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APPROVED 11/17/98 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONER BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING JUNE 4, 1998 MINUTES The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Thursday, June 4, 1998 at 7:30 p.m. in the new Southern Human Services Center, Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for the purpose of holding a Public Hearing on the proposed 1998-1999 budget. ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Margaret W. Brown, and members Moses Carey, Jr., William L. Crowther, Alice M. Gordon, and Stephen H. Halkiotis. STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John Link, Deputy Clerk to the Board Kathy Baker, Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Albert Kittrell. Other staff will be identified as required. ® OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR Chair Brown convened the meeting and welcomed. those in attendance. She then turned the meeting over to County Manager John M. Link, Jr., to present the proposed budget. PUBLIC CHARGE Chair Brown dispensed with the reading of the Public Charge. PRESENTATION OF BUDGET: County Manager Link presented the schedule of upcoming Budget Work sessions. He reviewed the highlights of the 1998-1999 proposed budget which totaled $93,035,893. He mentioned some of the highlights of the budget, including a $151.00 increase in the per pupil allocation. This is an increase in the per pupil allocation from $1,889 to $2,040. The Orange County Schools share of the total current expense appropriation of $30.4 million is $12,911,60, while the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System share is $17,511.30. The overall current expense appropriation represents an increase over the 1997-1998 budget of $3.2 million. This 11.9% increase exceeds the average yearly increase approved by the Board of Commissioners over the past ten years. He mentioned that the budget provides for 14.25 new General Fund positions as well as providing support for many other areas of County government including health education, engineering, client transportation, automation support, new facility care, and emergency medical coverage. Employee Compensation includes a 2.5% cost of living increase for permanent County employees and modification to the career growth recognition awards and pertormance awards to address the issues identified by the Board of Commissioners regarding employee compensation. Also included is funding for afull-years operation. of the Southern Human Services Center, the jail addition, and the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom. Additional custodial resources for facility care along with increased costs of day-to-day operations, such as utilities, are included in the Public Works budget. It is anticipated that the Skills Development Center will open in December. He then reviewed the Debt Service payment