Agenda 06-16-2026; 8-a - Minutes for May 12, 2026, May 14, 2026, May 19, 2026, May 21, 2026, and May 26, 2026

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17 1 Maria Justice said she is on the board for the Friends of the Passmore Center. She asked the 2 Board to examine what she characterized as a contradiction in the proposed budget: projections show 3 that Orange County residents aged 60 and older will comprise 26% of the population by 2035, yet the 4 budget proposes $3.5 million in capital project funding while allowing existing community needs to go 5 unmet. She expressed opposition to Pay-Go proposals that fund new projects while current operational 6 needs remain unfunded, and asked that the Board not reduce staffing at the Department on Aging, 7 given the Passmore Center's growing population. She also raised a specific concern about the purchase 8 of a $32,000 commercial lawnmower despite the county contracting mowing services. 9 Lori Russell said she will take her seat on the Board of Education in July. She spoke on her own 10 behalf, acknowledging the Board's service and process. She stated she moved to Orange County for the 11 schools and accepted higher taxes as a trade-off for a community committed to excellent public 12 education. She said that Orange County Schools has not raised certified teacher supplements in a 13 decade, while Wake, Durham, Guilford, and Chapel Hill-Carrboro, all within commuting distance, now 14 pay significantly more. She noted that the county's proposed living wage increase to $20.02 per hour for 15 county employees acknowledges that county workers cannot afford to live in Orange County at current 16 wages and argued the same logic must apply to school employees who face the same cost-of-living 17 pressures. She also noted that declining enrollment figures obscure real growth in Exceptional Children 18 (EC) and multilingual learner populations, which come with legally mandated obligations that do not 19 scale with headcount. 20 Lloyd Adler-Johnson said he is an Orange County resident and a paramedic for Orange County. 21 He noted that Orange County is served by eight Advanced Life Support ambulances for approximately 22 150,000 residents, with only six running 24-hour coverage, and that the county regularly experiences 23 surges in 911 demand requiring mutual aid from Durham, Alamance, Chatham, and Person Counties. He 24 stated that this situation has persisted for years. He reported that previously planned wage increases for 25 EMS personnel have been suspended indefinitely, meaning EMTs earning at or near the living wage will 26 continue to fall behind as costs of living rise. He also noted that paramedics in training who signed 27 contracts with the county in exchange for training now face being contractually obligated to work at 28 lower wages than expected, which he said sets the stage for current workers to leave for better-paying 29 agencies and compounds recruitment challenges. 30 Marie Sykes said she has been an Orange County resident for 2 years, but moved a lot of a child. 31 She described her upbringing as a Navy family, always finding community in libraries. She also noted 32 that her cousin is a part-time staff member at the Chapel Hill Public Library who would face job loss 33 under the proposed budget cuts, and that LINC's library science program, which is one of the top in the 34 world, produces many of the library's staff members. She noted that even charging $65 to each of the 35 15,000 out-of-town cardholders would make up the deficit from proposed cuts but argued that those 36 most at risk are those who simply cannot afford library cards and would lose access entirely. 37 Rachel Bearman advocated for additional funding for the Department on Aging. She said the 38 Department on Aging serves as an exemplar for the rest of the state on what should be done to serve 39 older adults aging in community. She asked the Board to reconsider eliminating the shared social worker 40 position with DSS. 41 Brian Link said he is the President of the CHCCS Association of Educators, and is a social studies 42 teacher at East Chapel Hill High School. He said he is heartened by the solidarity shown in the room 43 tonight. He acknowledged that the Board has a hard job and that no one should be placed in the 44 position to choose between serving the aging population, providing affordable housing, and funding 45 public schools. He charged the community to stand with the Board of County Commissioners. He 46 thanked the County Manager for his effort in producing a recommended budget document that includes 47 an increase to the schools and thanked the Board for including Pay-Go funding that will continue to fund