Agenda - 05-19-2009 - 7b - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Budget Message revenue, the County will see Medicaid expenses decrease from $2.3 million budgeted in FY 200809 to zero in FY 2009-10. Secondly, fiscal outlooks anticipate consumer spending will remain slow into FY 2009-10. For this reason the recommended FY 2009-10 budgets estimates sales tax revenues for Articles 39, 40 and 42 at $585,000 less than the original FY 2008-09 budget. Charges for Services — Construction and housing markets have fallen victim to our nation's slowing economy. Building and inspection permit requests have decreased significantly over the last two years. In addition, transactions related to buying and selling of homes and land have declined. The impact of this downturn means about $1 million less revenue in FY 2009- 10 for Planning, Environmental Health and Register of Deeds. Intergovernmental Revenue — Included in this revenue category are monies the County expects to receive from state, federal and local governments. The State's fiscal crisis continues and appears to worsen with time. For FY 2009-10, 1 believe it is best to remain cautious until the General Assembly has adopted the State budget. For this reason my recommended budget does not anticipate receipt of Public School Building Fund monies from the State. This equates to a revenue loss of $1 .4 million for the County. For a number of years the County has used these revenues to offset school related debt payments. Repayment of debt is a mandate the County must fulfill. The loss of Public School Building Funds means the County will have to use other revenues to offset debt repayment. Funding Highlights Funding for Local School Districts - The recommended total appropriation to Chapel Hill Carrboro City and Orange County Schools decreases by $3.1 million for next year - from $88.5 million to $85.4 million. While this reduction is not as severe as originally projected earlier this spring, it is still a decrease. Both Boards of Education presented their budget requests to Commissioners in late April .2009. Their presentations made it clear County funding reductions, coupled with State revenue decreases, mean both districts would face program and staffing cuts. • Per pupil funding for the County's two local school districts equals $3,096, a decrease of $104 per student from the current year appropriation of $3,200. • In addition, the recommended budget includes $617,782 to continue Commissioners longstanding commitment to providing school health nurses at each school. This funding level reflects a $24,586 increase over the FY 200809 funding level — the equivalent of a 4% increase. The Sheriff plans to continue providing School Resource Officers to support Orange County Schools. The estimated annual value of this Board commitment totals $500,000.