AGENDA #13

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Proposed Calendar for Council Meetings through December 2006, Including the 2005-06 Budget Process

 

DATE:             September 12, 2005

 

 

The attached resolution would adopt a calendar of Council meetings through December 2006.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Section 2-3 of the Town Code establishes a schedule of regular business meetings of the Council on the second and fourth Mondays of most months, and public hearing meetings normally on the third Mondays of January through June and September through November.

 

In September, the Council normally adopts a calendar for the following year (in this case through December 2006) with changes made as needed due to holidays and other events.  The attached material outlines the proposed calendar from September 2005 to December 2006.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The proposed calendar includes schedules for:

 

1.      Preparation of the annual budget and 15-year capital improvement program.

 

2.      General planning session of the Council on Thursday, January 13, 2006 (so as not to conflict with observances honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. that are normally scheduled on the Friday before the holiday).

 

3.      A public forum and action by the Council on potential legislative requests during the 2006 session of the General Assembly.

 

4.      Preparation of plans to use grants for:

• public transit,
• community development,
• public housing renovations,
• the Town's public housing operating budget, and
• the County-wide HOME program.

5.      Consideration of performance agreements with human services agencies, use of hotel/motel taxes for visitor information services and support of cultural events.

 

6.      Consideration of a tax rate for the Downtown Tax District.

 

7.      Joint planning hearing dates reserved on the fourth Thursday in September 2005 (September 29), October 2005 (October 20), and the third Thursday in March 2006 (March 23), and subject to concurrence by the Town of Carrboro and Orange County.

 

8.      Assembly of Governments meeting dates reserved on the fourth Thursday in April 2006 (April 28) and the fourth Thursday in September 2006 (September 28).

 

General Comments:

 

The proposed processes and meeting dates are similar to those adopted by the Council for 2004-05.  For example, the budget process includes public forums in late January and late March, a public hearing in mid-May, and several dates for work sessions of the Council.

 

We recognize that the Council may wish to follow a budget process different from those of the past and will be pleased to assist the Council in developing options.  In case the Council wishes to resume the practice of meeting with advisory boards and Department Heads we have included time for presentations early in the budget process, in mid- to late-February.  No meetings are scheduled for July and August.

 

Holidays, Annual Meetings, etc.

 

As in past years, the proposed calendar takes into account holidays, various religious observances, the annual meeting of the N.C. League of Municipalities in October, and the spring breaks in the University's and City Schools' calendars.

• The first business meeting in March is proposed for March 6, due to a National League of Cities meeting from March 11-15.
• The University's and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' Spring Breaks do not coincide in 2006.  The University's Spring Break is scheduled from March10-19; the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools' Spring Break is from March 27-31.

 

We suggest that some meetings that need to be rescheduled from Mondays be held on Wednesdays, thus avoiding overlap with Planning Board and Transportation Board meetings usually held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.  We note meetings proposed to be held on the following dates:

• November 9 (to avoid conflict with Election Day) and moved two meetings scheduled for November up one week each to avoid the Thanksgiving holidays (November 9, November 14 and November 21);
• January 18 (to avoid conflict with Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday);
• January 25 (Public Hearing on the Budget);
• February 22 and 24 (Budget Work Sessions);
• March 22 (Public Forum on the Budget); and
• March 29 (to avoid conflict with holiday observances).

 

Additional Options

 

a.         2006 Budget Forum and Hearing Dates

 

The proposed forum and hearing dates are scheduled for Wednesday, January 25 and Wednesday,March 22.  We recommend scheduling the budget forums and hearings separate from the regular business meetings of the Council so that Council meetings are not unduly long.

 

b.         Budget Development Schedule

 

We propose the following budget work session schedule.  As in past years, we have rotated the starting times for the work sessions based on the Council's instructions.

 

Date	Day of Week	Meeting
January 13	Thursday	Council planning session; including budget/finance (8:30 a.m.)
January 25	Wednesday	Public Hearing on Budget and Related Items (7:00 p.m.)
February 8	Wednesday	Budget Work Session – Meet with Advisory Boards and Others (4:00-7:00 p.m.)
February 15	Wednesday	Budget Work Session – Meet with Advisory Boards and Others (5:30-8:30 p.m.)
February 22	Wednesday	Budget Work Session – Department Presentations (4:00-6:00 p.m.)
February 24	Friday	Budget Work Session – Department Presentations (12 noon-5:00 p.m.)
March 6	Monday	Business Meeting – Action on related budget items; submittal of Public Housing Program operating budget (7:00 p.m.)
March 22	Wednesday	Public Forum – Status Report on 2004-05 Budget (7:00 p.m.) (HOME grant program and CD grant submittals.)
April 5	Wednesday	Budget Work Session (4:00-6:00 p.m.)
April 24	Monday	Business Meeting – Submittal of recommended budget (7:00 p.m.)
April 26	Wednesday	Budget Work Session (5:30-7:30 p.m.)

 

Date	Day of Week	Meeting
May 10	Wednesday	Public Hearing on Recommended Budget and related items (7:00 p.m.)
May 17	Wednesday	Budget Work Session (4:00-6:00 p.m.)
June 12	Monday	Consideration of adopting budget and related items (7:00 p.m.)
June 23	Monday	Consideration of performance agreements (7:00 p.m.)

 

c.         Meetings of the School Board and OWASA Board

 

The proposed schedule also takes into account the regular schedule of meetings in the Council Chamber of the Board of Education on the first Thursdays of most months and of the OWASA Board of Directors on the fourth Thursdays of most months.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Any schedule of meetings is subject to change by the Council in the future if there is a need for additional meetings or other changes.  Adopting a calendar at this time would be useful to boards and commissions and citizens' groups who will schedule meetings in coming months.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Council adopt the attached resolution.