Alarm about a perceived backlog of building maintenance issues has the Orange County Board of Commissioners mulling several options for diverting funding streams to county capital projects.
“We have got buildings that are literally falling apart,” Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis said, offering the county courthouse as an example of facility decay. “And I think it’s totally indefensible to allow that building to fall apart.”
In a preliminary report on county capital priorities and funding options Thursday, county Budget Director Donna Dean identified a host of maintenance needs.
Dean estimated the total cost of repairs at $18 million over the next 10 years, including critical repairs to the central recreation facility, preservation of historic sites and money set aside for emergency repairs.
In order to demonstrate a commitment to recurring capital expenses, county staff have suggested dedicating 1 cent of the property tax to upkeep.
Commissioners continued their discussion Thursday on a policy adopted in 2004 limiting funding for the two area school districts to 60 percent of capital spending in order to allocate a higher amount to county projects, which would receive the remaining 40 percent.
For years, schools received what Dean described as the lion’s share of capital allocations, or 77 percent.
That change would free as much as $24 million over the next decade for new county projects including a new land services building, a new library facility and debt service associated with the acquisition of the Triangle Sportsplex in Hillsborough.
According to the report, absent of any change to the ratio, baseline revenues would not be able to cover these expenses.
