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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-20-2005-1ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 20, 2005 Action Agenda Item No. 1 SUBJECT: BudgetlCapital Funding Issues DEPARTMENT: Manager/Budget PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) Na ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: PawerPoint Presentations John Link or Rod Visser, ext 2300 (to be provided under separate cover) Donna Dean, ext 2151 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To discuss various issues related to development of operating and capital budgets for FY 2005-06 and beyond. BACKGROUND: a. 60-40 Capital Funding Options At the Board's March 31, 2005 work session, the Board received a presentation from staff regarding options to "operationalize" the BOCC's November 2004 policy that earmarks 60 percent of capital funding for school projects and 40 percent of capital funding for County projects far the next ten years. The Board noted that the options are quite complex, and that additional time would be needed by the Board to fully understand the implications of the various options, and to reflect, deliberate, and decide among them. At this April 20 work session, staff plan to review in detail the revenue sources involved in the current and proposed policies, including explanation of how the County and school capital funding allocations are calculated mathematically. Working from the baseline funding option, staff will then point out how assumptions change under Options 1-4 that were outlined at the March 31 work session, and how those changes lead to differences in the way capital revenues would be allocated among Orange County, Orange County Schools (OCS), and the Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS). In addition to the spreadsheets previously distributed for the March 31 work session, staff are developing spreadsheets to address the Commissioner request related to an option that would reduce by half the funding that OCS must earmark from its allocations to pay its remaining share of the debt service for Cedar Ridge High School. These spreadsheets will be referenced in the staff PawerPaint presentation, as will the questions and assumptions staff generated as part of 2 the March 31 agenda materials. Staff will answer those questions to the extent possible, as well as questions raised by the Board at the March 31 work session. There are other remaining questions from that list of apolicy-making nature far the Board to discuss in the future. The desired outcome of this portion of the work session is that the Board will achieve an adequate understanding of the various 60-40 capital funding policy implementation options and the financial implications of each to be prepared far the April 26, 2005 joint work session between the BOCC and the two Boards of Education. A substantial portion of that work session is also slated tentatively for review and discussion of the 60-40 capital funding policy so that the school boards can gain a similarly detailed understanding of the policy implications of the various options presented to the Commissioners. No BOCC decision regarding the 600 capital funding policy is expected at this April 20 work session. b. Major Budget Drivers far FY 2005-OG As part of the fiscal outlook presentation during the Board's annual planning retreat on January 22, 2005, the Budget Director included several slides that mentioned major budget drivers that would have a significant impact on the formulation of the County's FY 2005-06. This portion of the work session will provide an update to the Board regarding the most significant "building blocks" {e.g. debt service payment, employee pay and benefits, school funding, increased Medicaid costs, etc} and their estimated impacts on the 2005-06 budget. c. Funding Equity in School Operating Budgets During Fall 2003, the Board of Commissioners conducted a number of meetings, including work sessions and public hearings, regarding school funding equity and the possible impacts of a potential merger between the Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. CHCCS receives approximately $13 million more per year in local funding than OCS due to proceeds that CHCCS receives from its special district tax of 20 cents per $100 valuation. The Board decided in early 2004 that it wanted to pursue several research initiatives before making specific financial decisions about how to address school funding equity. These included: 1 }the Educational Excellence Work Group study, led by Dr. Madeleine Grumet and her team from the UNC School of Education; 2} the Collaboration Work Group, involving regular, facilitated meetings comprised of the governing board Chairs, Vice Chairs, County Manager, and Superintendents; and 3} an efficiency study of County and School operations, conducted by the firm of Robert Segal, CPA. As those studies are wrapping up, the Board will face decisions about what steps to take in light of the information gained as a result of the studies. For example, at the BOCC's April 14, 2005 work session, the Board discussed findings and recommendations from Dr. Grumet's team related to enhancements to OCS staffing that might lead to improvements in student support and overall performance. As the Board noted that evening, any efforts to narrow the gap in local per pupil funding available between the two school systems will mean a higher tax rate than the current one far property owners in the OCS district. The Manager will make a presentation that will provide a refresher on funding equity considerations that were discussed as part of the September 2003 staff report on possible merger, as well as the financial implications of hypothetical changes to the current funding mechanisms for school current expense appropriations. Following that presentation, Commissioners may wish to discuss how the Board of Commissioners might go about making progress towards funding equity between the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school systems. FINANCIAL IMPACT: As outlined in previously distributed reports, in handouts, and during the Manager's and staffs presentations. REC~MMENDATICEN(S): The Manager recommends that the Board discuss issues related to the 2005-06 budget, capital funding policy, and school funding equity, and provide appropriate direction to the Manager and staff.