Minutes 05-20-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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freeze on new hires and not filling vacant positions. This is offset at least by that much of a decline in sales tax revenues. He said that he focused on the issues that he could control. He said that an overriding factor is that the County Commissioners asked that he not raise taxes this year and this has not happened in at least 25 years. For counties the same size as Orange County or larger, Orange County is the highest taxed county in the State. There are a few options: raise taxes, use the fund balance (to an extent), adopt a '/4-cent sales tax, and expand retail opportunities and options in Orange County. He said that if there are not expanded retail opportunities in Orange County, then programs will have to be cut. 3. Public Comment Gary Bird said that educating children should be a top priority for the future. He spoke on behalf of Ephesus and Estes Hills Elementary Schools. He said that they need and expect high-quality education. He said that he has no doubt that the County Commissioners hold education at a high priority. He said that he is concerned that the Board of County Commissioners can foresee the consequences of a budget that could drain the school system of funds. He said that Ephesus is one of the older schools in the County and is in desperate need of capital projects for the health and safety of the children. He said that the same per- pupil allocation as last year might not meet the needs. John Poteat said that the education of the children is not the thing to delay until the budget improves. He urged the County Commissioners to approve the budget with the same per-pupil allotment. He asked the Board to urge the district to use creative funding to offset capital cuts. He asked that the Board allow the school systems flexibility to ensure that funding of key capital projects that affect the health and safety of the children and the schools. Anita Badrock spoke on behalf of the Community Home Trust. The Executive Director, Robert Dowling, was unable to attend and he asked her to speak on his behalf. She said that they are very appreciative that the County Manager has recommended maintaining the organization's funding level. She said that the organization was doing its part to deliver more programs without more public dollars. On June 30, 2009, the organization had 137 homes in its affordable home portfolio. On or about July 30, 2010, it will have 193 homes. This is an increase of more than 40% in the portfolio count. Despite this, they have not asked for additional funding for the organization, but they are improving efficiencies, asking for more from the staff, and identifying and securing other funding. She gave a report on what the money from the County is being used for. She shared some homeowner stories. She asked the Board to approve the Manager's funding recommendation for Community Home Trust in its entirety. Nerys Levy read a prepared statement: "My name is Nerys Levy. I am a member of the Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library, have served on all three Orange County Library Task Forces, and am the Administrator of the Carrboro Branch Library Arts Program and a painter. I am a registered business in Orange County and I pay sales taxes on all work sold. Like all those gather here on Tuesday May 18th, I listened with great concern as the County Manager presented his budget. I respect where he and his budget committee are coming from and understand the enormous and difficult task the BOCC have ahead in working out a budget. That being said, I have certain concerns about his recommendations pertaining to libraries and the arts. At a recent Friends of North Carolina Public Libraries meeting, we were told that the State is 44th in the nation for libraries. Having served on three Orange County Library task forces, I know that before the building of the new Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough, the County was 70th in the state for library provision to its citizens. These proposed budget cuts put us back to probably past 70th in the state for library ranking. For the second richest county in the state with one of the highest rates of educated people, these recommendations show a total lack of understanding regarding the needs of Orange County's citizens. With the proposed