Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2 <br /> Consider the authorizing bond order on May 7, 2024 <br /> first reading and call for a required <br /> public hearing <br /> Hold public hearing June 4, 2024 <br /> Take final action on bond order on June 18, 2024 <br /> second reading <br /> In any event, the Board must complete its formal authorization process before the summer break <br /> to allow the County Board of Elections adequate time for ballot printing and other organizational <br /> matters for the referendum. <br /> If the Board adopts the preliminary resolution for$300 million in School bonds, the Board can later <br /> in the process reduce the bond amount, but the Board cannot increase the amount beyond <br /> whatever amount is included in the attached resolution (unless the process was re-started). <br /> Both the Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill — Carrboro City School Boards of Education <br /> have adopted resolutions in support of the bond referendum process. <br /> SECURITY FOR BOND REPAYMENT: A general obligation bond, as proposed, is not secured <br /> by any physical collateral. Instead, the County promises to levy property taxes in whatever amount <br /> is necessary to provide for repaying the bonds, including the interest on the money borrowed <br /> through the bonds. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: If the voters approve, the bonds will provide funds for priority public school <br /> projects that would otherwise have to be paid for out of recurring revenues or borrowed through <br /> more expensive and less flexible means. <br /> County staff has worked closely with the County's financial advisers to estimate the effect on the <br /> County's tax rate that repaying the bonds is likely to have. The estimates are based on a variety <br /> of assumptions, including assumptions about when the bonds would be issued, the interest rates <br /> that the bonds will carry, the repayment period, and growth in the County's tax base over time. <br /> The estimated tax impact is likely to be different from the actual impact. <br /> Based on the County's assumptions, repaying the bonds and related interest is estimated to have <br /> a tax rate equivalent impact of 3.41 cents per $100 of valuation, with all that increase scheduled <br /> for the County's 2025-26 Fiscal Year. <br /> The County will work to minimize the tax rate impact, in a manner consistent with moving ahead <br /> with the projects and addressing other County needs. <br /> SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to <br /> this item: <br /> • GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION <br /> Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting and <br /> volunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation. <br />