Agenda - 12-01-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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I Chair Jacobs said the County has been borrowing at low interest rates. He said it is 2 important to educate voters upfront when asking them to agree to these bonds. He said these 3 bonds will be a burden to the community, not a bad burden, but an expensive burden. 4 Chair Jacobs noted that there is a March presidential primary in 2016. He questioned 5 whether that is a date that qualifies for a bond under N.C. law. 6 Bob Jessup says if this stays in March then the bond can be on that date, but the 7 presidential primaries are subject to change on short notice. 8 Alderman Chaney said many areas got hammered by the legislature this year. She 9 questioned where else they might get squeezed. She asked if there would be an opportunity 10 cost for not doing a bond in 2016 due to the political environment. She wonders about the 11 appetite for affordable housing, especially for seniors. She is very interested in housing, and 12 she said there are no other resources available to subsidize seniors' housing except at the local 13 level. 14 Clarence Grier said the biggest concern would be additional costs being passed on from 15 the state or any restrictions on revenue or debt. He said this is going to be hard to predict. He 16 said the state has been limiting the County's ability to generate or raise certain revenues. He 17 said there has been an appetite to pass on state funded expenses to local governments and 18 counties. He said there were funds expended for senior housing on the last bond. He said this 19 would depend on the components of this next bond. 20 Alderman Haven O'Donnell asked if anyone in Orange County has looked at the 21 projected number of fixed income people that are going to be retiring in the next few years. She 22 feels there is going to be an unprecedented baby boom bump. She would love to see any 23 projections that staff have on this, as this will drive demand for services. 24 Chair Jacobs said three reiterations of the master aging plan have just been completed. 25 He said the Department on Aging is on top of these trends, and seniors would be one of the 26 groups that would be a big part of the bond committee. He said the bulk of the bond money will 27 go to schools, but he does not know what else will come out of that process. He said all four 28 governments will be represented in that discussion, as well as a lot of different interest groups. 29 Commissioner Price said affordable can mean many different things. She said she is 30 concerned about younger families that are living on the edge. She said there is a need for 31 housing for the lower wealth population. 32 Commissioner Pelissier said she agrees with Chair Jacobs that the senior community is 33 really on top of these issues. She said the most participation she has seen in County public 34 input sessions has been with the master aging plan. 35 She said she also wants to mention those who are at risk for homelessness. She noted 36 that the County had rapid re- housing money available, but there was no housing to be had. 37 She said this homeless population is coming in and out of the jails, and that is not going to 38 solve any problems. She said the provision of housing is key, and something needs to be done 39 at a local level. 40 Commissioner Rich said this is a cause and effect process. She said if the bond is not 41 placed, and the community is not involved in the decision, the County will still wind up building 42 the schools and spending the money. She said residents will then be taxed and not have a 43 choice. She said you have to build schools. She said the discussion of bonds allows the 44 community to be involved in the process. 45 Alderman Gist said it is the middle class that keeps getting squeezed, and that is very 46 real. She said the part she has trouble with is that the bond referendum is never really paid off, 47 because you never stop charging the tax, even after it is over. She questioned whether there is 48 a way to cut down on how much is being spent on the schools. 49 Chair Jacobs said these are good points. He gave some history of the past school 50 building process. He said the school systems are a huge part of the community's value. He