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APPROVED 6118102 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 18, 2002 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Monday, February 18, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. Brawn, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon, and Stephen Halkiotis COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Jahn M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (all other staff members will be identified appropriately below} NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. OPENING COMMENTS Chair Jacobs opened the meeting. Commissioner Gordon said that a hearing was held on the Transportation Improvement Program for the regional priority list. She will give a full report on the meeting tomorrow. In the hearing, approximately a dozen people spoke and half of those spoke on the Elizabeth Brady Road extension, including Mayor Joe Phelps, Hillsborough Tawn Commissioner Ken Chavious, and former Hillsborough Town Commissioner Brian Lowen. According to Ken Chavious, the EDD work group, from Hillsborough's paint of view, was not supposed to be addressing transportation. Hillsborough considers the EDD transportation work group as something that was not sanctioned. The thrust of the comments was that Hillsborough wants the original alignment of Elizabeth Brady Road. One speaker was against the road crossing the Eno River. She said that she told everyone at the hearing that the Board of County Commissioners had sanctioned the work group and that the Commissioners did it in good faith. The Elizabeth Brady Road extension is still on the regional priority list, #9. 1. State Budget Shortfall Impacts on Orange County John Link said that this update would give the County Commissioners an overview of how the sequestering of revenues by the Governor that are earmarked for local governments will impact Orange County. He emphasized, especially to the press, that the ideas expressed tonight by the staff are only potential ways to address the proposal. Budget Director Donna Dean said that on February 5, 2002, Governor Easley declared a fiscal state of emergency and took action to balance the State budget. The Governor estimated that the state was going to have a $900 million budget shortfall. The Governor's proposal is to withhold $209 million from the local governments. Ninety-five million dollars of that is from inventory tax reimbursements to local governments, $26 million is from local beer and wine taxes, $7.9 million is from the ElderlylDisabled Property Tax Exemptions, and $80 million is from city utility franchise taxes {cities only}. For Orange County, the anticipated loss is about $712,000.