Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Commissioner Halkiotis said that in the news this evening, he saw that Progress Energy is <br />entering into apublic-private partnership with Wake County, where they are going to build a $10 million <br />public-private library. This concerns him. <br />Commissioner Brown said that she was at the meeting and the author of the article made a few <br />errors. She said that she mentioned that this Board was responsible far making this possible as well as <br />Mary McDowell, Jae Boxer from Durham, and Gary Philips from Chatham County. She said that there was <br />a few extra people mentioned in the article that she never mentioned. <br />Chair Jacobs said that they appreciated the work of County Engineer Paul Thames who gat <br />involved in NRC policy and was a valuable support for the Board and the Attorney. <br />John Kent, a member of the Conservation Committee far New Hope Audubon, said that there <br />are approximately 1,200 members from Durham, Orange, and Chatham Counties. He is in support of the <br />community that is fighting against the OLF. He is concerned about the affect the field would have on the <br />adjoining wildlife refuge. <br />b. Matters on the Printed Agenda <br />{These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda below.) <br />3. BOARD COMMENTS <br />Commissioner Brown thanked all that she worked with as Chair last year. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis asked the Board and the Chair to ask the DSS Director to provide <br />information about food bank operations in all of Orange County. He said that there is a new one at Palmer's <br />Grove Church Road. He said that there is also a food pantry operating out of the Abundant Life Church. <br />He said that the County Commissioners do not really know what is happening in this area and it is important <br />to find out exactly the extent of participation and how many people are involved. He was under the <br />impression that this was only being handled by OCIM. He would like to know how many people are taking <br />advantage of these services. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he read in Sunday's Chapel Hill Herald about the school merger <br />issue. He said that the comparison of the number of teachers in each district was very confusing. He said <br />that this demands having an independent audit done of each school system and focusing on personnel. <br />The article said that Orange County Schools had 200 teachers and that Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools had <br />205 teachers. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools have over 4,000 students more than Orange County Schools. <br />He wants to know who is supplying this information to the press. He said that the need for an audit is <br />obvious. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he listened to the chiller unit at the Whitted building recently and he <br />talked with Public Works Director Wilbert McAdoo who had a noise meter. He said that, as chillers go, it is <br />not that loud. He suggested some creative berming and adding some additional trees to create some <br />natural buffering. There are also some blankets that can be used to block out the high-pitched sounds. He <br />is willing to work with Wilbert McAdoo. <br />Chair Jacobs asked John Link to share the memo about the chiller unit with neighbors and Wilbert <br />McAdoo said that he had. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked Ken Chavious to explain how the sales tax revenue is allocated in <br />Orange County. Finance Director Ken Chavious said that the County has four different sales tax levies. <br />The one-cent and three different half-cent taxes. The sales tax revenues are collected by the State and <br />distributed back to the County. Orange County receives its allocation on a per capita basis. The <br />municipalities also receive a portion of the sales taxes. The formula is based on population. The one-cent <br />tax is distributed back to the County at point of sale. The article 40 and 42 half-cent sales taxes are put in a <br />pool and these are restricted and used for school construction. These two taxes pay a lot of the pay-as- <br />you-go and debt service in the CIP. The article 44 works like the one-cent except it is not point of sale. It is <br />collected statewide and is designed to offset the sequestering of revenues by the State and it goes back <br />into the pool. None of these taxes, except the one-cent, are paint of sale. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked if any tax goes to Orange County government and Ken Chavious said <br />that the County receives 62% of all taxes that came back in the County. The Town of Chapel Hill receives <br />