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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 05-12-2016 1 APPROVED 6/7/2016 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING May 12, 2016 The Orange County Board of Commissioners held a Budget Public Hearing on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair McKee and Commissioners Mia Burroughs, Mark Dorosin, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy Manager Travis Myren and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) 1. Opening Remarks Chair McKee called the meeting to order, and welcomed everyone at 7:05 p.m. He thanked the public for attending, noting the expression of community engagement. PUBLIC CHARGE Chair McKee dispensed with the reading of the Public Charge. 2. Presentation of County Manager's Recommended FY 2016-17 Budget Bonnie Hammersley made the following PowerPoint presentation: ORANGE COUNTY FY2016-17 COUNTY MANAGER RECOMMENDED BUDGET • COMPILATION REPORT • ASSUMPTIONS • EXPENDITURES & REVENUES • BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS • SCHOOL FUNDING • OUTSIDE AGENCY FUNDING • CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN (CIP) FY2016-17 recommended budget COMPILATION REPORT FY2016-17 recommended budget ASSUMPTIONS • Maintain Current Tax Rate —$0.878 • Property Tax Base — 1% increase • Motor Vehicle Tax Base —6% increase • Sales Tax Collections—3.75% increase FY2016-17 recommended budget EXPENDITURES &REVENUES FY2016-17 recommended budget 2 BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS • Living Wage • Affordable Housing Funding • Bond Education Campaign • Funding for Family Success Alliance • Create a Transit Department • Sheriff Personnel Capacity and Training • Employee Wage Adjustment • Compression Reduction • Maintain current Solid Waste Fee • Fund Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) • Exceed the Funding Target for Schools • Orange Connect Scholarship Program FY2016-17 recommended budget AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP(ADM) FY2016-17 recommended budget SCHOOL FUNDING ❑ Health and Safety Services Contract -$3,354,000 • Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools —$1,920,000 • Orange County Schools —$1,434,000 ❑ New Appropriation - $1,408,849* • Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools —$1,153,345 • Orange County Schools —$255,504 *Figures are illustrative, program is 100% reimbursement for services. FY2016-17 recommended budget SCHOOL FUNDING ❑ Charter School Student Funding - $2,739,392 • Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (217)— $807,674 • Orange County Schools (519)— $1,931,718 ❑ New Appropriation - $763,000 • Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (50)—$186,100 • Orange County Schools (155)— $576,900 ❑ Health Insurance & Retirement - $485,000 • Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools —$341,000 • Orange County Schools —$144,000 FY2016-17 recommended budget NEW APPROPRIATION FY2016-17 recommended budget OUTSIDE AGENCIES FY2016-17 recommended budget FIRE DISTRICTS FY2016-17 recommended budget CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN (CIP) ❑ CONTINUATION FUNDING 3 ■ Southern Branch Library - $6.38 million ■ Detention Facility - $500,000 ■ Historic Rogers Road Sewer Project- $5.68 million ■ Conservation Easements - $500,000 FY2016-17 recommended budget CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN (CIP) ❑ POLICY PRIORITIES: ■ School Capital Improvements - $47.6 million ■ Affordable Housing - $3.5 million ■ Community Centers - $35,000 ■ Senior Centers - $990,000 Seymour Center ■ Economic Development (Water and Sewer)-$145,000 ■ Accessibility and Security Improvements - $190,000 ■ EMS Substation Co-location - $500,000 FY2016-17 recommended budget CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN (CIP) ❑ PARKS, OPEN SPACE,AND TRAIL DEVELOPMENT: ■ Blackwood Farm Park - $1.26 million ■ Cedar Grove Park— Phase II - $60,000 ■ Mountains to Sea Trail - $521,000 ■ Hollow Rock Nature Park (New Hope Preserve) - $235,000 ■ River Park— Phase II - $50,000 ■ Little River Park— Phase II - $100,000 ■ Fairview Park Access with Parking Improvements - $325,000 ❑ INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS: ■ Information Technology Infrastructure - $500,000 ■ Technology Improvements - $500,000 ■ Fiber Connections for County facilities - $60,000 ✓ BOCC Technology Initiatives - $50,000 ■ Communication System Improvements - $166,000 ❑ CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS: ■ Hardened 911 Center - $980,000 ■ Southern Human Services Center —$300,000 ❑ OTHER CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS: ■ Facility Roofing Projects - $206,700 ■ Historic Courthouse Square - $40,000 ■ Generator Projects - $375,000 FY2016-17 recommended budget PUBLIC HEARINGS &WORK SESSIONS FY2016-17 recommended budget BUDGET DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY ■ Clerk to Board of Commissioners ■ County Finance &Administrative Services Office ■ Orange County Library ■ Chapel Hill Public Library ✓ Carrboro/McDougle Branch Library ■ Orange County Website - http://orangecountync.gov 4 FY2016-17 recommended budget ORANGE COUNTY MISSION STATEMENT Orange County exists to provide governmental services requested by our Residents or mandated by the State of North Carolina. To provide these quality services efficiently, we must; • Serve the Residents of Orange County— Our Residents Come First; • Depend on the energy, skills, and dedication of all our employees and volunteers; • Treat all our Residents and Employees with fairness, respect, and understanding. Orange County Residents Come First Commissioner Jacobs asked if staff tracks the percentage of State funding that is given to the schools. Paul Laughton, Orange County Finance and Administrative Services, said staff has the data and would get it to the Board. Commissioner Jacobs said the Public Education Forum does a diagram showing which counties have the highest total effort in funding public education. He said Orange County is always first or second. He asked if this information could be shared with the public. He said the County has a demonstrated history of doing all that it can to increase funding to public schools, while the State is consistently cutting funding. He said sometimes that public is misinformed, and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is as frustrated as the public regarding the State's actions. 3. Public Comment Neil Stutzer said he is the Chair of the Hillsborough Arts Council, which is an outside agency asking for funding. He said the Arts Council is seeking to maintain its part-time program coordinator and have asked for assistance in funding this position. He reviewed the ways in which the Arts Council was active in many elements of the community over the past year and also itemized future goals. Susan Romaine is Chair of the Orange County Living Wage Employers (OCLW). She said Orange County government was one of the first living wage certifications, and in the last few months other entities have been certified in Orange County. She said this trend is indicated in the handout she presented. She said the OCLW is a volunteer organization. She acknowledged that some entities can offer the living wage and some cannot. She said OCLW promotes the issue positively, while passing no judgment on those employers who cannot offer the living wage. She said OCLW celebrates its participants via the web, brochures, etc. John Barron is a steering committee member for the OCLW, and there are nine volunteers in the organization. He said it has been a good year with 59 employers certified and $500,000 in increased wages. He said there are some limitations in being a volunteer group. He said it would be very helpful to have somebody to enter data into a computer system, in order to share with other people. He said OCLW is making an outside agency funding request for an administrative assistant. Marianne Jones said she is also a part of the OCLW and Auto Logic, an auto maintenance department in Carrboro, employs her. She said her company has been paying a living wage for 30 years, also paying full benefits to all of their employees. She said this helps employees with their life/work balance. Robert Dowling said he is the Executive Director of the Community Home Trust, and he thanked the Manager for her help last year with the interlocal agreement, as well as the Board of County Commissioners' longstanding support for affordable housing. He said affordable housing is an ongoing need. He thanked the BOCC for placing the issue on the upcoming bond and for showing commitment to the need through the County budget year after year. 5 Eric Von Myers is the founder, head brewer, and CEO at Mystery Brewing, and he is here to advocate on behalf of Orange County Living Wage Employers for its outside agency request for an administrative assistant position. He said the brewery has 22 employees, and he pays a living wage to all of them. He highlighted the positive benefits of practicing business this way. Cordelia Heaney is the Executive Director for the Compass Center for Women and Families, which was a product of a 2012 merger of two long-standing agencies. She reviewed highlights of the past year and goals for the year ahead. She said she is here in support of the Compass Center's request for outside agency funding from Orange County. Lynne Gronback said she is a science teacher at Cedar Ridge High School (CRHS), and thanked the Orange County Schools (OCS) for their hard work on the budget this year. She said the majority of the teachers that work at CRHS do not live in Orange County, and 45% work a second job. She asked the BOCC to fully fund the requested OCS budget. Marywine Sherwood said she is with the Boys and Girls Club of Eastern Piedmont, and thanked the Board for its past support of the Club. She highlighted the strengths and positive outcomes of the Boys and Girls Club. She said she is here to ask the Board for its support of the Club's outside agency request. Kellie Porco is a teacher at CRHS and asked for the Board's support in fully funding the OCS budget request. Lindsey Huskins said she is a product of, and a teacher and parent in, the OCS. She said she is here to ask the Board to fully fund the OCS budget request. Tom Mullaney said he is new to North Carolina and is a teacher at Gravelly Hill Middle School in the OCS. He said he was very disheartened by the salaries offered to teachers in this State. He highlighted the wonderful teachers in OCS and asked the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget request. He said good teachers will be forced elsewhere if salaries do not increase. Josh Morelli said he is a parent of two children in the OCS, and he also asked the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget request. Dana White said she is a parent of four children in the OCS, and she asked the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget request. Johanna Johnson said she has been a teacher in the OCS for 17 years. She highlighted the many positive efforts that OCS has made to support her as a teacher over the years, but noted she has not had a pay raise in seven years. She asked the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget request. Peter Jocys said he is a teacher in the OCS, and is asking the Board to fully fund the OCS budget request for 2016-17. Lauren Sullivan said she and her spouse are teachers in the OCS, and she is here tonight to ask the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget request. Ashton Tippins said she is the Executive Director at Table, a non-profit providing nutritional meals and education for children, which feeds 500 children each week. She asked the Board to please fund Table's outside agency funding request. Sharon A. Hill is with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Triangle, and she is here to ask for the Board's support in their request for outside agency funding. Doreen Wilson is a parent of a child in the OCS, and she is here tonight to ask the Board to fully fund the OCS budget request. Susan Rivenbark said she is a school nurse in the OCS, and she is here tonight representing the school nurses of the District. She said she is asking the Board to support the certified status with supplement increases for nurses by fully funding the OCS budget requests. Sophi Nissier, Veronica Douglas, Jessica Dawson and Lila Duffey are students at CRHS. They voiced how much their teachers have inspired them and how much they mean to 6 them. They voiced great concern for the OCS, teachers and quality programs that are being lost, and asked the Board to fully fund the OCS budget request. Julia Workman said she is a teacher in the OCS, and she too is asking the BOCC to support the school nurses and teachers by fully funding the OCS budget request. Teresa Edwards said she is a parent of children in the OCS, and she asked the Board of County Commissioners to raise her taxes in order to fully fund the OCS budget request. Stephen Halkiotis said he is the Vice Chair of the OCS, and he said that he would like to know where the $133 per pupil increase is in the budget this year, and for the last 20 years. He asked for the Manager to provide a history of the per pupil increases. He said the State is putting the onus on the counties, and is passing the buck. He said the only thing that has ever saved the children in the OCS and CHCCS are the Orange County Commissioners. He said the BOCC must save the children. Adwoa Asare said she is the Community Development Manager at Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, and she thanked the Board for their proposed outside agency funding of their request. She highlighted some of the efforts of her agency over the past year. Mateo Carvalho said he is a senior at CRHS, and he is here tonight to ask for the BOCC's support of the OCS budget request, which will also provide teacher supplements for teachers like his mother. He said he works, and his mother works a second job as well. He said none of this makes any sense to him. He said his mother is a typical example of many teachers in the OCS. Gail Abrams said she is the Executive Director of the Piedmont Wildlife Center, and she asked for more outside agency funding for her agency than that which the Manager has recommended. Marty Rosenbluth said he is an Orange County resident, and a parent of children in the OCS. He asked for the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget request. Karen Kincaid Dunn said she is with Club Nova in Carrboro, and she is here tonight to ask for the Board's support for their outside agency funding request. 4. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Burroughs to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Earl McKee, Chair Donna Baker Clerk to the Board