HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-03-22Call to Order.
BUDGET WORK SESSION:
Board Discussion and Wrap-up
Other Matters Not Listed on the Agenda from the BOARD.
4. Adjomm.
Four reasons we're contemplating a tax increase
Two reasons are imposed on us by the state.
1. Way the State views its responsibilities: Unfunded Mandates and a state that
defines its responsibilities to NOT include such things as school' buildings, full
funding of the new SOLs' impact, CSA, jail overcrowding, decrease this year in
599 funding for police.. ( We're grateful for the funding we get)
2. Way the State has constricted our ability to spread the burden: General
Assembly in last few years has constricted our other possible sources of
revenue. By my count these include: BPOL, sales tax, car tax, meals tax, cellular
phone tax, E-911, lodging tax, recordation tax, no cigarette tax, income tax, no
impact fees, no "intangible" tax on securities;
We're stuck with real estate tax, a lousy tax.
3. Impacts of the economy and job market, not of our making + citizen demands:
Strong job economy + no need for little girls to grow up to be teachers + early
retirement fostered by the state -- a job market we haven't had to face before --
gradual creep, not all of a sudden, but school system was right to put priority on
funding salary increase and benefits package. We probably can't keep all our
strongest teachers even with the proposed increase, but we need to be serious
about trying, or poor morale will be added to the modest pay that teachers are
used to and will exacerbate the situation. But that strong economy also brings to
our community people who have seen good education elsewhere, or who came
here for the gOod education, or who simply know that their children should be
able to get small class sizes in this, one of the wealthiest counties in the state.
School hd. has listened, and taking SOL requirements + class size goals + all the
other strains a public education system meets these days, has told Us the
minimum needed for excellence this year. I might have chosen slightly different
line items, but I'm not about to second guess the group that meets almost weekly
all year long to run our school system.
4. Last, our own Growth has caught up with us -- debt service for schools;
becoming an urban area with capital needs, police needs, planning needs, storm
water detention system needs that even a larger population, if it were more rural,
wouldn't be facing. School Board's long-range Planning Committee report
showed 15 of our schools over-capacity by 2004. The FY 2000-2004 CIP identifies
more than $25.5 million in "unfunded" capital needseven if we have a bond
referendum for major items. [Attachment A, page 20 of Recommended CIP]
Majority of our current-revenue ClP fund goes to maintenance and upkeep of
existing structures. If the Capital needs are met, the Five-Year Financial Forecast
for FY 01 - 05 projects a shortfall of over $8.8 million, due to the operating budget
impact of planned capital projects. And all of this is not even counting such
things as additional fire/rescue stations in northern and western portions of the
County, new library facilities, park facilities and athletic fields, government
administrative space and new schools in the northern urban area, up to and
including a new high school. Then there are the unmet needs of an urbanizing
area for pocket parks, utilities and road connectors that VDOT may never fund,
and in the rural area water studies and incentives for conservation easements
and also for parkland. We agreed earlier this month to expand our funding of
storm water controls because the need was so evident.
In addition, we are not following our own policies on ClP fUnding. Our
policy is to put 3% of our annual General Fund revenues' into the Capital
Improvements Program (see page c-ll of our Budget for our Financial
Management Policies). This budget puts 2.04% in; it would take an additional $1.1
million to meet that goal this year. Anne Gulati calculates the unfunded capital projects
for this coming year to be $2,273,700 for General Government; $427,000 for
Stormwater, and $1,710,000 for School Division, or a total of $4,410,700 unfunded
capital projects, which is even higher than our 3% goal.
We are not keeping up with other counties', even much smaller counties.
[Attachment B]
Some calculations:
2 cents = School request + approx. $1,000
= General Govt list + approx $200,000
1% cents dedicated to CIP, plus the above $200,000 would add $1,167,600, which
would cover the capital improfements funding goal of 3% and leave a fund balance of
$67,600.
3 % cents rate increase???
-- Summary of Unfunded Projects *
FY 2000/01 - 2004/05 Recommended Total CIP
Recomm
Fund/Project · ", · · FY 01-05
GENERAL GOVERNMENT CIP FUND
Administration & Courts )~
County Facilities Maintenance/Replace.
Court Square Maintenance/Replace.
'Subtotal
2,685,000
410.000
3,095,000
Public Safety Projects
Fire/Rescue Building & Equip. Fund
Police Technology Upgrade
Police Video Cameras for Patrol
Subtotal
3,568,376
0
3,568,376
Highways & Transportation
Neighborhood Pla, n Implementation Pgm.
Revenue Sharing / Traffic Calming
~Sidewalk Constructio.n Pro,qr, am
..-~Streetlam p Program
Subtotal
443,800
2,300,000
220,067
50.000
3,0'13,867
Utility Improvement Projects
Keene Landfill Closure
Subtotal
380.000
380,000
Subtotal General Gov't. ClP Fund
STORMWATER CIP FUND
"'~-oormwat6r Control Program
822,977
SCHOOL CIP FUND
School ClP Projects
48.559.758
TOTAL UNFUNDED PROJECTS'
Unfunded
FY 01-05
250,000
105.000
355,000
3,986,332
1,440,010
5,682,888
1,704,700
200,000
589,833
163.000
2,657,533
20.000
20,000
8,715,421
1,927,023
14.874.900
25,517,344
Unfunded projects are projects that have been cut or deferred from the:five-year CIP, due to a lack of available
revenues. ' ~
20 Capital Improvement Program FY 2000/2001 - 2004/2005
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