The Board of Orange County Commissioners approved a budget plan for the 2020-21 fiscal year, one created with more uncertainty than normal due to the ongoing pandemic.

The board approved the latest proposal at its virtual business meeting on Tuesday. The operating budget, which is just more than $239 million, represents a slight increase from last fiscal year’s, which was more than $237 million. The county’s allocation for school funding largely remained the same as the previous year, with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools receiving $53.3 million and Orange County Schools receiving $35.6 million. Orange County’s capital investment plan funding, which was also approved on Tuesday, saw a 27 percent decrease with $35 million slated for 2020-21.

Chair of the board Penny Rich spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck on Wednesday about the budget. She described the approved plan as “pretty bleak,” since the county expects many of its revenue sources to be down due to the coronavirus and possibility of Governor Roy Cooper re-enacting a stay at home order in the future.

“We’re really hoping we can get back to [business] before COVID-19,” she said, “but it’s going to take a while. We all know the predictions now and with our cases on the rise, we don’t know what the governor is going to do.”

While the county largely did not raise property taxes for residents, Rich said no raises, new hirings or travel expenses were included for the next year. Officials project it could be a difficult year for the town to earn back revenue due to less tourism or people spending with the county, which means less sales tax dollars going to the county government.

“We make millions and millions of dollars a year on our tourism,” said Rich, “and so does the university. That is just not going to happen [in this next year.]”

Rich also said the county has hired a consultant who will help construct a recovery plan over the next 90 days. One version of that recovery plan would be if the county does see an unforeseen increase in revenue if commerce picks back up. The chair said she imagines the county could then turn that excess money into more possible small business loans.

Rich also indicated more funding will be coming the county’s way from the state and federal government to help battle COVID-19. On Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services granted Orange County more than $400,000 of federal funding, but that money will be specifically for the county health department. Any funding from the CARES Act will also be exclusively used for public health efforts against the coronavirus.

To view the full budget approved by the Board of Orange County Commissioners, visit the county’s website.

Photo via Orange County.

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