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APPROVED 3/16/2010 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION February 11, 2010 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a budget work session on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee, and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Mike Nelson, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to add the agenda item — Change in BOCC Regular Meeting Schedule for 2010. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Change in BOCC Regular Meeting Schedule for 2010 The Board considered one change in the County Commissioners' regular meeting calendar for year 2010. A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to amend the BOCC regular meeting calendar for 2010 by: - Changing the location of the Orange County Legislative breakfast, which is scheduled for Monday, February 22, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. FROM the N. C. botanical Gardens, TO the New Solid Waste Administration Office Building, 1207 Eubanks Road, in Chapel Hill, N. C. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 1. Manager's Introduction to 2010-11 Budget Season Frank Clifton said that the intent is to build the priorities and general consensus where the Board is going to head in the process. He said that the staff hears the Board when it says it wants to hold the line on tax increases. He said that the reality is that the County does not have a revenue problem as of now. The departments have done a good job of maintaining the line of expenses and there are 146 vacant positions as of 12/31/2009. He said that there will not be a lot of big savings individually, but when you pull them together it is a big savings of about $2 million. He said that he does not think it would be in the best interest of the County to go through a severe process of making cuts only in the end to reverse the stance. The County has a $4.5 million issue in the next fiscal year regarding new expenses, without any employee raises or new programs. This is about 3.5% of the total budget, but is more like 6% of the County-only budget. He said that at the end of this item, he would like to discuss the issue of sales tax distribution. He is not proposing a change, but he wants to show the differential.