By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL – In a move that will reduce Chapel Hill Transit bus service and likely impose fees for library use on county residents who live outside of Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill Town Council voted unanimously on Monday to approve the town’s fiscal year 2011-12 operating budget.
The $50.5 million budget holds the property-tax rate at 49.4 cents per $100 of valuation, or $988 on a $200,000 home, the same rate that applied in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The budget also maintains the downtown service-district tax rate of 7.1 cents per $100 of valuation.
Included in the approved budget is a fee schedule that specifies a $60-per-household annual fee for those who live outside Chapel Hill to use the Chapel Hill Public Library, but Town Manager Roger Stancil said the fee is simply a placeholder until the council approves a more detailed plan on June 27.
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said the council will have the chance to review a sliding scale for the fee so that low-income library patrons are not overly burdened.
If the council does implement library usage fees for non-Chapel Hill residents of Orange County, the county will rescind its annual contribution to the library’s operating budget. The council has asked the Orange County Board of Commissioners to increase its allocation to the library budget as operating expenses increase with an impending expansion, and on Tuesday the board voted to increase its annual allocation from $250,000 to about $343,000. The move followed the county’s previous refusal to increase its contribution, which had remained static for 10 years.
“They want money, but with no conditions attached,†board Chair Bernadette Pelissier said Tuesday. “I was told that very clearly.â€
Orange County recently entered into negotiations to purchase a tract of land near Carrboro Elementary School for a possible Southwest Orange County Library.
Council member Matt Czajkowski questioned whether the town ought to charge more than $60 for library use and asked staff to look at how much town residents are paying for the library through their taxes.
Council member Laurin Easthom suggested that the town initiate the fee at $60, with a possible increase in the next few years.
“This is a big change, for the council, for the town,†she said. “Going from zero to 100 is a big step. … I think that $60 is a good way to begin as long as we agree to revisit it and assess it in a year or two.â€
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward said he felt that $100 was not too high, as long as the plan implemented a sliding scale.
“Setting it at $100 in this budget to me is acceptable as long as on the other side of the scale we’ve got a system in place that we can really address those folks that can’t meet $100 or can’t meet $60,†he said. “Maybe it would be an insurmountable barrier, and I wouldn’t want that to be the case.â€
Council members Sally Greene and Ed Harrison said they would like to further discuss the issue with the county to see if the fees could at least be postponed for another year.
“To me, it’s the wrong move,†Greene said. “I’m still in support of trying to work with the county to get whatever the county’s able to pay.â€
“I hate that we have to do this,†Harrison added.
The council will review a detailed plan regarding library fees and the county’s increased offer at its meeting on June 27.
Transit changes
Also in the budget, the council’s funding for Chapel Hill Transit includes about $900,000 in cuts to service for certain trips and routes. However, the budget restored service previously proposed for reduction on the G route, which runs from UNC out N.C. 54, through Glen Lennox, to the University Mall and then to the Briarcliff neighborhood. Staff had proposed eliminating service beyond Glen Lennox, which drew concern from about 70 residents, according to transit officials.
According to CHT projections, the service reductions could affect more than 1,000 riders a day, including 68 patrons of EZ Rider, CHT’s paratransit program that provides shared-ride transportation for disabled individuals.
Chapel Hill Transit’s budget has become increasingly tight with rising fuel costs, the economic downturn and increased maintenance costs, said Steve Spade, transit director.
CHT’s $17.7 million expenses are shared by Carrboro, Chapel Hill and UNC and partially funded through federal and state revenues and miscellaneous grants.
Also on Monday, the council approved a plan to implement advertising on CHT buses.
According to Spade, CHT could raise more than $500,000 annually with ad signs on its entire fleet and ad wraps on 15 buses. Under the advertising plan developed by CHT, certain kinds of advertising – such as ads for alcohol and beer – would be prohibited.
Harrison pointed out that the town itself could use the advertisements for things like voter referendums.
“I’m supporting it for financial reasons,†Easthom said. “I realize that we have to do it, but I don’t like it. … There is so much advertising in this world; it’s everywhere.â€