This series of posts will be made weekly on Chapelboro to help inform our community about local government meetings. All meeting days, locations and times may be subject to change. Check town, county, and school district websites for additional information.
Budget season is wrapping up in local government, with final votes scheduled for Orange County, Chatham County, and the city of Durham. But there are other agenda items this week that may draw more attention: Durham will consider extending a moratorium on AI data centers; Orange County Schools will consider adding metal detectors at sporting events; and Chatham County Commissioners will consider filling a board vacancy – the same subject that sparked a surprisingly heated debate at last month’s meeting.
Here’s a rundown of local government meetings this week in Durham, Orange, and Chatham Counties.
Orange County
Orange County Commissioners meet Tuesday, June 16, at 7 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center. County commissioners will give final approval to next year’s budget and 10-year capital improvement plan; the board worked out the details at a meeting earlier this month. Click here for a link to the agenda, which also includes a discussion of broadband extension to rural Orange County.
The Carrboro Town Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 16. Click here for the agenda, which includes a staff update on hurricane readiness and a discussion of the process of updating the town’s unified development ordinance, or UDO.
The Chapel Hill Town Council meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 17. Click here for a link to the agenda, which includes staff updates on the process of implementing the town’s Complete Community initiative and updating Chapel Hill’s Land Use Management Ordinance, or LUMO.
And the Orange County School Board meets Monday, June 15, at 7 p.m. in the Whitted Building. The board will vote on an updated five-year strategic plan; consider adding metal detectors for sporting events; identify legislative priorities for the General Assembly; and hold a work session on the district’s Priority Four, which seeks to improve student attendance and mental health and reduce discipline issues. Click here for the full agenda.
Chatham and Durham Counties
Chatham County Commissioners meet Monday, June 15, in the historic Pittsboro courthouse. After a 2 p.m. work session that includes presentations on healthcare, the board will reconvene for their regular meeting at 6 p.m. with an agenda that includes a final vote on next year’s budget and a discussion of how to fill the vacant seat on the board following David Delaney’s departure last month.
On that vacancy: Delaney’s term expires in November and the Chatham County Democratic Party has recommended current sheriff Mike Roberson for the appointment, as Roberson has already won the primary for a full term and will be unopposed in the November election. (The party’s recommendation is relevant, as Delaney was a Democrat and commissioners are legally required to appoint a fellow Democrat to replace him.) Commissioners could choose to accept the recommendation and appoint Roberson Monday night, but such a move would not be without some controversy: Delaney’s departure became contentious last month when he accused fellow board members of violating open meetings law by speaking of Roberson’s appointment as if it were a done deal outside of official meeting times.
Click here for a link to the agenda.
And the Durham City Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday, June 15. Council members will take a formal vote to adopt next year’s budget, consider a 10-month moratorium on AI data centers and data mining facilities, and consider a resolution restricting the police department’s use of surveillance technology (including license-plate reader cameras and artificial intelligence programs, among other things). Click here for the full agenda.
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