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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-10-2007-6bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 10, 2007 Action Agenda Item No. (O - {:J SUBJECT: County Capital Funding Policy Amendments DEPARTMENT: Budget PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Coffey, (919) 245-2151 PURPOSE: To amend the County's Capital Funding Policy to include use of the anticipated NC Education .Lottery proceeds, intent for funding for recurring capital and presentation of future Capital Investment Plans. BACKGROUND: Over the last few months, staff has provided to the Board a number of items of interest that may potentially affect the development of the upcoming 2007-17 County Capital Investment (CIP) plan, the 2007-08 Annual Operating Budget, or future years' budgets. Examples of recent updates include discussions related to the anticipated decrease in projected revenues from the North Carolina Education Lottery along with the General Assembly's interest in providing local property tax assistance to taxpayers throughout the State. Both of those items would have negative impacts on the County's budget. Lottery Proceeds At the most recent work session on March 20, 2007, the County Manager led the Board through the County's current capital funding formula and outlined how staff determines annual pay-as- you-go revenues for the County and each school district. Absent from the current policy are the County's anticipated receipt of future NC Education Lottery proceeds. Staff has advised the Board, on a number of occasions this year, that it is imminent that the County's share of lottery proceeds will fall short of the original budgeted amount of $2.4 million because the State over estimated ticket sales. Based on the most recent projections from the State, the County can expect to receive about $2 million this fiscal year -around $400,000 short of budget. It is important to note that with receipts of only two quarters so far this year, the State could possibly adjust its year-end projections again before June 30, 2007. Given the County's experience with lottery proceeds this year, staff has recommended that. the Board consider budgeting future proceeds "in arrears" -meaning funds would be budgeted in the year after the State distributes them. For example, lottery proceeds distributed to the County during the upcoming 2007-08 fiscal year would be budgeted the following fiscal year, 2008-09. 2 The remaining question regarding lottery proceeds centers around how the Board of County Commissioners chooses to use the monies. In accordance with NC General Statutes, a county may use lottery monies to pay for school construction and renovation projects and to retire indebtedness incurred for school construction projects incurred on or after January 1, 2003. Over the last few months, staff has analyzed various ways to balance school needs and fiscal responsibility with regard to use of future years lottery proceeds. The Board may recall that during the March 20 work session both the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) and the Orange County Schools (OCS) presented their long-range capital needs to Commissioners. A common thread between the two districts is the need for updating their older facilities. Examples of areas that each district identified as priority needs include replacement of aged mechanical systems and windows with newer, more efficient ones. The requests from both districts totaled $25.3 million ($14.4 million for CHCCS and $10.9 million for OCS) excluding new facilities construction and technology upgrades. It is important to note that the County's current debt issuance plans of $96.6 million includes about $5.1 million for CHCCS to address renovation needs identified during the 2001 bond and alternative financing planning process; however those plans do not include financing to address the school facility needs identified by the districts on March 20. It is fair to say that, based on first year experiences with the lottery, it is not likely that the $2 million in annual lottery revenues passed on to the County will allow either district to make a huge dent in meeting the needs of their older facilities. On the other hand, it is a valid point that assuming afifteen-year financing arrangement at an annual interest rate of between 5 and 6 percent, $2 million in annual debt service would equate to somewhere between $17 million and $19 million in face value debt. During the March 20 work session, the Board Commissioners directed the Manager to discuss the use of lottery proceeds with school district officials. The use of lottery proceeds was a topic of discussion during the March 27, 2007 Manager and Superintendents meeting. In addition, the School Collaboration Work Group plans to discuss the topic during its April 9, 2007 meeting. The Manager will update the Board of the outcome of that meeting during discussion of this agenda item on April 10. Funding for Recurring Capital In accordance with the current Capital Funding Policy, the equivalent of four cents on the annual ad valorem property tax is dedicated to funding recurring capital expenditures for schools (three cents) and county (1 cent). As mentioned during recent capital related work sessions, Commissioners have deferred fully funding the recurring capital portion of the policy since the adoption of the pay-as-you-go funding formula in 2005 due to fiscal constraints. The Board's plan has been to phase in full funding of recurring capital over time. To that end, the Board has allocated the equivalent of two cents, for each of the last two fiscal years, to school recurring capital. The additional two cents needed to fully fund the policy (one additional cent for schools and one cent for County) has not been funded to date. During the March 20 work session, Commissioners agreed that the Policy should declare the Board's intent to fully implement funding but also recognize the fact that there will be times when the County will be bound fiscally and unable to achieve full funding. During those times, Commissioners may find it necessary to depart from the Policy. Presentation of Future Capital Investment Plans Over the last few years, while the Board has adopted annual capital budgets for School and County pay-as-you-go projects, adoption of a full ten-year capital plan has been deferred. During the March 20 work session, Commissioners articulated the need to get back on track and adopt a full ten-year CIP each year. The Board also expressed a desire for staff to present the plan earlier in the fiscal year and to conduct a related public hearing before Board approval. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Financial impacts are included in the background information above. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board of County Commissioners: (1) Direct staff to amend the current County Capital Funding Policy to include the following provisions: a. Beginning in fiscal year 2007-08, the County will budget NC Education Lottery proceeds "in arrears" -meaning that funds will be budgeted in the year after the State distributes them. For example, lottery proceeds distributed to the County during the upcoming 2007-08 fiscal year would be budgeted the following fiscal year, 2008-09; b. NC Education Lottery monies will be dedicated to repay debt service for debt issued after fiscal year 2006-07 to address school facility renovation needs; c. It is the intent of the Board of County Commissioners to dedicate the equivalent of four cents on the annual ad valorem property tax to funding recurring capital expenditures for schools (three cents) and county (1 cent). However, there will be times when the County will be bound fiscally and unable to achieve full funding. During those times, Commissioners may find it necessary to depart from the Policy. d. During October of each fiscal year, the County Manager shall present, to the Board, ten-year County and School capital needs and funding plans in the form of a Capital Investment Plan. Each year, the Board of Commissioners shall conduct a public hearing on the Manager's Recommended CIP during November and subsequently adopt aten-year Capital Investment Plan (CIP). e. The first year of the adopted ten-year Capital Investment Plan shall become the annual capital budget and incorporated into the next annual operating budget recommended by the County Manager. Upon approval of the amendments outline above, staff will update the County Capital Funding Policy and include adoption of the final Policy as a Consent Agenda item on the April 24, 2007 agenda. (2) Request that the CHCCS and OCS Boards of Education prioritize existing school facility needs and present those needs with the School Collaboration Work Group for their review during Summer 2007. Based on the outcome of the Collaboration Work Group's review and recommendations: a. Direct County staff to .analyze how the school facility needs can be accommodated in the County's debt issuance plans for fiscal year 2007-08; b. Present the outcomes of these recommendations at the September 2007 Joint Meeting of the Boards of Education and County Commissioners; 4 (3) Direct staff to: a. Prepare an interim County and School pay-as-you-go capital budget for fiscal year 2007-08 to be presented to Commissioners in conjunction with the County's annual operation budget in May 2007; b. Present, in October 2007, ten-year Capital Investment Plan that includes the outcomes of the School Collaboration Work Group as outlined in item 2 (above).