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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20080527 APPROVED 9/16/2008 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING May 27, 2008 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. The purpose of this meeting was to hold a public hearing on the County Manager's recommended 2008-2009 Budget. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses Carey, Jr., Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, 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. Opening Remarks-Chair Addition to agenda: Change in Board of County Commissioners Regular Meeting Schedule for 2008 Commissioner Gordon said that as for the Tuesday, June 10th land use meeting, the County Commissioners have the materials, but with the June 16th meeting, she would like the transfer station materials on Wednesday, June 11th A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve the changes below in the County Commissioners' regular meeting calendar for 2008: • Adding a work session on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. to discuss the land use plan: and • Adding a Transfer Station Siting Work Session on Monday, June 16, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.; and, • Adding a meeting of the Orange County Board of Commissioners for the purpose of participating with other local governmental entities (Chapel Hill Council, Carrboro Board of Alderman and UNC Representatives) to receive a presentation and to discuss the preliminary findings of the fiscal analysis for Carolina North, on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 7:00pm at Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 2. Presentation of County Manager' Recommended FY 2008-09 Budget(PowerPoint Presentation)—Laura Blackmon Chair Jacobs assured the public that the Manager's Recommended Budget is just a recommendation and nothing that the Board of County Commissioners has adopted. Also, the Board of County Commissioners does not scrutinize the schools' budget, but only provides a per-pupil amount and other funding for capital projects. County Manager's Recommended 2008-09 Annual Operating Budget Public Hearings May 27 and 29, 2008 Guiding Principles .Balance increasing service demands and sluggish revenue growth while keeping our community affordable for all residents. .Balance the Board of Commissioners' historic commitment to schools as the County's top funding priority with other community needs. .Provide a safe and healthy community for our growing populations including multi-cultural and economically stressed residents. .Fund staffing, operational and capital costs associated with new County facilities that will come on-line during the next fiscal year. .Offer a competitive pay and benefits package for our current permanent employees to enable them to deal with financial strains caused by rising gas, food, health care and housing costs Recommended General Fund Budget •General Fund Budget totals $188.3 million •Original fiscal year 2007-08 budget totaled $173.6 million •Recommendation represents an 8.4 percent increase over previous year original budget FY 2008-09 Budget Requests Compared to Recommended Budget Ad Valorem and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Special District Tax Requested Recommended %Funded Budget Budget _ Education (includes Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools funding for current expense, operating and long-range capital, debt service, Fair Funding, School $111,459,950 $109,841,408 98.5% Health Nurses, Social Workers, School Resource Officers, and Orange County Satellite Campus of Durham Technical Community College current expense and debt service) County Departments and Outside Agencies (includes $100,760,803 $97,052,832 96.3% County related debt service) _ Little Growth Anticipated in Non-Property Tax Revenues for FY 2008-09 (bar graph) Balancing the Budget .Natural growth in real property valuation produces about $2.5 million in new property tax dollars .That growth is offset by anticipated loss of$2.5 million in sales tax revenues created by slowing consumer spending and State legislative actions .Increased property taxes and use of fund balance ("rainy day" fund) recommended to fill the gap between revenues and expenditures .Appropriating $2 million in fund balance to cover cost of purchasing vehicles and equipment for county departments .Voter authorization of new local revenues such as Land Transfer Tax and additional sales tax would have helped to defray future tax rate increases . Projected proceeds from Land Transfer Tax about $3.5 million or about 2.75 cents on FY 2008-09 tax rate .Projected proceeds from additional Sales Tax about $3 million or about 2.36 cents on FY 2008- 09 tax rate Proposed Ad Valorem Tax Rate •Recommended tax rate of$1.038 per$100 of assessed valuation .Represents an increase of 8.8 cents over current rate of 95 cents •One cent on property tax estimated to generate $1,271,729 .FY 2007-08 one cent equivalent = $1,247,881 Proposed Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools District Tax Rate •Recommended tax rate of 23 cents per $100 of assessed valuation .Covers the cost of opening new Morris Grove Elementary School and adding senior class at Carrboro High School .Represents an increase of 2.65 cents over current rate of 20.35 cents •One cent on property tax estimated to generate $808,738 .FY 2007-08 one cent equivalent = $802,246 Education Funding Overview .402 new students projected to attend Chapel Hill Carrboro City and Orange County Schools next year .323 students in Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools . 79 students in Orange County Schools .Brings total student membership for both districts to 18,932 .Total recommended funding for both School districts totals $91.2 million .48.5 percent of total General Fund appropriations .Increase of$6.8 million from fiscal year 2007-08 approved budget for operations, fair funding, debt service and capital .Per pupil allocation recommended at $3,256 .Increase of$187 from FY 2007-08 of$3,069 State Mandated Funding Formula General Fund Per Pupil Allocations to Each District CHCCS OCS Total Total Projected Students (including charter students) for Fiscal Year 2008-09 _ 11,705 7,227 18,932 Multiplied by: Recommended County Per Pupil Allocation for FY 3,256 3,256 3,256 Equals: Recommended Current Expense Funding for Fiscal Year 2008-09 (Ad $38,111,480 $23,531,112 $61,642,592 Valorem Only) FY 2008-09 Recommended Increase in Current Expense Funding from Previous Year $3,176,097 $1,591,373 $4,767,470 _(Ad Valorem Only) Requested Current Expense Funding for FY 2008-09 (Ad $35,922,645 $23,771,912 $59,694,557 Valorem Only) _ Recommended Funding for FY 2008- 09 (Ad Valorem and $56,712,412 $23,531,112 $80,243,524 Special District Tax) _ Requested Current Expense Funding (Ad Valorem and Special District Tax) for FY $58,090,154 $23,771,912 $81,862,066 2008-09 Per Pupil Appropriation (General Fund) Historical Comparison Fiscal Years 1983-84 through 2007-08 reflect Commissioner approved per pupil appropriations Fiscal Year Per Pupil Annual $ Increase Annual % Increase Appropriation 83-84 $603 84-85 $642 $39 6.47% 85-86 $773 $131 20.40% 86-87 $871 $98 12.68% 87-88 $870 ($1) —0.11% 88-89 $967 $97 11.15% 89-90 $1,057 $90 9.31% 90-91 $1,175 $118 11.16% 91-92 $1,310 $135 11.49% 92-93 $1,310 $0 0.00% 93-94 $1,363 $53 4.05% 94-95 $1,451 $88 6.46% 95-96 $1,571 $120 8.27% 96-97 $1,782 $211 13.43% 97-98 $1,889 $107 6.00% 98-99 $2,040 $151 7.99% 99-00 $2,256 $216 10.59% 00-01 $2,395 $139 6.16% 01-02 $2,437 $42 1.75% 02-03 $2,516 _ $79 3.24% 03-04 $2,5661 $50 1.99% 04-05 $2,623 _.$57 2.22% 05-06 $2,796 $173 6.60% 06-07 $2,957 $161 5.76% 07-08 $3,069 $112 3.79% 08-09 Recommended $3,256 $187 6.09% Construction and Renovation of Schools and County Facilities Has Required County to Borrow Money - Since 1988, Commissioners have authorized $325 million in debt - Examples of Debt Funded Projects o Construction of New Schools and Renovations of Older Schools • Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools • New Schools– Morris Grove Elementary, Carrboro High, Rashkis Elementary, Scroggs Elementary, McDougle Middle, McDougle Elementary • Orange County Schools • New Schools–Cedar Ridge High, Pathways Elementary, New Hope Elementary, Gravelly Hill Middle - New County Parks o Efland Cheeks, Fairview, Northern - New County Buildings o Southern Human Services, Link Center, The Office and Library - Partner Projects o Homestead Aquatics Center, Southern Community Park Cost of Repaying School and County Related Debt - General Fund debt service in FY 2008-09 totals $26.1 million o 75% of total repays school related debt and 25% repays county related debt o Equivalent of 20.5 cents on tax rate o Includes $5 million for repayment of 2001 voter approved bonds • Equivalent of 3.9 cents on 2008-09 Tax Rate - Funding level for FY 2008-09 is $2 million more than current fiscal year or the equivalent of 1.6 cents on tax rate o $1.2 million for school-related projects o $800,000 for county related projects Additional Major Budget Elements .Full year of operations for Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community College .Eleven new County facilities coming on line next fiscal year .Need for certain facilities such as Animal Services Facility and new space for Department of Social Services created by circumstances beyond County's control .Examples include parks, County Campus and Library, Animal Services Facility, and Justice Facility .Costs to staff and operate these new facilities $3 million next fiscal year .Addressing health, safety and well-being for growing populations .Transitioning long-term temporary employees to permanent status with benefits Public Hearings and Work Sessions (All Meetings Begin at 7:30 p.m.) Public Hearings— May 27th at F. Gordon Battle Courtroom, Hillsborough May 29th at Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Work Sessions - June 5th at Government Services Center, Cameron Street, Hillsborough June 12th at Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Work Session/Adoption—June 17th at Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Final Adoption —June 24th at Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill Work Sessions Offer Opportunities for Commissioners to Discuss Recommended Budget .June 5 .County Manager and staff to present recommendations to possibly reduce recommended tax rate increase .To include reduction/elimination of non-core programs and services .Discussion of other elements of County budget such as cost of new facilities, new staff, and employee pay and compensation plan .June 12 .Joint Budget Meeting with Boards of Education and Durham Technical Community College .June 17 .Further discussion of Recommended Budget .Adoption of Resolution of Intent to Adopt FY 2008-09 Budget and Tax Rate .June 24 .Adoption of FY 2008-09 Budget Ordinance Document Availability •Clerk to Board of Commissioners •County Budget Office •Orange County Library .Chapel Hill Public Library •Carrboro Library •Cedar Grove Library ■Orange County Website ■www.co.orange.nc.us/budget 3. Public Comment Martha Diefendorf, Chair of the Chapel Hill Library Board of Trustees, read a memo from the Chapel Hill Library Board of Trustees. "Subject: Orange County support for the Chapel Hill Public Library for 2008-09 The Chapel Hill Public Library Board of Trustees is happy to represent the Chapel Hill Town Council this evening. The Orange County Library Services Task Force concluded in 2004 that the Chapel Hill Public Library is "a significant partner in the provision of library services to the County." We thank Orange County for its acknowledgement of that partnership and for its past financial support. 2008-2009 is the 50th anniversary of the Chapel Hill Public Library and we are proud of the service we have been able to extend to all Orange County residents. As in years past, we wish to encourage a level of Orange County support that will ensure quality library services for all residents of Orange County. However, this year we wish to stress our concern over declining trend of the County's support to Chapel Hill for library services received from CHPL. The attached graphs show a serious and ongoing discrepancy between Orange County's library use and financial support: - 39% of CHPL's collection use is by Orange County residents who do not reside in Chapel Hill; they checked out approximately 343,000 materials last year. - Chapel Hill's expenditures for library services have increased 25% over the past 7 years, while Orange County's appropriation has remained the same for the past 7 years. - Orange County's contribution toward annual operating costs for CHPL has declined from 20.31% in 1986-87 to only 11.05% in 2007-2008. The Chapel Hill Town Council feels that Orange County's 11.05% cost share for 39% of CHPL's use is a discrepancy which is unfair to all Orange County residents who depend on the levels of service the Chapel Hill Library currently provide to residents. This year the Council is asking the County to come back to funding levels of 20% ($462,000) this year. The Council is also asking that immediate steps be taken to establish a long-term agreement that uses a revenue formula in order to make commensurate the levels of funding and usage by residents of Orange County (outside of Chapel Hill) within three years. Thank you." Debi Timiko said that she joined the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program, and these programs help people learn how to support each other. She found the course to be enlightening and empowering and she learned how to be ready for emergencies and to take care of her family. She said that there are other volunteer services in the community such as staffing for emergency shelters and helping at flu clinics. She encouraged the County's support for the Volunteer Coordinator position to keep these services alive and well. Karl Knapp lives in the Laurel Springs neighborhood. He is here in support of the Manager's budget. He said that this budget fully meets needs for OCS and most of CHCCS's budget. He said that he would be more thrilled about the budget if it were not funded by a large tax increase. He said that the tax increase is not in there because of extravagant spending on programs, but because of lack of economic growth. He said that he knows that the County Commissioners will be under pressure to cut the tax rate, but he asked them not to cut education, social services, or public safety. In the area of education, the request from CHCCS already includes some reductions, and further reducing would require cuts of existing programs. He hopes that the County Commissioners will continue their support of education. Karen-Kincaid Dunn is appreciative of the support of the Board of County Commissioners for Club Nova. She said that state and federal funding has decreased for their services and Club Nova continues to provide a large volume of services that are not reimbursable. Even with level County funding, Club Nova still provides a substantial share of non-funded services. The OPC allocation of County funds and the County's direct allocation pay for transportation, crisis intervention, services for members who also receive ACT services, medical case management, and other facets of the program. Club Nova serves some of the most disabled and poor citizens of the County and the clubhouse is life-sustaining, compassionate, proactive, and cost effective. Club Nova reduces hospitalizations and keeps members out of the legal system. She said that, in order to exercise fiscal responsibility, Club Nova had to freeze one of its program staff positions. Without the allocation from the County, Club Nova would lose two additional staff positions, which would be a total loss of over a third of the program staff. This would be devastating to the services. She said that Club Nova needs both the public and private dollars. Club Nova is fundraising. She asked for the same allocation from the County as last year. Sonda Oppewal asked for funding for the Public Health Reserve Corps, the Community Emergency Response Team, and the Volunteer Coordinator position. She said that she has been a volunteer nurse in the corps, and they need the Volunteer Coordinator position to be effective in times of a disaster. She would like the County Commissioners to consider this resource in the County's funding. She said that this would be minimum input, but tremendous output. Claire Watkins is President of the Friends Board for Central Orange Senior Center. She came to address a portion of the budget not being recommended by the County Manager relative to Orange County positions for the senior center. She said that it is expected that the attendance will greatly increase once the center is moved to the new facility. The two positions are of absolute necessity— one full-time Facilities Manager for five days a week, and one part- time Facilities Manager for four evenings and a few hours on Saturdays. Paid, trained employees are required because they will be handling monies and taking care of various things such as security, etc. She said that she was told that the Central Orange Senior Center would have the same as the Seymour Center in Chapel Hill as far as paid employees. She asked that the County Commissioners consider that, if there is a money problem with hiring new help that they look into a reassignment of permanent County employees that may move into these positions. She said that it is impossible for one person to man the reception desk and cover the whole building's activities. The evening help could be part-time. Sharon Van Horn is one of the at-large representatives for the Board of Health, and she is a pediatrician. She said that the Board of Health is asking for support for the Medical Reserve Corps and Community Emergency Response Team programs. She said that there are over 200 volunteers and they provide services during emergencies. Volunteers have provided shots during flu clinics, assisted with communicable disease investigations, surveyed the community door-to-door through the Community Health Assessment, have served on internal advisory communities for Health Department programs, and have actively participated in exercises and drills. She asked for support of the Senior Public Health Educator position that makes the volunteer programs possible. Secondly, in the face of the declining economy, safety net providers such as the Health Department will be increasingly called upon to care for populations that have lost their jobs and health insurance. She said that the Health Department could not serve these additional residents without being able to maintain an already slim operating budget and begin to replace old and broken equipment. Finally, the News Health Information System developed in partnership with State and local public health will be implemented across the State this fiscal year. This system will replace the system that the State currently uses for patient billing and information gathering. The Health Department has been able to use State funding to purchase additional computers for exam rooms, but it needs to complete the acquisition of units for the remaining units and laptops for the home visiting staff. Betsy Tilley has been a native of this area all of her life. She is retired from the OCS. As a senior citizen, she said that she read that Governor Easley has proposed a 1.2% increase for the retirees of North Carolina. She retired in 1994 and everywhere you turn there is a price increase. There is no way that she can afford to pay Orange County taxes as proposed. She said that other counties have a lower tax rate than Orange County and she does not understand why it takes so much for Orange County to provide the same services as surrounding counties. She said that there was so much talk about the lottery being a blessing and helping education, but she keeps hearing requests for more money for education. She asked the County Commissioners to not raise taxes as much as has been suggested. She said that people are leaving Orange County for Alamance County and other counties because they cannot afford to live here. She said that senior citizens are taking a beating everywhere they turn. Wayne Tilley said that he has been a resident of Orange County for 75 years. He would like to spend the rest of his life here, but does not know if he can afford to. He does not understand why Orange County has to pay so much more in property taxes than its neighbors do, and if that is not excessive spending then he does not know what it is. He retired in 1991 and his retirement has not increased in all of that time. He said that his investments are going downhill and not uphill. He said that the County could not afford to keep funding everything that all the people want. He is pleading with the Board of County Commissioners to consider people like himself who have limited income and want to live in Orange County. He said that he does not see any relief in sight. Gayanne Chambliss said that she does not envy the Board's situation because it is a lean time for everyone. She can appreciate what the Tilleys just spoke about. She wonders how everything can be fit into the finite amount of money. She is here to advocate for the Volunteer Coordinator position for the CERT program. She got involved with this program after Katrina because she was involved in relief there for about a year. She said that Orange County's emergency response teams would be overwhelmed if a natural disaster like Katrina hit here. She asked the County Commissioners to please fund the Volunteer Coordinator position. Ben Lloyd said that he is disappointed tonight with the number of people here. He said that he was taught to live within his means and to prepare for a rainy day and it is a rainy day in Orange County today because prices are skyrocketing, people are losing their jobs, bankruptcies are at an all-time high, and people are moving out of Orange County because of 15 continuous years of property tax increases. He said that maybe the County Commissioners did not think that it could get tough. He said that the County Commissioners have closed the door on economic development for the past 30 years that would have provided jobs and dollars to pay for Orange County's needs. He said that this is no longer working, and it could get much worse. He quoted Warren Buffet, one of the world's richest men, "We are in a recession and it will get much deeper and last much longer than anybody expects." He said that last Thursday, Commissioner Nelson was quoted in the local newspaper that an 8.8-cent tax increase would not fly. He agrees with this. The County Manager was quoted as saying in the same newspaper that the problems may challenge the status quo and require a new way of thinking. He also agrees with this. 4. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Carey to adjourn the meeting at 8:34 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board