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one-cent increase and no-increase in the overall budget. He mentioned that the County will face several <br />important developments with budgetary impacts beyond FY 1999-2000. Several of those developments <br />are listed below. <br />¦ The first sale of general obligation bonds will occur in early 2000. County staff is hopeful that the <br />County's strong fund balance, sound overall financial position, and other positive economic <br />conditions may assist the County in pursuing an "AAA" bond rating, which would lead to a lower <br />debt service. <br />¦ The County will have responsibility for developing, implementing, and administering the Landfill <br />Fund budget in the year 2000-2001. The Board of Commissioners will also face important <br />decisions in the coming years on the siting and construction of several major solid waste facilities, <br />including a construction and demolition (C&D) waste facility, a materials recovery facility (MRF), <br />and a transfer station. <br />¦ There will be start-up costs associated with the new Scroggs Elementary School and additional <br />costs associated with the expansion of East Chapel Hill High. There will also be start-up costs <br />associated with the new elementary and high schools in Orange County and the new Smith <br />Middle School in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district. <br />QUESTIONS AND/OR COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS: <br />Paul Fare[, Vice-Chair of the Chapel Hill Public Library Board of Trustees, spoke in support of increased <br />funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library. He stated that he was speaking on behalf of the Chapel Hill <br />Town Council. He thanked the Board of County Commissioners for last year's support in the amount of <br />$199,975. He indicated that this was a 7.3°x6 increase over the previous year's funding. He presented <br />facts pertaining to the library's operations, including the fact that the Chapel Hill Library leads the state in <br />the number of books loaned to residents. The Town Council and the Library Board are requesting that <br />the Board of Commissioners increase their financial support for the Library. He mentioned that Orange <br />County's overall library support is lower than that of other areas and should be increased for all of the <br />libraries in the County. He also mentioned that the Chapel Hill Library serves a significant number of <br />non-Chapel Hill patrons who live in Orange County. He pointed out that the Town of Chapel Hill <br />generates a significant amount of tax revenue for the County, yet receives only half the library support <br />granted to residents in the rest of the County. A copy of his comments, along with documentation, is in <br />the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. <br />Carla Turner spoke on behalf of the Orange County Schools. She stated that she had a child in the <br />Orange County system and she requested that the Commissioners increase their overall funding to the <br />schools. She also asked that they allocate additional funds for school nurses to help with the student <br />assessment. <br />Mitch Cox, a teacher in the Orange County system, spoke in support of the Orange County School <br />Board's funding request. He stated that he has observed the schools making great progress during his <br />17 years with the school system. The School Board's funding request must be approved in order to <br />continue this trend. <br />Judith Bergman, a Speech Language Pathologist at Glenwood Elementary School, spoke on behalf of <br />the faculty members whose supplements are subject to the 10% cap. Those teachers whose salaries <br />are capped represent 14.7% of all teachers in the district receiving supplements. She strongly urged the <br />Commissioners to fully support the recommended budget so that the school board can fund this line <br />item. She asked the Board of County Commissioners to compare the salary that is being offered in <br />Orange County to new and relocating teachers, to what is being offered by Wake County. Wake County <br />offers higher supplements than Orange County and they will be recruiting for 1000 new teachers in the <br />next several years. <br />Liam Cox, a junior at Orange High School, mentioned that Orange High recently accepted the Cool <br />Schools Award. This Award is an international honor awarded to schools for exceptional web page <br />design. He spoke in support of the Orange County School Board's budget request. He mentioned that in