Orange County draft budget is out. What you could pay and get for your tax dollars.
Orange County’s commissioners got their first look at a $279.2 million budget Tuesday night that would slightly raise next year’s property tax rate and spend more on education, employees and social services.
County Manager Bonnie Hammersley’s proposed 2023-24 budget allocates $102.9 million to the county’s two school districts, and recommends a 1.5-cent increase in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district tax.
The increase is roughly half of the $21.2 million increase that the school districts requested last week.
The county has seen consistent growth in tax revenues related to motor vehicles and new construction over the last year, while sales tax revenues are exceeding expectations by 18%, Hammersley said.
The recommended general fund budget proposes:
▪ The highest increase in per student spending in county history
▪ A 6% wage increase for all county employees
▪ A partnership with Chapel Hill to create a pilot mobile unit for responding to behavioral health crises
▪ A visitation center where children involved with Social Services can visit with their families
The budget is $21 million higher than this year’s budget, which ends June 30, and will be supplemented with $7 million from the county’s fund balance — money left over after the bills are paid — Hammersley said.
This is the third year that the county has had a surplus at the end of the year, Hammersley noted.
The commissioners set aside $6 million from last year’s surplus for the 2023-24 budget to avoid a larger tax rate increase, she said.
That money will be added to a new, $37.5 million debt service fund, consolidating the county’s debts and the money to pay them in one place. It also will pay for the capital projects manager and a capital projects field coordinator to manage those projects, she said.
The commissioners will hold budget public hearings May 9 and June 1 before drafting a final budget June 8. The vote to approve the budget is scheduled June 20. All meeting start at 7 p.m.
The approved budget would take effect July 1.
Property taxes
The proposed 0.46-cent tax increase would set the county property tax rate at 83.58 cents per $100 in assessed value, an $18.40 bump on a $400,000 home. The owner of that home would pay $3,343.20 in county property tax.
Property owners in the towns and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district also pay a special school district property tax.
The county manager recommended a 1.5-cent increase in that tax, raising it to 19.8 cents per $100 in assessed value. It would add another $60 to the tax bill for a $400,000 property in the city schools district.
One penny on the county tax rate now raises $2.2 million.
What would schools get?
The budget would increase local spending per student to $5,346, an increase of $538.46. School districts also get state and federal funding.
The budget allocates $102.9 million to the county’s two school districts, a 10% increase over last year’s $93.6 million. That’s roughly 44% of the $21.2 million increase the city and county school boards asked for April 27.
The commissioners and school boards will discuss the budget needs at a May 11 work session.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
▪ Proposed: $60.2 million, an increase of $5.2 million. The higher district tax rate could bring in another $27.8 million.
▪ Requested: $11.2 million, including $8.4 million to cover state-mandated salary increases, higher employee benefit costs, and $5 million in one-time money from the district’s fund balance that was used to pay salaries this year. The rest of the money could provide staff with higher starting salaries, professional licensing and certification fees, and six weeks of parental leave, instead of four.
There’s enough fund balance to meet the personnel costs covered last year, but not enough to offer employees more, officials said.
Orange County Schools
▪ Proposed: $42.8 million, an increase of $4.2 million
▪ Requested: $10 million, including $2.2 million to cover existing obligations, salaries and benefits. The other $7.8 million would boost salaries but largely focus on critical student needs, from emotional and social learning to field trips and other learning opportunities.
What would county employees get?
Orange County, like other local governments and school districts, is struggling to attract and retain quality employees. Hammersley noted last year that staff turnover had grown from a rate of 8.7% to 13.5%.
Her proposed budget recommends a 6% salary increase for all county employees on July 1, at a cost of $4.4 million. It also includes increases for health and retirement benefits, plus money for a new behavioral health services benefit approved in March.
Other budget highlights
▪ Public safety: A $3.9 million increase — to $35.8 million — for additional employees in the Criminal Justice Resource Department, the mobile crisis unit pilot program in Chapel Hill and four new Sheriff’s Office detention officers.
▪ Fire district taxes: Nine of the county’s 12 fire districts are seeking a tax rate increase: Cedar Grove, 1.37 cents; Damascus, 1 cent; Efland, 2 cents; Little River, 1 cent; New Hope, 1.01 cents; Orange Grove, 1 cent; Orange Rural, 1 cent; Southern Triangle, 1 cent; and White Cross, 1.5 cents.
Pet licensing fee: The longtime pet licensing fee will be eliminated, at a cost of $130,000 in annual revenues for the county. The fee was only paid on about a quarter of the pets living in Orange County last year, the budget noted.
▪ School health and safety: $3.9 million to keep school resource officers in every middle and high school, and one nurse in every elementary, middle and high school
▪ Housing: Another $629,650 will continue the effort to move emergency housing programs started during the pandemic to the general fund before federal grant money expires. Roughly $2.1 million in federal money will be available for eviction prevention until next year.
▪ Social services: Adds $761,821, largely to transition programs relying on federal money to county revenues, including child care, parent fees, food relief, and youth, foster child and low-income family programs.
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