County budget proposal drops tax rate to 85.8 cents
By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
The Orange County Board of Commissioners debated proposed cuts in services Tuesday night, including the permanent closure of the Carrboro Branch Library at McDougle Middle School.
The discussion came after a presentation by County Manager Laura Blackmon of a proposed $177,589,039 budget for fiscal 2010, a drop of $5.4 million, or about 3 percent, from the budget adopted by commissioners last year. The school budget would drop by about $3.1 million and other county departments and programs would see a cut of about $2.3 million.
The proposal sets a tax rate of 85.8 cents per $100 valuation for the budget year beginning July 1, down from the current rate of 99.8 cents due to this year’s property revaluation. Although officially defined as revenue neutral under state rules, most county property owners would see an increase in their property tax bills, since the rate makes up for recession-driven reductions in vehicle taxes.
County budget director Donna Coffey said the budget picture is somewhat better than the last outlook provided for commissioners, as a result of updated numbers from the property revaluation and due to a lower than anticipated drop in sales tax revenue. She said early projections were for a 10 to 15 percent drop in sales tax revenues, but the actual reduction so far is closer to 2 percent.
Under the budget proposal, the county plans no cost-of-living pay increases, a 12-month hiring freeze and suspension of 401K contributions for non-law enforcement personnel. Major service cuts in the budget include reductions in solid-waste services (see story page 7) and the closure of library branches in Carrboro and Cedar Grove. Under a library restructuring plan, employees at those branches would move to the new main branch in Hillsborough and the collections would be dispersed.
Quizzed by commissioners about the restructuring, county library director Lucinda Munger said the actual savings are much larger than the numbers listed in the budget because if the braches were not closed the county would have to staff four new positions at the new main library.
The prospect of the closures did not sit well with Commissioner Mike Nelson, who said he could not support a budget that closed library branches. Nelson said most of the proposed service cuts elsewhere in the budget make sense. “This one doesn’t really fit the others,†he said of the library cuts. “I think we need to take a step back and look at other alternatives.â€
Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said the board should keep an open mind on the cuts, noting that while the budget only shows a $37,000 savings, the cost of adding the new employees rather than shifting them from the closed branches would be about $250,000.
Blackmon said she would be concerned about how the funding for the two branches would play out. The branches are already underfunded and have reduced hours, she said.
“If you want to do a branch library, you have to do it right,†Blackmon said.
Several Carrboro residents concerned about the branch library closures were in attendance at the meeting, including McDougle school librarians Carolyn White and Nancy Margolin. White said in addition to the closure, she was worried about what will happen to the collection, which has more than 18,000 items and is valued at around $445,000.
White said the proposal to disperse the collection, which has been added to with grants and gifts and reflects the interests and needs of the local community, doesn’t make sense.
In response to the proposed closure, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen agreed to hold a special meeting Monday a 6 p.m. at Town Hall to discuss concerns about library services cuts.
The commissioners are scheduled to hold public hearings on the budget May 21 in Hillsborough and May 26 in Chapel Hill, followed by a work session with school officials on May 28.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Blackmon said she and her staff are working on a list to give to the commissioners of possible alternative cuts and savings in exchange for restoring cuts in the proposed budget.
Commissioner Barry Jacobs noted that the county’s plan for a 12-month hiring freeze and no across-the-board pay increases was still a better deal than what school employees are getting, since the schools are likely to have to cut some positions.
Nelson asked to see a plan for furloughs for county workers that was drafted but not included in the budget.