Minutes - 20020530 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

The voters approved a $75 million band referendum in November. This will offer residents across the County progressive opportunities for affordable housing, senior centers, parks, recreation, and educational facilities. Since April 2000, almost 800 acres in Orange County have been protected through the Lands Legacy Program. The Central Orange Senior Center opened in January, which is located in the Meadowlands Business Park in Hillsborough. This is the temporary building for the center. The County Commissioners appointed an Innovation and Efficiency Committee, which recommended Segal and Associates, an independent CPA firm to review the County's purchasing practices which they found to be sound. The firm did discover additional sales tax reimbursements of $563,000. One school system has also participated in such a review and the County hopes the other school system will as well. General Fund Revenue Highlights The County's financial picture remains solid. The fund balance remains strong. We are appropriating $2.4 million from the fund balance for this year's budget. This is $1.2 million less than last year's appropriation. The real property tax base increased 4-4.5%. This increased the real property tax base of $300 million from original 2001-02 estimates. Property taxes remain the largest single source of revenue. Regarding the anticipated State withholdings for fiscal year 2001-02, the total anticipated loss for Orange County is $712,200. The tax rate equivalent is .78 cents. This includes inventory tax reimbursements of $454,700; beer and wine taxes of $195,000; and homestead reimbursements of $62,500. The budget includes $3.1 million in State reimbursements for intangible and inventory taxes that are due the County. This is intended to send a clear message to Raleigh that it is wrong and unacceptable for the State to seize funds that rightfully should come to the citizens of Orange County. During June work sessions, the Board should consider whether it wishes to reduce the proposed budget by $3.1 million. There is a possibility of an additional '/ cent sales tax effective July 1, 2003. This is referred to as Article 44. This is intended to replace the local government reimbursements from the State. There are other discussions about addressing the sales tax earlier than July 1, 2003. The staff is recommending that the Board hold a public hearing on an additional '/ cent sales tax levy on June 18t" The interest earnings have decreased significantly this year. This is due to the recession of the economy. General Fund Expenditure Highlights The total general fund appropriation for education increased by 4.9%. The education budget totals $60.6 million or 49.3°~ of the total County budget. He explained the State mandated funding formulas. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School system is projected to gain 234 students and the Orange County School system is projected to lose 160 students. The recommended increase based on the formula for CHCCS is $1,392,964 and for Orange County is $115,364. Since the formula has given the CHCCS more money than they requested in the budget, he is recommending that the district tax be reduced by one cent. He is also recommending that another $500,000 of interest earnings on the Certificates of Participation that were used in building Cedar Ridge High School be allocated for one time capital items for this new school. This money could be used to address initiatives identified by the District as important budget priorities such as minority student achievement efforts. There is another major increase in Medicaid expenditures for this year. The proposed budget allows far an increase of $600,000 for next year. The two-year cumulative increase in this mandated expenditure is $1.37 million. The County has created a reserve of existing funds of $110,00 which could be used to offset State related human service budget cuts that occur after the Board approves the County budget at the end of June. This fund was created by reallocating funds from the Department of Social Services and the Child Care Challenge Grant. The proposed budget provides the same funding allocations for non-profit agencies as the current year, and the same funding as last year for the Towns for Recreation and Libraries.