SUMMARY MINUTES OF A PUBLIC FORUM
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2006 AT 7:00 P.M.
Mayor Kevin Foy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Council members present were Laurin Easthom, Ed Harrison, Cam Hill, Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, and Bill Thorpe.
Council Members Sally Greene and Jim Ward were absent, excused.
Staff members present were Deputy Town Manager Florentine Miller, Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko, Planning Director J. B. Culpepper, Finance Director Kay Johnson, Housing Director Tina Vaughn, Interim Transportation Director Kurt Neufang, Housing and Neighborhood Services Coordinator Loryn Clark, Information Technology Director Bob Avery, Planner Aaron Gallagher, and Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver.
Mayor Foy noted that Council Member Greene was attended a meeting this evening on the Partnership to End Homelessness and that Council Member Ward was attending a meeting on air quality as a representative of the Council.
Item 1 – Public Forum: Status of the 2006-2007 Budget Preparations,
Preliminary Capital Improvements Program, Preliminary
Grant Proposals, and Other Budget-Related Items
Deputy Town Manager Florentine Miller presented an overview of the budget process and a brief background. She said this public forum provided an opportunity for citizens to comment on any aspect of the Town's budget and budget documents, including services that should be added, eliminated or changed. Ms. Miller noted that the Town's 2006-07 budget and service year would begin on July 1, 2006 in accord with State law.
Ms. Miller noted that on April 24th they would submit a recommended budget for the Council's consideration and invite citizens to comment at a public hearing scheduled for May 10th. She said on June 26, 2006, the Council would consider adoption of a budget for 2006-2007.
Regarding the Capital Improvements Program (CIP), Ms. Miller stated that this public forum would allow the Council to receive citizens' suggestions and comments regarding capital projects in the next 15 years. She noted that the CIP was a plan for major projects and purchases including:
Ms. Miller stated that Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin would highlight the key areas of the CIP. She said they would submit a recommended CIP on April 24th, with a public hearing scheduled for May 10th.
Regarding the 2006-07 Community Development (CD) grant, Ms. Miller stated the purpose of the public forum was to receive citizens' comments on how the Town should use federal Community Development grant funds in 2006-2007. She said that all citizens' comments received in writing and at public hearings would be compiled and addressed in a Community Development Plan to be submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development in May.
Ms. Miller stated that the Town receives a federal grant each year to benefit low- to moderate-income families through projects such as:
Ms. Miller noted that Agenda Item #1c provided a summary of the ways in which the CD grant could be used. She said the Town had been informed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that this year $598,300 would be available in the CD fund for 2006-07, noting that in 2005-06 the CD grant was $666,400. Ms. Miller added that a decrease in funding had been anticipated.
For the 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan, Ms. Miller noted that it included the plan for 2006-07 CD and HOME programs, established priorities for use of funds, and included a description of the Housing and CD program initiatives in Orange County. Ms. Miller said as the lead entity for the HOME Consortium, Orange County had hired a consultant to develop that plan. She said on April 24 they plan to recommend that the Council consider a 2006-07 CD Plan.
With regard to the Housing Capital Fund Program, Ms. Miller stated that the 2005-06 grant was $601,700. She said the Town had not yet received notice of the amount for 2006-07, but estimated it would be about the same. Ms. Miller remarked that current grant funds were being used primarily for renovations at the Airport Gardens public housing neighborhood. This year, she said, work was expected to begin on renovations of 11 apartments in the North Columbia Street neighborhood. On April 10, 2006, Ms. Miller noted, they plan to recommend that the Council consider a 2006-07 plan for using these funds.
For the HOME program, Ms. Miller commented that Item #1d provided a summary of the ways under which HOME Program funds could be used by Chapel Hill and Orange County. For the year 2006-07, she noted, HUD had awarded $665,560, with a local match required. Ms. Miller said as in past years, they planned to use funds from the Housing Loan Trust Fund for the Town’s portion of the local match, which was $61,400. She said on April 24 they would ask the Council to consider a plan for use of those funds.
Ms. Miller said, regarding Transportation grants for 2006-07, federal funding for transit services was estimated to be about $1.1 million and State funding was estimated to be about $3.3 million. She noted that the University and the towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill had agreed to share the local cost for transit services, adding that the cost-sharing formulas were set forth in separate contracts with the University and Carrboro.
Ms. Miller said this forum would invite public comment on the use of Downtown Service District taxes in 2006-07, as well as comment on the scope of projects and programs in the service plan for the Downtown District. She said currently, the Downtown District funds were allocated entirely to the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. Ms. Miller said they would develop recommendations for use of the Downtown District funds and for any other changes in services as part of the upcoming budget this spring. She noted a Public Hearing was scheduled for May 10.
Regarding potential legislative proposals, Ms. Miller stated that at the conclusion of the public comment period, the Council would have the opportunity to discuss these and any additional Council requests, and to share those ideas and requests with our local legislative delegation before submitting them for consideration to the General Assembly.
a. Preliminary Report on Development of the 2006-2007 Proposed Budget.
Finance Director Kay Johnson provided an overview of the status of work on development of the 2006-07 budget. She emphasized that this was not the Manager’s Recommended Budget, adding that that document would be presented to the Council on April 24th.
Ms. Johnson said that in order to understand where the Town needed to be, there were several overall issues that had to be taken into account: economic conditions, services and stability, fuel costs, bond sale, Downtown Development Initiative, Town Operations Center (TOC) operations, downtown services, and pay and benefits.
Ms. Johnson said in order to understand where we needed to be, there were several overall key issues for the upcoming budget for 2006-07 that had to be taken into account:
Ms. Johnson said there were several key changes from the March 8 Budget Working Session Presentation. She said that the Orange County tax assessor had provided an updated estimate of the tax base, and they were able to raise the original tax base estimation by $483,000 for a total of $25.7 million. Ms. Johnson noted they had raised their estimates of sales tax revenues for the current year to $9.1 million, approximately $900,000 over the current year budget. She said the increased current year estimate affects the estimate of receipts in 2006-07, as does an increase in the expected sales tax rate of growth to five percent from 2005-06 to 2006-07. Ms. Johnson said the total sales tax receipts estimated in January as $9.2 million were now estimated to total $9.6 million in 2006-07. While it is not unusual to have revenues in excess of budget, she said, they had included $765,000 of the increase as a special use of Fund Balance.
Ms. Johnson said on the cost side of the budget, they had just received new estimates for the proposed Aquatics Center that would require an additional $750,000 in funding. They had added a provision for this amount in the preliminary report, she said.
For the General Fund, Ms. Johnson noted the following:
· Base costs for next year’s budget were estimated to total $46.179 million for the General Fund. That total included increases in fuel costs, related charges for the TOC, and vehicle replacement charges.
· Base revenues total $47.326 million. Other sources of revenue included a Fund Balance carry-forward of $1 million, increased from the previous carry-forward of $800,000 at the request of a Council member, Fire Protection reserve funds at $114,000, a Traffic Grant adjustment of $50,000, Fund Balance sales tax at $765,000, and a Fund Balance accounting change that resulted in an additional $1 million. Total resources are estimated at $50.503 million.
· Priority additions to the base budget include:
o general market and merit adjustments at $772,000;
o the addition of five Police patrol officers for nine months for the downtown at $261,000;
o the addition of a groundskeeper for nine months at $35,400;
o the Downtown Economic Development Initiative at $60,000;
o the addition of six firefighters for three months, offset by other revenues received, for $92,000;
o an additional Children’s/Teen librarian for nine months at $37,000;
o the addition of a traffic technician at $35,400;
o the addition of funding for the Hargraves After-School Program at $29,400;
o the addition of Police mobile data terminals at $54,000;
o the addition of funding for on-demand video streaming of Council meetings at $31,000;
o the addition of $12,000 for the non-profit rental group;
o the additional of payment on bonds at $213,000;
o a transfer to Capital Improvements of $1.357 million;
o an additional allocation for the Aquatics Center at $750,000; and
o a potential revenue addition for Concept Plan Review at $4,200.
Ms. Johnson noted that with the base budget and priority additions, the total was $50,503,000. She said that total costs were $50,381,000, resulting in a shortfall of $122,200.
For the Transportation Fund, Ms. Johnson stated that the Town had base budget resources at $13.3 million, and base costs at $13.3 million. She noted the following potential priority additions:
· general market and merit adjustments at $290,000;
· new UNC routes at $224,000, to be paid by UNC; and
· new Carrboro feeder at $80,000.
Ms. Johnson said with these priority additions, the revenue shortfall totaled $122,000.
In other funds, Ms. Johnson stated that Stormwater Management would have a budget of $1.6 million, On-Street Parking would be at $600,000, Off-Street Parking would be at $1,290,000, and Public Housing was estimated at $1.6 million.
Ms. Johnson stated that the Manager’s Recommended Budget was scheduled to be presented to the Council on April 24th. She said that a public hearing on the Recommended Budget was scheduled for May 20, with adoption of the budget scheduled for June 26. Ms. Johnson said that budget work sessions were currently scheduled for April 5, May 17, May 31, June 7, and June 14.
b. Preliminary Report on the 2006-21 Capital Improvements Program.
Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin noted that the CIP was a 15-year plan for financing the Town’s major capital and infrastructure requirements, and he would focus on plans and priorities for the coming year. He said the preliminary capital budget included a base budget of $283,000, and additional projects totaling approximately $1.4 million. Mr. Heflin said those projects were detailed in Item #1b in priority order with a cumulative running total.
Mr. Heflin stated they had discovered an error in the Community Center funding, resulting in a first-year payment of the installment financing at a lower cost than previously estimated. He said they had also made adjustments that kept the overall total to $1.7 million, noting those adjustments included changes to Extraordinary Maintenance, the Mobile 800 MHz Radios, the Parking Lots/Bike and Pedestrian Paths/Greenway Trails repairs, and Greenways maintenance. Mr. Heflin said the total of $1.7 million was the same amount they had indicated last year in their projected estimates for this year.
Mr. Heflin explained that the materials also contained information on proposed spending from other sources, including grants. He said information on bond fund expenditures, which included funding form the 2004 sale of the 2003 bonds, was also shown, as were projected sales of the 2006 bonds. Mr. Heflin said information was also provided for Stormwater Management Fund projects.
Mr. Heflin said recommended that the Council refer the Preliminary report on the 2005-2020 Capital Improvements Program to Town advisory boards for review and recommendation, and refer all comments from tonight’s forum to the Town Manager.
c. Citizen Comment
Mayor Foy noted that the Council had received a number of emails and phone calls regarding citizen comments on the proposed budget, and they would become part of the permanent record of tonight’s public forum.
Dina Mills spoke in support of funding for the ArtsCenter. She said that although the ArtsCenter was located in Carrboro, the majority of its users were from Chapel Hill. Ms. Mills said that last year it had served 30,000 children through its programs, and had given out about $26,000 in scholarships. She said the ArtsCenter was reaching out to the Latino community, and last year began offering some of its programs in Spanish.
Ms. Mills stated the ArtsCenter was a wonderful resource for the community, and last year had received funding in the amount of $10,000. She said she would like to see that increased to $15,000 to help fund what the ArtsCenter was doing for the Chapel Hill community.
Robin Cutson urged caution on any CIP projects or issuance of bonds for projects that could possibly be deferred. She said the Town also needed to fully fund police officers for the downtown, since safety was an issue. Ms. Cutson urged that the Council consider that in future the Town may need to increase spending for hazardous materials and for specialized equipment for police officers and firefighters. She said that the University was now involved in biological warfare defense research, which involved dangerous pathogens such as anthrax, plague, and smallpox. Ms. Cutson said the public as well as the police or firefighters and other emergency personnel could be in danger should they be called to respond to a bio-containment leak, an accident involving the delivery of such materials to the research facility, or an act of terrorism.
Ms. Cutson said that since Carolina North was planned to be a biotech research park, then discussions on fiscal equity needed to take into account exactly what type of research would be conducted at that site. She stated that work involving dangerous pathogens would increase the need for protective equipment for police and firefighters as well as training.
Delores Bailey, director of EmPOWERment, Inc., said tonight she was representing five non-profits: Affordable Rentals Group, Habitat for Humanity, Crystallist, Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, and EmPOWERment. She requested funding for the non-profit property management position, noting that position would allow them to manage affordable rental housing more effectively, consistently and competently than the individual groups had been able to do. Ms. Bailey stated they were requesting partial funding in the amount of $13,500 from the Town, and would be requesting funding for the remaining costs from Orange County and the Town of Carrboro.
Whitney Kahn, youth director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, thanked the Council for including funding for them in the proposed budget. She briefly outlined some of the programs provided by the YMCA, noting that the funding provided by the Town would enable them to continue to provide programs for youth in the Pine Knolls and South Estes communities.
Robert Dowling, executive director of the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, stated he supported the request made by Ms. Bailey for funding of a property management position. He said he also supported the CDBG request by the Affordable Housing Group of Charlotte for the 32 housing units at Dobbins Hill II.
Mr. Dowling requested that the Council increase funding to Orange Community Housing and Land Trust to $124,000, an increase of $14,000 over the current fiscal year. He said the work of the Land Trust had expanded rapidly over the past three years, noting that they had increased the number of affordable homes by 25 last year, 22 of which were in Chapel Hill. Mr. Dowling noted that maintenance had not been an issue since most of the housing stock was three years old. In ten years it would be an issue that they would have to be prepared to address, he said.
Mr. Dowling said the increased workload required a dedicated and experienced staff, and he would like to retain the strong staff he now had. He said he had worked with the Town Manager and the Human Resources director to align their staff salaries along the same lines as the Town’s classification system. Mr. Dowling said although their benefits package was weak in comparison to the Town’s, they would at least like to pay their staff commensurate with their skill level and experience.
Council Member Thorpe asked Mr. Dowling how many staff persons worked at the Land Trust. Mr. Dowling responded five full-time and one part-time. He noted their budget was currently $350,000, with $110,000 coming from the Town. Mr. Dowling said those funds covered salaries, offices, lawyers, accountants, computers, phones, etc.
David Sasser, representing the Chapel Hill Firefighters Association Local 2580, asked the Council to grant the proposed addition of firefighters. He said that firefighting was built on the “buddy system,” noting that more firefighters on a team resulted in safer conditions for everyone. Mr. Sasser said more staffing would help them reach their goal of providing safer and more expedient firefighting, which resulted in saving lives and property.
Mr. Sasser stated they had looked at ten other communities of comparable size to see where Chapel Hill fell. He said to be just average they would have to add 36 firefighters to their ranks. Mr. Sasser said the results of their comparison put them last in categories such as population per firefighter, number of firefighters on duty daily, and total budget. He stated they wanted to start a metered implementation over time to meet one of their goals, which was to help create a fully sustainable community that could adequately protect its citizens and their investments. Mr. Sasser asked how sustainable the Town can be if it cannot protect the things that its citizens hold dear.
Carl Schuler, a resident of Vineyard Square, made a request for transit service along Weaver Dairy Road Extension, a one-and-a-half mile stretch from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Homestead Road. He said there were four neighborhoods in that area: Vineyard Square, Larkspur, Parkside, and Northwood. Mr. Schuler said those neighborhoods had a total of 456 households and about 1300 citizens that would benefit from transit service.
Mr. Schuler said they wanted transit service extended to the four neighborhoods, noting they wanted to conserve energy, reduce traffic congestion, encourage ridership, and have the Town accommodate the growth in that area and provide convenience of access to the transit system. He said within their neighborhoods they had affordable units, and that they, in particular, would be grateful to have access to bus service. Mr. Schuler said the “A” route could logically be extended to serve the neighborhoods.
Mayor Foy said he believed this request deserved a direct response, adding he believed this service could be provided through management of the system and without any additions to the budget. He asked Ms. Miller if that could be done. Ms. Miller said the staff would look into that to determine if any costs would be associated with it.
Council Member Harrison said Mr. Schuler had brought this request to the joint transit forum last month, and he believed it was time to get moving on it.
Delores Bailey said in Item #1c, page 10, the staff was recommending that $75,000 be granted from either CD or HOME funds to allow EmPOWERment to renovate or build one affordable home. She requested that the grant be increase to $150,000 to allow them to build or renovate two affordable homes.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said Ms. Bailey had requested $13,500 to partially fund the property management position, but staff was recommending $12,000. Ms. Bailey said she had previously provided a detailed breakdown of the costs, and $13,500 was the amount they believed should be Chapel Hill’s contribution.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked Ms. Johnson why the preliminary budget recommended $12,000. Ms. Johnson said she had determined that $12,000 was a more appropriate amount.
Jon Wilner, executive director of The ArtsCenter, requested that the Town increase funding for the ArtsCenter from $10,000, which was received in the current year, to $15,000 for the coming fiscal year. He said that funding would help them to begin the architectural programming for a new facility. Mr. Wilner noted he would be requesting additional funding from the Town of Carrboro and Orange County.
Mayor Foy pointed out that the citizens of Chapel Hill did contribute $200,000 to purchase that property, which indicated a great deal of support by the Council.
Council Member Harrison noted the Council had received an email regarding a request from Anna Mercer-McLean, Director of the Community School for People Under Six, to purchase two 24-passenger buses. Housing and Neighborhood Services Coordinator Loryn Clark noted that what Ms. Mercer-McLean was actually requesting was funds for the Town to operate a bus service for childcare centers throughout the community, which was not eligible Community Development activity. Therefore, she said, she believed that request would have to be referred back to the Council.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said the request by Mr. Wilner reminded him that he had received a call from the chair of the Public Arts Commission regarding the status of a question posed last year regarding whether the Public Arts Commission should play a role in making recommendations regarding arts-related budget items. He said he believed the Council had discussed doing that toward the end of the last budget season, and asked about the status of that. Ms. Johnson responded that she had met briefly with members of the Arts Commission this afternoon, and discussed that having them evaluate requests by other arts organizations would put them in the awkward position of having to evaluate themselves at the same time. She said she believed that the Arts Commission would be asking the Council to reassess how these requests were handled so that the Town did not put them in such a position.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked about the $750,000 needed for the aquatics center. Mr. Heflin responded they were in the design development phase of the project, and at the point where the second round of cost estimating was underway. He said the preliminary estimates from the design firm and consultants showed that the project would potentially cost the full $5 million allocated, which would leave them with no contingency. Mr. Heflin said there may be as much as six months to go before they receive bids, and the inflation rate was estimated to be about 15-18 percent. He said that could potentially leave them with about a $750,000 shortfall.
Mr. Heflin said they were working hard to identify savings within the program and to get firmer cost estimates. He said they did not yet have a complete picture but hope to have a clearer one in a few weeks.
Mayor Foy asked what the current rate was for the Downtown Service District tax. Ms. Johnson said it was 5.3 cents. Mayor Foy asked how much one cent provided. Ms. Johnson responded at the current rate one cent was earning us about $70,000.
Mayor pro tem Strom asked when the Council was scheduled to have a budget work session. Mayor Foy responded April 5, and it had no set agenda.
Mayor pro tem Strom asked if there would be any updated information available for that work session. Ms. Johnson said there may be additional budget working papers. Mayor pro tem Strom asked if they anticipated any big number changes. Ms. Johnson responded no. Mayor pro tem Strom said he was attempting to determine how useful that work session might be.
Mayor Foy said that was the last Council work session before the Manager’s preliminary budget would be submitted on April 24, so that would be their final opportunity to provide the Manager with guidance prior to his presentation of the recommended budget.
MAYOR PRO TEM STROM MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER THORPE, ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION R-1. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
Council Member Thorpe recognized employees of the Public Works Department who had attended tonight’s meeting, and thanked them for attending.
MAYOR PRO TEM STROM MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER THORPE, THAT ALL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS BE REFERRED TO ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND TO THE TOWN MANAGER FOR CONSIDERATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE BUDGET PROCESS. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0).
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.