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10 <br /> 1 Clarence Grier said this slide only shows the County's revenues and expenditures. He <br /> 2 said the $21.8 million from the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools district tax is in their budget <br /> 3 only. He said since the Board of County Commissioners is responsible for setting the tax rate, <br /> 4 this amount is listed just for informational purposes. <br /> 5 Michael Talbert said the tax rate for the school districts is set very much like the fire <br /> 6 district tax. He said it is collected and the schools get all of the revenue regardless of the <br /> 7 collections. <br /> 8 Commissioner Dorosin asked if it is fair to say that the inequity in the per-pupil funding <br /> 9 between the two school districts is the result of the district tax. <br /> 10 Michael Talbert said that is correct. <br /> 11 Commissioner Dorosin said everything else should have equity. <br /> 12 Clarence Grier said that is correct. <br /> 13 Michael Talbert said the state law mandates how the County does this. <br /> 14 Chair Jacobs said he has seen many Commissioners over the years try to figure out the <br /> 15 inequity created by the district tax. He said this is a conundrum. <br /> 16 Commissioner Dorosin said it is stark to see that one cent on the overall County rate is <br /> 17 $1.6 million and one cent on the school district rate is $1 million. He said this could be <br /> 18 distributed more equitably. <br /> 19 Chair Jacobs said it is proportional to the population. He said over the long term, <br /> 20 changes in the revenue generation with the economic development districts might change some <br /> 21 of those percentages. <br /> 22 Chair Jacobs said one of the reasons that the sales tax changed in 2007 is because the <br /> 23 state legislature changed the way it allocates sales tax revenues. He said this adversely <br /> 24 affected Orange County. He said if this was calculated the way it used to be, the County is <br /> 25 doing even better than before. He said the fact that 58 percent of the sales tax is retained <br /> 26 within the County means that the County gets hurt more than most counties in the current <br /> 27 formulation. <br /> 28 Michael Talbert said that is pretty accurate. He said it was a complicated formula, but <br /> 29 the County also gave up the expense on the Medicaid. <br /> 30 Chair Jacobs said the County is one of the lowest Medicaid counties in the state. <br /> 31 Clarence Grier said this continues to be the case. <br /> 32 Chair Jacobs asked if the County is still getting the compensation amount promised <br /> 33 during this deal. <br /> 34 Clarence Grier said yes. He said recently it was $3.2 million. <br /> 35 Chair Jacobs said it is a wash that is not reflected in the sales tax. <br /> 36 Clarence Grier said yes. <br /> 37 Michael Talbert said it is a wash in a "hold harmless" provision. He said this is a <br /> 38 complicated provision. <br /> 39 Chair Jacobs asked about the fund balance. He heard the figure $36.7 million, which is <br /> 40 a little more than 20 percent, and the goal is 17percent. He asked if the money set aside for <br /> 41 other post employment benefits (OPEB) is reflected in the difference between the 17 and the <br /> 42 20. <br /> 43 Clarence Grier said that is in a separate fund, and it is not part of the $36.7 million. <br /> 44 Chair Jacobs asked if some of the fund balance has been appropriated toward OPEB <br /> 45 this year <br /> 46 Clarence Grier said yes, but the $36.7 million is without the OPEB. <br /> 47 Chair Jacobs asked if the difference between the 17 percent and the 20 percent would <br /> 48 be available for spending. <br /> 49 Clarence Grier said yes <br />