Orange County manager Bonnie Hammersley’s $236.4 million recommended budget includes a 1.5 cent property tax increase, but commissioners could opt to implement a larger increase this year in hopes of eliminating increases in upcoming budgets.

Hammersley said Thursday that commissioners could implement the 1.5 cent increase to continue the path of incremental increases started last year. Or the board could vote to increase property taxes at a rate of 5.8 cents this year. That would immediately go into a reserve to pay for future debt service, Hammersley said. In the incremental model, after smaller adjustments, an increase of more than five cents is still projected in the fiscal year beginning in 2021 in order to finance the final draw on the $120 million school bond approved in 2016. But Hammersley said the incremental approach does allow for more flexibility if things change between now and that projected jump.

Nearly 50 percent of the General Fund Revenue in the recommended budget is proposed for schools – with a recommended per-pupil allocation of $4,340, a $175 increase over last year. Chapel Hill – Carrboro City School and Orange County Schools receive the same per-pupil spending from the county, while Chapel Hill – Carrboro Schools have an additional district tax.

The recommended per-pupil spending falls short of the requested amount from each school district. Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools had requested additional funding for parental leave. The county allocates the money to the school districts, which then have the authority to finalize how that money is spent.

A total of $260,000 for racial equity training is proposed for school staff from both districts, under the recommended budget.

The proposal includes a 2 percent pay raise for county employees and an increase in funding required by the state for employee retirement.

The solid waste management fee is proposed to increase by $10 to $142 in the recommended budget. Hammersley told reporters during a meeting before the budget was publicly presented that the hope was still to cap the fee at $148 next year, which is projected to serve as a self-funding department at that point without further allocations from the county’s general fund.

The recommended budget includes funding new positions, including two new Orange Public Transit drivers and an operations manager, five new sheriff’s deputies – the sheriff had requested 10 – a criminal justice resources attorney and a community paramedic. Hammersley is also proposing a new position of IT security officer in the wake of a virus attack that crippled the county’s computer system earlier this year.

Hammersley said one challenge in this year’s budget is that it is the first that the county is feeling the effect of losing the authority to charge impact fees on new developments to devote to school construction costs, which the General Assembly stripped away from the county. Several large developments are also projected to come onto the tax books in the coming years – including Carraway Village, Wegmans and other projects Hammersley said she hoped would be announced in the next six months – but it will still be years before the county is able to work with those new commercial tax dollars.

Public hearings and work sessions on the proposed budget are scheduled to be held over the next six weeks before commissioners could adopt the final budget on June 18.

You can view the recommended budget here.

Related Stories
‹
Orange County: The Site of the Future Crisis Diversion Facility + Discussing Tax Rates and Revaluation
Chair of the Orange County Commissioners Jamezetta Bedford joins 97.9 The Hill News Director Brighton McConnell over the phone on Wednesday, April 16.
With Revaluation Underway, Orange County Faces Another Significant Rise in Property Values
Orange County is likely to see a jump of more than 50% in total property value this four-year cycle once revaluation appraisals are finished.
Climate Change Tax Narrowly Passed by Orange County Commissioners
Orange County Commissioners approved a quarter-cent increase on the property tax rate that will go to the funding of county projects tackling climate change. After a roughly hour-long discussion among the commissioners Tuesday night, a 4 to 3 vote passed the amendment into the county’s 2019-2020 budget. Commissioner Mark Marcoplos, who proposed the budget amendment […]
Orange County Commissioners Weigh Budget Amendments on Climate, Schools
The final pieces of the puzzle that will form next year’s Orange County operating budget will be negotiated on Tuesday night as the county commissioners hold a work session to discuss more than two dozen amendments that have been proposed by commissioners and county staff during the budget process. “The amendments are proposed, nothing has […]
Chapel Hill Manager Recommending $113 Million Budget, 1.6 Cent Property Tax Increase
The budget that Chapel Hill town manager Maurice Jones is proposing totals more than $113 million and includes a 1.6 cent property tax increase. Jones is set to present his recommended budget to the Chapel Hill Town Council on Wednesday night, starting the process for the town to finalize its budget before the council breaks […]
Orange County Tax Office Now Requiring Return of Tax Listing Forms
The Orange County Tax Office has modified its procedures for returning Tax Listing Forms. In the past, residents were not required to return their forms if they did not make any property changes. Now, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners Penny Rich says the county is asking all taxpayers to return the form, […]
Budget Corrections Bill Would Allow Durham-Orange Light Rail to Move Forward
The technical corrections bill passed both chambers of the legislature and now awaits the signature of Governor Roy Cooper to become law.**** After appearing, once again, to be targeted by the North Carolina General Assembly, it seems as though the Durham-Orange Light Rail project has fought off its impending death. The 17.7-mile light rail […]
Budget Proposal Targets Durham-Orange Light Rail Funding
North Carolina Republican legislators unveiled their budget proposal late on Memorial Day. Durham Democratic state senator Floyd McKissick said that in three lines the budget “placed in jeopardy the future funding of the light rail system between Durham and Chapel Hill.” McKissick and other local elected officials have derided the budget and the process Republican […]
Orange County Commissioners Discussing Education Funding Thursday Night
Orange County manager Bonnie Hammersley is proposing a $174 increase in per-pupil funding in her recommended budget. But that recommendation still falls short of what each school district in the county is requesting. Hammersley is proposing a total of $109.1 million for the county’s two districts – Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill – Carrboro […]
Governor Rolls Out School Safety Funding Pitch at Cedar Ridge High School
Governor Roy Cooper was shuffling through the hallways and offices of Cedar Ridge High School on Thursday, meeting with school support personnel – counselors, the school nurse. Cooper said these were vital roles for public education in North Carolina. “Often, people who could make more money doing something else,” Cooper said, “decide they want to […]
›