Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
The Chapel Hill Town Council received a report from Town Manager Roger Stancil outlining how he plans to achieve $2,482,000 in budget cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year.
The plan, reviewed at the council’s meeting Monday night at Town Hall, includes $1.8 million in reductions achieved mainly by not filling vacancies and freezing new positions. Stancil said the goal was to cut as much as possible without compromising services to residents. He acknowledged that some departments would be understaffed, but did not think it would cause severe delays.
“It should not be something people notice too significantly in the short term,†Stancil said.
The $1.8 million allocated by department would be held in reserve and require the town manager’s approval to be spent. Stancil said he could reach the rest of the goal of a 5 percent reduction by delaying $400,000 in post-retirement benefits and saving $300,000 in debt service by delaying bonds on the proposed library expansion. The manager said given the uncertain financial situation, it is likely that waiting a year on the financing will be necessary anyway.
Mayor Kevin Foy asked Stancil how further reductions would affect services.
Stancil said that cuts beyond the $2.5 million would likely require town service reductions or cuts. He warned that too great a reduction in town spending could contribute to the economic slowdown. “We have a responsibility to spend in this community,†he said. Reducing that too much will contribute to the problem. “That has a spinoff effect in the community.â€
In other action, the council approved a new downtown parking plan to accommodate construction of the 140 West development, which is to be built on the town’s Parking Lot 5 at Church and Rosemary Streets. The council approved $83,400 to implement a replacement parking program that includes up to 73 spaces in the West End on property owned by Joe Riddle and P.H. Craig. The plan also calls for improving Parking Lot 4 next to the Inter-Faith Council shelter to add 18 spaces and up to 15 on-street spaces along West Franklin Street in the vicinity of the new project.
Construction at 140 West could start as early as spring 2009.
The council also agreed to continue the public hearing on the UNC Innovation Center on Jan. 26.
The next council meeting is Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.