Minutes 05-29-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Clarence Grier reviewed the projections for 2015-16 and said the expected fund balance for this year is $4.5 million. He said the projection shows the budget at$3.9 million short, which equals 2.5 cents on the current property tax. Commissioner Gordon asked for clarification on the unassigned fund balance. She asked if the $36.7 million is after the $8.5 million has been removed. Clarence Grier said after the $8.5 million is removed, this will generate some fund balance, and it will be a little higher than $36.7 million. He said it will not be less than this amount. Commissioner Gordon asked about the goal of maintaining 17 percent. She asked what percentage these projections will be and what amount would equal the 17 percent. Clarence Grier said 17 percent would be $31.5 million, and the goal is to maintain this 17 percent. He said the early projections show the percentage to be 20.17 percent. He said this includes any increases, less the $8.5 million and the $3 million for OPEB. 3. Public Comment Todd Lofriese said he is here to speak on behalf of CHCCS. He said the Senate approved their budget, and it will have drastic effects if enacted. He said there is a long overdue need for teacher raises, and this proposal provides a raise, but it has strings attached. He said this proposal places a large increase in exchange for giving up tenure. He said the district proposal was 3 percent, and the state proposed average increase is 11 percent. He said the financial impact of this proposed raise would be $3.1 million, which is $1.7 million above the budget estimate. He said the senate proposal pays for this by cutting state funding for teacher assistants in half. He said this would cause a district funding loss of$1.8 million. He said a reduction of 22 assistant positions has already been considered, but the state reduction would result in the loss of an additional 57 assistant positions. He said central office and transportation cuts from the state would result in the loss of an additional $100,000. He said the total impact of the Senate proposal to the district could be as high as $3.6 million. He said this current scenario would mean a reduction of over $6 million would be needed to balance the budget, and the district feels it is important for the Commissioners to know this. He said both school districts are under a tremendous amount of pressure, and they need the Board's continued support. Jeff Hall is President of the CHCCS PTA Council, and up until a few hours ago he had planned to read an official statement from the council, asking for full funding of the budget. He said it was a great statement, but he has changed it up. He said he was recently asked where he would cut the budget to fund the schools. He said this body has historically shown their support for schools, but this year is different because things are different in Raleigh and in the district. He said there is no more fund balance, and grant monies have been spent. He said failure to fully fund schools means a loss of teaching jobs and a loss of educational opportunities for kids. He asked the County to fully fund the schools by whatever means necessary. Linda Foxworth read from the following written comments: My name is Linda Foxworth. I am the Director of the KidSCope Program. I want to start by thanking the Commissioners for supporting KidSCope since its beginning. KidSCope is a program that provides early intervention and family support to children and families where concerns about child development, both physical and mental health are present. As you know, KidSCope was originally funded for one year, received an increase, and was then reduced to $75,000. We have not requested an increase since 2009. I am speaking to you tonight to ask that KidSCope receive the full amount of funding requested for 2014-15. The increase requested is $23,562. With this increase, KidSCope will be able to achieve the best outcomes for children and families by offering the evidence-based mental health therapies that have been implemented since 2007. Most of our clients are Medicaid funded, and currently Medicaid rates have changed, dropping too low and allowing too little time to complete the therapy session in the manner recommended. Additional funding will allow longer sessions and travel time to and from homes. Some of the advantages to implementing these types of therapies are: