Minutes - 06-01-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROVED 4/3/2001 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING JUNE 1, 2000 The Orange County Board of Commissioners held a budget public hearing on June 1, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Alice M. Gordon, Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser, and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (all other staff members will be identified appropriately below} NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. Chair Carey called the meeting to order. He said that before the end of the month, the Commissioners would review the results of the two public hearings and try to arrive at an adopted budget for the County. He pointed out that in the area of school financing, the County Commissioners do not consider line items as they do with County projects. 1. BUDGET PRESENTATION County Manager John Link made this presentation. In summary he made the following paints: He commended the staff who worked so hard in getting the budget together and the school superintendents and their staff for formatting their budgets. He summarized the past achievements, which include local funding for the top performing schools, transition of solid waste operations from Chapel Hill to Orange County, land acquisitions far parkland and open space, and progress in addressing long-term affordable housing needs. He summarized how the current budget addresses the service needs of the County's citizens by continuing the commitment to education as the tap priority; providing for continuation of the COPSFAST community policing program; and addressing the Board of County Commissioner goals of long-term affordable housing, elderly population support services, and child support enforcement. The general fund totals 109 million dollars, which is an increase of 9 million dollars from the current budget. Five and a half million dollars of this increase is recommended for additional funds far education. The proposed per-pupil increase would go from $2,256 to $2,395 per child. The proposed budget calls for atwo-cent tax increase, making the tax rate 93.9 cents per one hundred-dollar valuation. He pointed out that Orange County remains in the top five school districts in the state far tax collection. Tax collection is the biggest source of the County's revenue. The second highest source of revenue is sales tax. He summarized the highlights of the budget, which include education, affordable housing, the Master Aging Plan, new staff and employee compensation, and the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. Education There will be 700 new students attending schools in Orange County next fall. This is the largest increase in a decade for Orange County. The recommended allocation for schools is 49.4°~ of the general fund. The driving force for the recommended allocation is the increase in teacher salaries. Enhancements or improvements to programs were not funded. He acknowledged that in some cases the enhancements included new positions. The recommended budget addresses 94% of