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squeezing the County's middle class homeowners. Having reached a limit with property tax increases and given the state's formula for disbursing sales tax revenue, county government now faces having to choose between cutting government services, accelerating the trend towards socioeconomic exclusivity of its' residents, or increasing the county's commercial tax base. Moreover, the lack of available commercial options continue push a substantial portion of residents out of the county for basic consumer needs while also pushing our workforce out of the county for lack of available employment options. In 2006, Orange County funded a study of the cost of County services by Dr. Mitch Renkow, an economist at NC State. According to his study, Renkow found that 81% of total County tax revenues were generated from residential property, taxes, with only 17% collected from the County's commercial tax base. When analyzing revenue contribution and returns on investment, the study found that residential tax revenues covered only 75% of the cost of services delivered to residential households while tax revenues from commercial and industrial land users returned a profit of $3.21 for every $1.00 of services provided to those users. Despite this significant contrast in returns on investment and the massive influx of private investment into the RTRP region, Orange County's gross commercial tax receipts have steadily declined since 2006 (Figure 1). Figure 1. Orange County Commercial Tax Base Trends Looking at UNC's hometown, Chapel Hill, recently reported data that indicates its 2009 -2010 commercial tax revenue decreased in the last year from 17% of revenues to 15% of collected revenues, even as University research grant receipts were the highest yet at $700,000,000 +. As the overall contribution of commercial tax receipts to County revenue declines, County residential property tax collections continue to be impacted by the Great Recession. Current population growth is 2% and expected to remain so for the next several years. Job losses have occurred in both the private and public sectors. Permanent job losses even occurred at the County's two largest employers, UNC- Chapel Hill and Orange County government. With a current poverty rate of 13.8 %9, demand for services continues to rise and the cost of services, such as education and healthcare, also continues to increase. However, with the cost of educational services accounting for half of the County's total budget —and 2/3 of locally-collected taxes1o, less of the County's discretionary income is available to fund these services. Unless residents are willing to shoulder property tax increases, Orange County must either increase commercial tax collections or cut county services, including education budgets, well into the future. Current Trends in Business Needs Several factors weigh critical regardless of the size or scope of a business. Whether the business is large, medium, small, or nascent, available business- and shovel -ready space, regulatory requirements, access to capital, and programs that mitigate site selection risks are key criteria leading to the choice of where to grow and develop. However, the type and extent of support required to meet the needs of business vary depending on attributes of the business and its maturity. Reducing Regulatory Hurdles Regulatory burden and uncertainty are two environmental elements that both entrepreneurs and established businesses seek to avoid. Conflicting or poorly understood processes and procedures related to development and land use lead to extended permitting time and tied up assets, which translates into higher expenses and reduced profit (or increased losses). Unified Development Ordinances (UDOs) are a common tool for reducing these barriers. Although UDO development and implementation is a planning e For Year 2008, US Census Bureau Quick Facts 1014 November 2009 Board of County Commissioners Retreat, cash flow analysis presentation 51Page