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Chair Jacobs said this was first brought up at their joint meeting with Carrboro. <br /> Steve Brantley said he will focus on the economic development portion of article 46. <br /> He reviewed the following background information, as outlined in the abstract: <br /> Background: Orange County voters successfully passed a referendum in November <br /> 2011 to levy a one-quarter quarter (1/4) cent sales tax that generates additional annual <br /> funding for education and economic development purposes. Now called "Article 46", the <br /> funding program was forecast to generate $2.5 million annually in new local sales tax proceeds <br /> which would be split equally between education and economic development, each receiving <br /> $1.25 million. The 50/50 share of Article 46 funds for economic development was initially set <br /> for 10 years. The Orange County Board of Commissioners adopted a Resolution in December <br /> 2011 authorizing the new one-quarter cent sales tax, and actual proceeds began to accrue at <br /> the State level and distributed to Orange County in early 2012. <br /> There is no set protocol for Article 46 funding requests for economic development projects, <br /> such as proposed by the municipalities, to be considered by the County. Previous requests <br /> have been tied to specific project needs, and presented directly to the Board of <br /> Commissioners, the County Manager, and on occasion, by the towns' economic development <br /> staff to the Orange County Economic Development office. Proposed changes regarding how <br /> Article 46 is administered, such as defining the primary expenditure categories or overall <br /> objective may require the Board Commissioners to modify the existing Resolution. <br /> Attachments A and C provide a summary table, pie chart and current balances of the key <br /> sectors where Article 46 funds are used for economic development in Orange County. <br /> Assuming an annual $1.25 million receipt in sales tax proceeds, the Article 46 program and the <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners' adopted Resolution identify seven (7) main economic <br /> development expenditures, as follows: <br /> Key Sector% of Total $ Annually <br /> • Debt service on water, sewer & associated 60% $750,000 <br /> Infrastructure made in Orange County's three <br /> (3) Economic Development Districts <br /> (Eno, Hillsborough and Buckhorn) <br /> • Orange County's Small Business Loan Fund 16% $200,000 <br /> • Entrepreneurial & Incubator Support 8% $100,000 <br /> • Business Investment Grants 8% $100,000 <br /> • Agriculture Investment Grants 5% $60,000 <br /> • Marketing & Collaborative Outreach 1.5% $20,000 <br /> • Advertising, Publishing & Collateral Materials 1.5% $20,000 <br /> 100% $1,250,000 <br /> Debt <br /> Debt Service on Utilities - 60% of annual expenditures ($750,000) <br /> Funding to cover debt service on utilities, as currently being installed in the Buckhorn <br /> Economic Development District, was immediately put to use, and has already yielded a <br /> significant economic development "win" for Orange County. This $4 million project, initiated in <br /> late 2012, created a `backbone' sewer and water system to service or augment over 1,000 <br /> acres of economic development lands, stretching from the Cheeks and Efland areas westward <br /> toward the City of Mebane. This project included 2 miles of gravity sewer (18" gravity in <br /> western zone and 12" gravity in eastern zone) and 3 miles of 16" water system. Besides <br /> adding to the inventory of additional utility serviceable acres, the 16"water system created a <br />