Chapel Hill, Carrboro, county approve new budgets

In preparation for the beginning of the next fiscal year, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the Chapel Hill Town Council and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen have been working on their 2014-15 budgets.

County Commissioners

The Orange County Board of Commissioners didn’t want to raise taxes, but they did so when they approved their budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year.

“We raised taxes for the first time in six years because we have to continue to make up for cuts from the state,” chairman Barry Jacobs said.

The board has dealt with these cuts for the past few years and has tried to avoid raising taxes, he said.

“Raising taxes was new, making up for the cuts is not,” Jacobs said. “If I could not have a tax increase and have sufficient funds to do what we believe is necessary, then I would do that.”

The tax revenue will go to childcare subsidies and education, both of which have been cut by the state, Jacobs said.

The budget also created a new program to address poverty in targeted neighborhoods.

Chapel Hill Town Council

The Chapel Hill Town Council listened to its residents asking for funding for affordable housing when it approved its budget.

Councilman Ed Harrison said the town allocated $690,000 to help reach its goal of putting more affordable housing in Chapel Hill.

He said they also raised taxes, approving a 1-cent tax increase.

“That should go directly into the debt management tax, and so we’ll build up a body of money to pay off our debts on large projects,” Harrison said.

Harrison said the money will fund both current and future projects, and he would like to see the money go toward bicycle improvements to major roads.

The town also put $400,000 toward buying more buses, which Harrison said is desperately needed, because 43 of the 99 Chapel Hill buses need to be replaced.

“Some of them are older than a lot of UNC undergrads,” he said.

Carrboro Aldermen

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved a budget with emphasis on affordable housing and town employees.

The town is hiring a new assistant to the town manager, who will focus on the affordable housing initiative which the board has been working on for the past year.

“We’re really excited to have a staffer who’s going to be able to devote some time and attention to that work,” Mayor Lydia Lavelle said.

Some aldermen have been part of an affordable housing task force, which has tried to come up with solutions.

The budget also addresses the wages of town employees. They will now be able to get a pay increases based on their job performance, Lavelle said.

“That’s something we’re happy to implement, but we haven’t been able to do that for the past couple of years because of the recession,” she said.

The town will also put money toward maintenance. Lavelle said one such project will be repairing the tennis courts at Wilson Park.

“When you look at a town’s budget, you should be able to see the priorities and the goals of the town, and I think you can really see those when you look at our budget,” Lavelle said.

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