Minutes 06-06-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Rich said she is not necessarily saying that the Board shouldn't raise taxes, but it needs to be balanced out and not just a reaction to passions. Commissioner Pelissier said one of the things that concerns her is that the CHCCS's request is so much higher than the OCS request, even considering the difference in student numbers. She said that if more is given to CHCCS, it may result is OCS being given more than was requested. She said this has to be weighed out, especially in the face of Northside opening. Commissioner Gordon said there is a precedent for opening CHCCS schools using the district tax, and this should not be discounted as a possibility. She said the voters support that. She noted that voters in the CHCCS district voted for a district tax, whereas OCS voted against one in 2005. She said it may be possible to move money around, and this can be looked at, but there is no way to know and the needs are large. Commissioner Price said, as much as she believes in a strong school system, she does not want to raise taxes. She said that the poverty level is growing in Orange County, and the cost of living is so high that residents are moving to Durham and Alamance County. She said raising taxes should not be the first choice, and the option of moving money around should be examined. She said that the people who showed up at the public hearing in favor of a tax increase are the people who have cars and the time to attend the meeting. She noted that there are many residents without the time or transportation, and these same people feel their opinion does not hold weight. Chair Jacobs said he does not feel there is a need to raise the county wide property tax in order to fund the schools; that is why the district tax is there. He said a lot of what goes on during this time of year is like a dance. People aim high and ask high. The manager aims low, so the Board looks good when the funding is higher. He asked how much would be necessary to restore teacher assistant positions. Ruby Pittman said the budget cut is $1.3 million in teacher assistants, or 35-37 positions. Chair Jacobs said there are different interpretations of fund balances for school systems. He referenced an amendment on page 17 in the agenda tonight, in which the school system explains why there is no excess fund balance that can be applied. Frank Clifton said staff uses the reported numbers from the schools. He said each year the number that is applied is the number that the schools report to the state. He said this is all the staff has until adjustments are made. Chair Jacobs said this means that the school's letter reflects different numbers, subsequent to the numbers submitted to the state. James Barrett said the allocation of$3.2 million for next fiscal year is included in the budget that is already passed. Paul Laughton said the letter shows the appropriation from this year, and the county takes the audited number. He said the county looks at the policy of the percent of minimum needed, which is 5.5% for CHCCS and 3% for OCS. He said this is where the Board saw the estimated excess above the established minimum. Frank Clifton said the Board of County Commissioners has no control over how money is allocated from the schools to their services. He said the Board tries to make sure the County fund balance is at an appropriate level, so that the debt can be sold and stability can be established. He said that there is also a small amount of excess flexible money included in the budget. Paul Laughton referred to the 48.1% target mentioned by the manager. He said there are 5 components that control that. These components are: current expense, recurring capital, long range capital, debt service, and fair funding. He said the debt service is about $1.3m