Orange County NC Website
heads. Additional time has been set aside for department heads to work together <br /> during the coming year. The addition of a Management Analyst in the Manager's <br /> department will help to improve communications. This person will coordinate You <br /> Services and respond to citizens concerns and questions in identifying the barriers <br /> to accessibility to county services. They will recommend solutions to those <br /> barriers. This position will also help in providing information to the public. <br /> Another issue facing the county is solid waste. The budget addresses solid <br /> waste concerns in several ways. First, a new Solid Waste Administrator is being <br /> recommended in the budget. That person will provide direct supervision in overseeing <br /> long term solutions to the green box situation. This position will also focus on <br /> public education and the expansion of recycling in Orange County. An increase in the <br /> tipping fee is also a part of the proposed budget. The State and federal regulations <br /> requiring that the landfill be lined is the reason for this increase. Eighty Three <br /> Thousand is in the budget to purchase consolidated green box sites for the coming <br /> year. <br /> The third major goal was diversifying and expanding the County's revenue base. <br /> Link indicated that throughout the budget process he has been impressed with the need <br /> for Orange County to expand its revenue base. Moving ahead with the Economic <br /> Development Strategic plan is a necessary step to achieve that goal. Funding for <br /> implementation of the major components of that plan will be provided. Implementation <br /> of the User Fee Study is also recommended. He indicated that he believes there is a <br /> need to address the issue of which services will be provided through ad valorem tax <br /> revenue as opposed to other sources of revenue, such as fees. <br /> Link stated the County continues to improve its overall financial condition. <br /> The fund balance is at a level sufficient to allow for normal cash flow needs, and <br /> the bond rating is AA. That has allowed for a favorable rate of interest of 7.11% on <br /> the recent 11.8 million dollar bond issue. In the recommended budget there is a <br /> continuation to attain the goal of 8% fund balance which will be approximately 3.5 <br /> million dollars. That represents $500,000 in additional fund balance. <br /> There is a visible slow down in the rate of growth in the tax base, from an <br /> average of 6.5% to 3.6% for 1989-90. That difference equates to 2 cents on the tax' <br /> rate. Much of the reason for this decline is due to the loss of the Inventory Tax. <br /> Personal property has also been eroded. There has been a decrease in construction. <br /> There is a need to expand the tax base through economic development. The Strategic <br /> Plan will need to be pursued in order to reach the goal of expanding the County's tax <br /> base. Other revenue sources need to be pursued, such as user fees. The alternative <br /> to the expansion of the tax base is to continue to raise taxes by 2 -3 cents per year <br /> just to maintain current levels of service. Of the tax increase 3.1 cents will go to <br /> debt service on the bond issue and 2.4 cents for other operating costs. <br /> Figures from the User Fee Study were presented at this time. A potential of <br /> $906,000 in increased revenue was identified and the Manager's Proposed budget <br /> recommends an increase of $484,500. A breakdown of the potential increase in user <br /> fees indicated the largest increase will come from EMS with the remaining increases <br /> corning from Environmental Health, Recreation and Parks, Planning, and Land Records. <br /> He stated that the question concerning the EMS services was whether or not Orange <br /> County would continue to pay for these services totally with property tax, or pursue <br /> a mixture of property tax and user fees in the future. A breakdown of the County <br /> subsidy is as follows: <br />