is in doing, and the science facilities at Culbreth are restrictive and unsafe. This new facility is needed. Jeremy Heinold is a science teacher and head basketball coach for the girls at Cedar Ridge High School. He spoke in support of the new classroom wing and new gym at Cedar Ridge. Patrick Kavanaugh is the science department chairperson at Cedar Ridge High School. He said he realizes the Board of County Commissioners has not put them in the position they are in now. He said the school boards have been good at prioritizing and planning, but there is much growth. Cedar Ridge is currently over capacity and the projected growth will require more teachers to keep classrooms at the required levels. Some teachers have to move from classroom to classroom to teach their classes because of lack of space. Manjula Watson urged the County Commissioners to fully fund the CHCCS budget. She said the budget is not for new programs but will only sustain the current programs. Cynthia Larrick has kids in CHCCS and she is proud to call Orange County home due to its schools. She said she would like to pay more taxes in order to fully fund the schools. Sam Gharbo said he is here as a parent and one of the reasons he moved to Orange County was because of the school systems. It has one of the highest taxes in the state. He said his son is thriving at Efland Cheeks Elementary School. He spoke in support of teacher assistants. Jennifer Carson is a teacher assistant at Grady Brown Elementary. She said N.C. ranks at the bottom of the scale for teacher pay and today the state senate passed legislation to reduce TAs by 3,000. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the budget. Eric Davis is the Chair of the Cameron Park Elementary PTO. He asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the Superintendent's requested budget. He said teacher assistants are a necessity. Art Menus is the Executive Director of the ArtsCenter in Carrboro. He said the ArtsCenter filled the gap when the state cut arts education. The economic impact of the ArtsCenter is $3.1 million. The ArtsCenter is going to be focusing on the Title I elementary schools in the County this year. The request of the ArtsCenter is $10,000 to support outreach and scholarships for children. Carson Monschein is a fifth grader at Grady Brown Elementary School. He said he does not know what he would have done without his teacher assistant. He had a stroke and brain surgery last year and he has needed help with simple things. He said they should be hiring more teacher assistants. Robert Dowling thanked the Board of County Commissioners for the support they have provided over the years for Community Home Trust. They face a lot of challenges at Community Home Trust. He said they have successes too. They have built 203 homes since the beginning. People in these homes are low-income individuals who would not have had a chance to own homes elsewhere. He said they are diverse group. All of their homes together are worth $40 million and the equity would be $10 million. He thanked the Manager for including Community Home Trust in his recommended budget this year. Tonya King is a substitute teacher and she thanked the County Commissioners for supporting the schools over the years. She encouraged all attending to contact their House Representatives about the state budget because the Senate has already proposed major cuts. Nancy Pekar is Vice President of PTA at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School and asked that the County Commissioners fully fund the CHCCS budget requests. David Schanzer is a parent of children in CHCCS and he is in support of fully funding the budget requests. He said cuts over the last years have caused an increase in classroom size, lack of supplies, tattered books, and mobile classrooms. He said he fully supports a tax increase to provide the needed budget requests. He said they are de-prioritizing education and their teachers deserve raises. Mindy Morton is a representative of Smith Middle School's Improvement Team and she spoke in support of the CHCCS budget requests. Elvira Mebane is from the Efland Cheeks area and has a child in OCS. She said she is here to ask the County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS Budget requests. She would like for them to consider the expansion of the Efland Cheeks Community Center because the community is expanding. She thanked them for their continued support around transportation issues in northern and rural Orange County. She spoke about having a bus system through Mebane, Efland, and Hillsborough for the citizens there. Martha Williams has a daughter at Grady Brown and said the State expects more from their children and teachers, yet it wants to take the TAs. This year she has seen that the children in her daughter's class are not financially stable and do not have snacks, glue sticks, etc. She asked that the teacher assistants please not be taken from these children that do not get support at home. Michelle Siegling is a parent from CHCCS and the PTA president at Estes Hills Elementary School. She is a licensed teacher but this year is serving as a Teacher Assistant. She asked the County Commissioners to look at the big picture and they appreciate all of the support they can get. She looks to the Board of County Commissioners to mitigate some of these circumstances. Brian Oswald asked the County Commissioners to support the capital plan for OCS and specifically the proposed gym/extra classrooms at Cedar Ridge. He said the TAs are a benefit for the school systems. Jeff Danner said he has been here thirteen years and his observation is that this story is always the same; both school systems' proposed adequate budgets maintain what they already have. He said the County Commissioners are not bound by the County Manager's budget and some years you just have to fund the budget as requested. He said hopefully this will be one of those years. Lee Anne Swanekamp recently moved to Chapel Hill, and the reason they picked Chapel Hill and Orange County is because of the school systems. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the schools. Mike Kelley, CHCCS Board member, said he is speaking as an individual tonight and not on behalf of the school board. He addressed the use of fund balance by the CHCCS. He said the two school boards and Board of County Commissioners came to agreement about fund balances and established a goal of 5.5% of the budget in the fund balance. The fund balance last year was over 10% because of the federal funds. The district chose to use those funds immediately and was able to save the local funds. They decided to spend these funds down over three years. The three years are over and the fund balance will be at 5.6%. He said the Manager's recommendation for the schools to use their fund balance is just not practical. Michael Kaunlayk has three children in the CHCCs and he asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the CHCCS proposed budget. He said his family chose to move here because of the school system. Desaray Rockett is a student at Cedar Ridge High School. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget request including, the capital request for a new gym and classrooms. Jennifer Erneste has three children in OCS. She said she grew up in large school classes without teacher assistants and she saw teachers burn out. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the schools. 4. Adjournment of Public Hearing Capital Investment Plan Budget Work Session — No Public Comment 1. Continuation of review and discussion of the Manager's Recommended FY 2013 - 18 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) Paul Laughton from Financial Services Administration introduced this item. He said the plan was to continue the discussion where the County Commissioners left off. He made reference to pages 53-55 and said staff noticed some errors in the formulas and made some changes. These pages are spreadsheets of the sales tax fund summary. Water and Sewer Utilities Capital Projects: There is no additional funding for the five-year CIP for Central Efland/North Buckhorn Sewer Expansion. There are grant monies and state revolving loan funds for this. On page 59, there is $621,250 for year one and the main pump station for Efland sewer system replacement. Maps are located on pages 67-69. Commissioner Price asked when Mebane would be taking over and Kevin Lindley said this phase is in the design stage now and it would be probably two years. On Page 60, there is no additional funding for Lake Orange. This will become part of the annual maintenance budget after this year. On Page 61, Buckhorn EDD Phase 2 makes gravity sewer available to an additional 400 acres of land in the Phase 2 area. Phases 3 and 4 are funded in years 2 and 3. Richmond Hills Pump Station Rehabilitation is on page 64. This was installed in 2001 to serve the Richmond Hills Subdivision built by Habitat for Humanity. According to Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), who perform our routine maintenance, the standard duty schedule is 10 years for pumps and controls and 20 years for generators. Because our current customer rates do not generate enough revenue to provide for a capital reserve, we are proposing to replace the pumps and controls at the 15-year mark. As a matter of policy, sewer lift stations should be limited if possible and/or operating rates or developer payment in lieu of capital reserve should also be considered. This project will include replacement of the pumps and electrical controls, additional of SCADA remote monitoring equipment and wet well rehabilitation, if necessary. NOTE: when the connection between Efland Sewer and the City of Mebane sewer system is complete, Mebane will be responsible for all utilities, including this pump station. Hillsborough EDD is on page 65. The funding for this is in the out years, years 6-10. There is a separate map on page 68. The Eno EDD is on page 66 and has construction funding in year 2. Commissioner Price asked if this plan would be affected if the State moves forward that cities cannot provide monies to areas outside their corporate lines. Clarence Grier said this could possibly affect the plan, but since this is a county project, Orange County would not be affected since it is providing the funding. Chair Jacobs made reference to the Perry Hills subdivision in Mebane and said there are repeated concerns about septic failures. He asked if this has come to the attention of the staff. Kevin Lindley said he does not know of these issues and no one has contacted him about this. Chair Jacobs asked for a report back on this and Clarence Grier said he would follow up. Solid Waste This starts on page 70. Commissioner Rich asked about the recycling operation and getting the towns to stick with the County with the roll out carts. There was some sort of matching fund for the carts. She asked if the County would lose the matching fund if the rollout carts were not done this year. Gayle Wilson said currently there is a limit of$75,000 per jurisdiction for the acquisition of carts. It could be reduced or eliminated, but no one knows. Commissioner Rich said she has concerns about moving forward with the rolling carts. This was one of the selling points for the towns to stick with the County in the recycling program. She would like the County to move forward with the rolling carts. Gayle Wilson said there are two separate programs - rural and urban. Carts for the urban program are about$940,000. These carts would have to be acquired with the contract for services so that the contractor could have the special truck for the carts. The carts for the rural program would cost$650-700,000. It would also require the replacement of two trucks. Although there are efficiencies gained with the roll carts, the trucks would have to be replaced to accommodate them, which cost$250,000+. Paul Laughton said the funding schedule is based on franchising this year. The roll carts are not programmed into the CIP at this time. Commissioner Pelissier verified that to recoup the costs of the roll carts it would take about three years. She said she is supportive of roll carts but not until the towns are on board with this. Chair Jacobs asked about the status of discussions at the managerial level about an interlocal agreement with the towns. Michael Talbert said a long-term commitment would be needed from the towns. Last year they rebid the carts and the trucks but the towns were looking at other options. He said the managers have met and they have asked for a commitment for the towns no later than September 2013. Part of this would be an agreement for five years for recycling. Commissioner Rich said this would mean moving this to next year and running the risk of losing funding. Michael Talbert said the other risk is the County buys the trucks and runs the risk that the towns do not collaborate and the County is left with all of the costs. Commissioner Rich said she wants to encourage the towns to move forward and they owe it to their citizens. She is hearing from citizens that they do want these carts. Commissioner Price said in the rural areas the citizens expressed that they did not want the roll carts due to distances from road to residences. Chair Jacobs suggested trying to get this on an agenda in September. Paul Laughton reviewed the sanitation projects on page 72, which included improvements to the Solid Waste Convenience Centers each year. Chair Jacobs asked which of the SWCC the County owns. Gayle Wilson said the County owns the Eubanks Road site, there is a 20-year lease for the High Rock Road property, the County owns the Ferguson Road site but only two acres, and there is a lease for the Bradshaw Quarry Road site. Clarence Grier said all of the debt financing for upgrades has already been received last year. Chair Jacobs said periodically the County Commissioners hear concerns from citizens that live in the eastern part of the County that do not have a convenience center. He said there is almost$500,000 in improvements at High Rock, but there is nothing contemplated for the eastern portion of NC 86. Gayle Wilson said there is property available at the Mincy Road site, which the County purchased for emergency storm debris. Chair Jacobs said he would like to flag this property in the 6-10 year CIP for a possible SWCC or possibly another site that is farther east. Paul Laughton made reference to page 74 and said the landfill closing has been pushed back and there is $3.1 million in Year 1. This is closure costs. Sportsplex This was on page 76. There are three major projects in years 2-4— pool mezzanine, building addition of turf field, and phase 3 of an indoor court. There are revenues that would be generated to pay for debt service of these items. Commissioner McKee said he would question the users of the turf field since Orange County already has a soccer complex. He would like to flag this. Chair Jacobs asked Paul Laughton to refresh the Board about the finances for the Triangle Sportsplex. Paul Laughton said the income generated should cover the costs. It is a separate enterprise fund. John Stock's company contracts with Orange County for him to manage this facility. It is outside of the General Fund. Commissioner Gordon asked how much the County has to pay on the debt for building this facility. Clarence Grier said all of the debt service would be paid by 2027. The County pays $350,000/year and it owes $5.1 million. Paul Laughton said this completes the CIP, but he can go over any of the attachments or revisions if the Board would like. Attachments A-C have any changes highlighted in yellow. Chair Jacobs said the County has been asked to help with improvements with the courtroom. Paul Laughton said staff would get this information to the Board soon. The cost is about$100,000. It is in the IT budget and it would be in year 1. Commissioner Gordon asked where this money would come from and Clarence Grier said it would be part of the debt financing for that year. Paul Laughton made reference to Attachments D and E and said this is an attempt to look at debt financing over a ten-year period instead of a five-year period. Attachment D-1 was looking at all projects that are currently in the CIP, including the out years. The park projects are heavy on the out years and the County projects look at the inner years. Attachment D-1 gives the impact and the debt service and where the debt capacity is on all of the projects, County and schools. In year six, the County would be over the debt capacity and it grows from there. Commissioner Gordon made reference to her handouts. She said they should be pleased that the changes in the CIP projects have been moving the debt capacity in a positive direction. Her handout is below: County Debt Service and Debt Capacity The two charts below compare the debt service and debt capacity numbers presented in (1) the Manager's recommended FY 2013-2018 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) and (2) Attachment D1 for the May 23 BOCC work session. The charts show years 1 through 6, since those are the years for which numbers are available for both scenarios. In the Manager's recommended CIP, presented in March, the debt capacity figures for the first five years of the CIP were provided. A subsequent inquiry revealed that in year 6, the debt service was almost 17.5% and the excess spending was $4.8 million. For the May 23 work session, the Board was given revised debt capacity figures in Attachment D1. A comparison of the two charts below reveals that the debt capacity scenarios calculated in May are in every case better than the ones calculated in March. For example, in year 5 for the March debt capacity scenario, the debt service exceeded 15%, and the excess spending on debt service was more than $1.2 million. In year 5 for the May scenario, the debt service was 13.8% and there remained over$2.3 million of available debt service capacity, a swing of more than $3.6 million in the positive direction compared to the Manager's original recommended budget. It appears that the proposed changes in the CIP projects made by the BOCC to date have been moving the county debt service and debt capacity scenarios in the right direction. That certainly appears true for years 1-5, the years for which the BOCC review of CIP projects is focused. Manager's original recommended FY 2013-18 CIP (page 102) Chart shows the figures for years 1 through 5 as given on page 102, and adds year 6 Projected FY 2013-14 FY 2014-15 FY 2015-16 FY 2016-17 FY 2017-18 FY 2018-19 annual debt service Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 as a percent of Gen. Fund Budget 14.33% 13.84% 13.52% 14.51% 15.65% 17.46% Available annual $1.217 M $2.149 M $2.792 M $0.929 M ($1.262 M) ($4.8 M) debt service capacity * Source: County staff, May 8, 2013 Attachment D1 - May 23 work session (revised page 102) Chart shows the figures for years 1 through 6 as given on revised page 102. Projected FY 2013-14 FY 2014-15 FY 2015-16 FY 2016-17 FY 2017-18 FY 2018-19 annual debt service Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 as a percent of Gen. Fund Budget 13.77% 13.69% 13.50% 14.08% 13.80% 15.58% Available annual $2.278 M $2.471 M $2.864 M $1.785 M $2.373 M ($1.168 M) debt service capacity Clarence Grier said that in year six the County will be over debt capacity and will either have to change the policy or move things around. Commissioner Dorosin suggested raising the debt limit policy to 20%. Clarence Grier said this would be frowned upon by the Local Government Commission. Moving up higher than 15% affects the bond rating. Chair Jacobs said there are other options such as the fund balance or the money set aside for retiree insurance. The County could be slightly less aggressive and have more flexibility. Chair Jacobs asked about moving the Cedar Ridge gym from year two to year one. Paul Laughton said the debt service would be moved up to year one, which would be $320,000. Chair Jacobs said he would be interested in doing this. He would like to look at this as an option. Paul Laughton made reference to Attachment E and the master plan for Blackwood Farm. Commissioner McKee said he is interested in what it involves on the buildings on Blackwood Farms and he would like to push this back to 2015-16. Commissioner McKee asked why the County needs to spend $100,000 on a rehash of the Revere Road and Blackwood Farm facilities when staff keeps saying it is fine to stay at Revere Road. Jeff Thompson said there are inefficiencies with the Revere Road facility. There will be a study on the Ag Center's needs. Commissioner McKee said he is questioning whether it makes sense to build new buildings at Blackwood Farm when there is the Revere Road facility and unused space at Link Government Services Center and the annex. Chair Jacobs said at the last meeting the Board had concerns about how projects came onto the CIP. There was discussion about having a process on how to get projects on the CIP. There was also discussion about taking the $100,000 and using it to study the efficacy of using the Revere Road building. The only way it related to Blackwood Farm was that if Revere Road was not adequate, then something would be built. The only thing the County Commissioners agreed to was a study of the Revere Road building for $100,000. Commissioner McKee asked why the study was costing $100,000. Jeff Thompson said they have done some work in-house, but there is merit in bringing on a consultant that knows the agricultural community. He said he sees this project costing much less than $100,000. DEAPR Director Dave Stancil said this got moved up because through CIP discussions, it was decided that the Revere Road property is not something the County should invest in. The Blackwood Farm property is a good place to consolidate parks and agricultural services. This is the reason this project moved up in the CIP in prior years. Commissioner Gordon said her recollection was that a decision was made to do a study for $100,000, and she objects to spending this much on a consultant. She suggests putting the $100,000 into the Asset Management Services budget for a study of county space needs and moving the Blackwood Farm project back to where it was in the CIP last year. Clarence Grier said staff will bring this item back in September with costs prior to pursuing a study, which will probably only be $25,000. Dave Stancil said staff will be bringing to the County Commissioners in September as to using the Blackwood Farm on a limited basis. Chair Jacobs summarized the discussion of the Board to put the $100,000 in Asset Management Services for a study of county space needs and move the Blackwood Farm project to years 6-10. As part of the work session on space needs, the analysis will be presented. Commissioner Gordon said she fully supported the Blackwood Farm park. She said she also wants to have a principled discussion on county space needs. Chair Jacobs asked if the Board objects to adding the Efland Cheeks Community Center under the space needs study. There was no objection. Adjourn A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin to adjourn the meeting at 10:43 PM. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CIVIC Clerk to the Board