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31 <br /> 1 Slide#12 <br /> FY 2026-27 Operating Budget options <br /> • Payments to Municipalities <br /> Payments to Municipalities <br /> Recreation Subsidies <br /> Chapel Hill-$83,760 $ 125,108 <br /> • Carrboro- -$35,898 <br /> • Mebane-$5,450 <br /> Chapel Hill Library(additional%of payment) $ 310,662 <br /> OTAL $ 435,813 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> 12 NCJRTH CAR"] INA <br /> 2 <br /> 3 Travis Myren noted a $125,000 annual non-departmental payment to municipalities for <br /> 4 recreation programming, which dates to the 1970s in some amount and has been maintained without <br /> 5 re-examination. He also noted the remaining Chapel Hill Library contribution as a separate payment <br /> 6 within that category. <br /> 7 Commissioner Carter said it looks like the Town of Chapel Hill has allocated approximately $5 <br /> 8 million for the library budget and asked what proportion of the total budget is provided by the county. <br /> 9 Travis Myren said that the county allocation to the Chapel Hill Public Library is around 6% of the <br /> 10 total budget. <br /> 11 Commissioner Bedford noted that the Town of Chapel Hill's own proposed budget increases <br /> 12 library funding and said she wants to ensure clarity for the public, noting that the county's reduction <br /> 13 does not eliminate the library's total budget. She observed that residents might be under the impression <br /> 14 that the county's decrease in funding represents a far larger cut to library services than is actually <br /> 15 proposed. <br /> 16 Travis Myren confirmed those points. <br /> 17 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the phase-out of library funding was a new concept or was <br /> 18 discussed in the past. <br /> 19 Commissioner McKee said he had not found definitive language in meeting minutes, but <br /> 20 recalled there were discussions over the years that, with the investment in an Orange County Southern <br /> 21 Branch Library,the funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library would decrease. <br /> 22 Commissioner Greene confirmed she was involved in library discussions as a Chapel Hill Town <br /> 23 Council member and recalled that Orange County had advocated for interoperability between the two <br /> 24 library systems, and Chapel Hill asked for more county funding to serve users who resided outside of the <br /> 25 Town. She said both jurisdictions entered into an MOU from 2012 to 2015, but neither was fully satisfied <br /> 26 with the terms, and the agreement was not renewed, and there was a general understanding, though <br /> 27 not a formal commitment, that county funding would be revisited upon the opening of a Southern <br /> 28 Branch Library. <br />