Minutes 01-22-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Jacobs said he appreciated the manager's response about budgeting out of phase. He said he hopes that this can be communicated as a formal response to the Chair of the Chapel Hill Carrboro School Board. He said he voted against the parking deck in Hillsborough, not because he did not think it was needed, but because it was out of phase with the budget. He feels more comfortable with things being looked at holistically, so that judgments can be made about priority. Commissioner Jacobs said he is still getting used to OPEB, as it popped up in the mid 2000's. He said prior to that, the County was supposedly following best practices, and this was not on the radar. He knows this is law, and he feels there may be a political component as well. He would like to understand more about it as a policy is developed. Commissioner Jacobs referred to an earlier comment from Commissioner porosin about the ABC Board money. He suggested that the ABC Board money could go directly to the social justice fund. Commissioner Price thanked Clarence Grier for this final report and for his service to Orange County. Commissioner Burroughs said she was the Commissioner who asked the question about the uses of the fund balance. She said she understands the issues of not knowing what the state will do in this next budget cycle. She said she does appreciate the school system bringing the issue forward, and she said this issue of a time window will come up again. She said if the County waits for a bond to pass before planning and building, it will mean doing that concurrent with having to build a new elementary school. She said there is an opportunity, with this window, to get ahead of that and delay building a new elementary school. Commissioner Burroughs thanked Clarence Grier for his service to the County. Chair McKee also thanked Clarence Grier for his service to Orange County. Clarence Grier thanked them all for the opportunity to serve the Board of County Commissioners, the employees, and the residents of Orange County. Commissioner porosin said the recommendation is to put $1.5 million in the OPEB fund now. He asked, given the comments about phasing, why this cannot be done in June. Clarence Grier said when the County wants to issue debt they may have to go to the public markets to do this. He said this will be reviewed through the local rating institutions and the Local Government Commission LGC), who will ask whether the County has done what was promised as part of the budget policy. He said if this money is not put in now, it should not be delayed for long. Clarence Grier said there is an established policy of putting the funds into OPEB when there is an excess in fund balance. Bonnie Hammersley echoed Clarence Grier's comments. She said this is the year end of 2014. She said if you wait and do not put anything in now, it means missing a budget year. Chair McKee asked if an implied policy has been established by putting the money in during this time frame over the past several years. Clarence Grier said yes, this is an implied practice. A motion was made by Commissioner porosin, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to put$500,000 to the Post Employee Benefit Funds (OPEB); $450,000 to replenish the Social Justice Fund; and to leave $2.1 million as unassigned balance to be used to balance the FY 2015-16 budget. VOTE: Motion Fails 3-4 Ayes, 3 (Commissioner Jacobs, Commissioner porosin, and Commissioner Rich) - Nays, 4 (Commissioner Burroughs, Commissioner Price, Chair McKee, and Commissioner Pelissier) A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Burroughs to approve the following recommended uses of the General Fund available fund balance: