Minutes - 06-21-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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be no less than the amount required to produce the same projected revenue that they are now receiving. Budget Director Donna Dean will figure this into the chart and bring it back. Discussion ensued about the supportable impact fee. Commissioner Gordon feels that the Board should respond to what the school boards have requested. By looking at the total number of students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School system, there is a deficit of 140 seats. In the Orange County school system, 550 seats are available right now. She said that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools desperately need the money due to a rapid increase in the number of students and she thinks that is part of the reason that they asked for the maximum supportable impact fee. She is interested in going as high as we can to meet their request except for the "all other residential" category - no higher than $3,000 which is the current impact fee. She is talking about a $6,000 impact fee for new growth to help pay far itself. Commissioner Carey said that 56°l0 of the maximum supportable fee for Chapel Hill-Carrboro is $4,113 for single family and $1,846 for all other. That would be comparable to the 56°l° that the County fee is set at. He cannot support a maximum fee of $6,000 for an impact fee. He can support a fee set at 56% of the maximum supportable fee for both school systems. Commissioner Jacobs said that he would not like to penalize one school system by getting another up to speed. He thinks, in this case, we are talking about generating an additional $800,000 in impact fee revenue by using 56°~. He feels it is the County Commissioners' job to strike a balance. Commissioner Gordon said that she could not emphasize enough the difference in the number of students between the two school systems. She said that impact fees were not her favorite way of raising revenue but it is something. She would rather have an impact tax. Commissioner Carey said that the impact fee is just a contributor toward the revenues needed for schools -not the main source of revenue. He said that the County Commissioners try to meet all the needs of the schools but cannot provide all that is needed. He thinks that both systems have requested too much far impact fees, but he is willing to be flexible. Bonds are the way to meet the big-ticket items far the schools. Chair Halkiotis said that he does not want to penalize anyone unnecessarily regarding the impact fee. He said that the housing in the southern end of the County was very different than that in the northern end of the County. He is concerned about affordability and haw a maximum supportable impact fee would negatively affect some people. He would like to look at the charts again. John Link will have several examples for the County Commissioners to consider at the meeting on Monday, June 25th. Craig Benedict said that to make the impact fees defensible and supportable the percent would have to be the same in each category -single family detached and all other residential. Current Expense far Schools The recommended amount from the Manager is $2,437 per pupil. Based on that, the amount as recommended for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system is $24,808,660 and for the Orange County system is $15,976,972. Commissioner Carey asked about the possibility of providing Orange County schools with more funds and John Link said there is an option to make a provision for an amount between $300,000 and $350,000. John Link said that in that particular option the per pupil amount is not affected. That decision would be made by the Orange County School Board. The impact fees revenue would actually replace some of the pay-as-you-go sales tax money used for Cedar Ridge High School and that money would be transferred to the operations side of the budget. Commissioner Gordon asked if this was one time and for only one year. John Link said that, in his opinion, it is based on the unexpected and controversial projections by the State Department of Public Instruction as to the number of students projected for the Orange County system. He feels that this meets the definition of an unexpected, unforeseen emergency. As he understands the statute it is what the County Commissioners and the school board agree to and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools support. This action would not have to take place by June 25th. The decision on the amount of the impact fee is important.