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1997-03-24 adj000805 March 24, 1997 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 1) An adjourned meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on March 24, 1997, at 12:00 p.m., Room 241, County Office Building, McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. This meeting was ad- journed from March 19, 1997. PRESENT: Mr. David P. Bowerman, Ms. Charlotte Y. Humphris, Mr. Forrest R. Marshall, Jr., Mr. Charles S. Martin, Mr. Walter F. Perkins (arrived at 12:10 p.m.) and Ms. Sally H. Thomas. ABSENT: None. OFFICERS PRESENT: County Executive, Robert W. Tucker, Jr., Deputy County Executive, Richard Huff, II, and Assistant County Executive, Roxanne W. White. Agenda Item No. 1. The meeting was called to order at 12:03 p.m., by the Chairman, Ms. Humphris. Agenda Item No. 2. BUDGET WORK SESSION: sors' Issues and Funding Priorities: Review of Board of Supervi- Mr. Tucker said today is the final work session on the 1997-98 County budget. He has a final proposed budget based on the last work session (hand- out) which he will explain. He said there has been a change in revenues primarily due to State funds for the School Division (an increase of $220,000 over the original amount shown). The total increase in the recommended budget is $259,296. This budget maintains the same tax levy as that in the current year, plus the three-percent increase in the lodging tax the Board took action on last Wednesday. Ms. Thomas said the carry-over item for General Government in the amount of $2687 will not be big enough to cover the various things that were noted in the proposed budget as being paid for from that carry-over amount. She asked for an explanation for that item. Ms. White said the figure shown is just a balancing number. Because there are zero dOllars in the Board's Reserve Fund this year, the only place to do any balancing adjustments was to say that Fund Balance or carry-over moneys would be used to do those minor adjustments. Mr. Tucker said if there are items that need to be addressed during the next fiscal year without a specific reserve, it can be done by taking funds from the Fund Balance. At this time, there is about $230,000 in the Fund Balance, and that will increase significantly by the end of the fiscal year. It is not unusual for the Board to have no reserve funds. There were boards in the past which went for several years without any kind of a reserve. It has just been in recent years that significant funds have been provided for the Board to use during the fiscal year, but seldom does the Board utilize much of that reserve. (Note: Mr. Perkins arrived at 12:10 p.m.) Ms. Thomas said since she asked questions about staffing at the meeting with the School Board and got no answers at that time, she would now like to share what she has learned since that day. The people at Murray Elementary thought they had lost personnel. It turned out that one-fifth of a technology position will not be provided during the coming year, when it has been provided in past. Murray had money from the Central Office to fund part of a FTE for their Book Buddies program. That was a pilot program, and the funding was not assumed to last more than that one year. The combination of not having that FTE and the one-fifth of a FTE for technology made them feel they has lost a whole FTE when in fact they had lost only part of a FTE. Trying to deal with parent and staff concerns is what caused shifts into and out of the library, and they will have no one coming in from outside to handle art instruction or physical education. Her question was not directly related to the question of whether funding should be going to at-risk schools; none of the elementary schools lost any funding because of that decision, they were all held harmless, but they did lose the technology person. Ms. Humphris asked if that had been clearly explained to the parents. Ms. Thomas said "no". Ms. Humphris said that is the feeling she got when talking with people. For some reason she does not understand, that was not laid out in a coherent fashion for the parents who seemed to have incorrect information. Ms. Thomas said she has not seen what went out from the PTO, but r ' 000~06 March 24, 1997 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page2) it provoked a lot of mail. At Murray school there are hundreds of volunteer hours spent, so they were particularly sensitive to the feeling that they were "being shafted" because they support their school. It took the School staff an amazingly long time to find what she has just described to the Board. The facts were difficult to come by. Ms. Humphris said it concerned her because it is very difficult to repair the damage when these things happen. It would be much better if everything were made clear in the beginning when the first question is asked. She said a great deal of time and effort was spent on finding an answer to this question. Mr. Marshall agreed with Ms. Humphris that the School Board is letting the Board of Supervisors down. He feels they need to inform the parents about changes. He feels he is being set up by somebody in the School System because the parents aren't informed and come back to the Board of Supervisors demand- ing more money because they feel this Board is short-changing the educational system. He has been singled out by the education community many times and he was perfectly innocent. It was because people didn't know. He just wonders if it is being done on purpose. Ms. Humphris said when she first asked Mr. Tucker about it, he handed her a copy of a little chart and explained. Ms. Thomas said she got that chart also from Mr. Tucker. But, then when being told by the principal that there were cuts, it was not easy to get an answer. Ms. Humphris said now that Ms. Thomas and the other Board members have the answer, do the parents have the answer? Ms. Thomas said "no." Mr. Marshall said that is his point. Ms. Humphris said she understands it is up to the School Board to handle this matter, but is there any way to be sure the parents get a complete explanation? Mr. Tucker said the Board can make a suggestion to the School Board. Ms. Humphris said this issue has caused all of the Supervisor members a lot of dismay and she feels the School Board owes it to this Board i~ put out a very clear explanation to the parents so that everybody understands the situation. The parents may not be happy with the answer, but it is a waste of their time and energy to campaign against this Board when nothing is wrong. Ms. Thomas said the chart did not include the Book Buddies issue. Mr. Tucker said the School staff was focusing on the pure numbers. On pure numbers, staffing does not change, but that does not tell the whole story. Ms. Humphris said the principal or some one is responsible for explain- ing to parents who is making these decisions. Mr. Tucker said his perspective on this type of thing is that when parents or others start questioning things like this, it is difficult for this Board to get in the middle. The Board does not deal with this, so would not know all of the issues. This Board is giving the School System an additional $1.5 million, and it is their preroga- tive t© decide h~w to use those funds. From the Board's perspective, if a question isn't being answered by staff, people should call their School Board member and not their Board of Supervisors' representative. If they want more money, that is why they come to this Board. Ms. Humphris said the thrust of the mail she has received is that the Supervisors need to give more money to the School System. Ms. Thomas Said sher thinks'that is a legitlmate issue- The parents needed the facts, but they will still be getting less money in the next fiscal year, and there was a program which was so successful as a pilot that they have decided to pick up that program themselves· The School System could have made that same decision. She understood that pilots are for that particular reason; first, you get to experiment with something without real money going into it, and then if it is worthwhile, you put money into the program. That school has decided it is very successful, and they will shuffle resources in order to continue it. The School System could have made that decision. It is harder for the School System when the bottom line per student is not enlarg- ing. She thinks that even if they did not understand everything about the shifting, their basic issue is still a legitimate issue. Ms. Humphris said there are two issues. One is what is called school- based management and the other is funding. She aSked if any other Board members had something to discuss at this time. She asked Mr. Tucker about the March 24, 1997 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 3) new requirements for accreditation which will be implemented soon. if this is an unfunded mandate. Mr. Tucker said "yes." 0O0307 She asked Ms. Humphris asked when it will become effective. When do the Schools have to add the extra year of math, science and history? Mr. Tucker said Dr. Castner had indicated to him that there will be public hearings around the State on these requirements. He is not sure, but believes it will be in fiscal year 1999. Mr. Martin said nothing is finalized at this time. There ms a meeting scheduled in Patrick County soon. Ms. Humphris said she saw a list of the public hearings, and the closest to Albemarle is to be held in Staunton. She asked if anyone knew if public input ms really going to count or are these regulations just going to be dropped on the school dmvisions regardless. She thinks the standards are wonderful, if they are possible, but if the locality has to pay for it, in Albemarle it will just be an unanticipated expense added to the already difficult budget situation facing the Board next year. Mr. Tucker said the voice of this County would concern the unfunded mandate issue. Mr. Martin agreed. He said if they go through with these regulations, there is no way it will not cost some serious bucks. Extending the school day has been mentioned as one effect. Ms. Humphris said if all the kids have to take three more subjects, that will require more teachers. It is wonderful on the one hand, but it is frightening that all of a sudden the County is looking at a very large unfunded mandate. She has not heard any dollar cost attached to it. Mr. Tucker said staff does not have a figure yet. If this Board would like to do something at one of the hearings, it might be wise to do it with the School Board. Ms. Thomas said the County is absorbing what the State is no longer funding. In education it is being absorbed by not increasing the support per school student as growth and inflation would indicate. She thinks the County is being unfair to its taxpayers by continuing to absorb the costs of these programs mn "invisible" ways. If that Is something that can be separated out, it should appear in the tax rate so people will understand what is happening to the County. She said it has become so popular for politicians to say they are not going to increase taxes, but they keep pushing things down to the local level. At some point the taxpayers have to know what is happening. Next year, the County is going to reach a point where things can't be ab- sorbed. She does not think the public will remember the Board told them about this a year ahead of time, but the public will have a choice as to whether they want it on the meals tax or their real estate tax. Ms. Humphris said she hopes the general public gets the information about this. She does not think the public as a whole pays much attention when they see a headline about school accreditation standards. Since all of them are the ones who have to pay the bills, all the people should know what the price tag is, and what benefits there will be. The County can't use all of its funds to pay for growth and not have any funds left for making improve- ments. Mr. Martin said he believes the biggest issue is that it would be an unfunded mandate. The idea is great, but how is it paid for? Mr. Tucker said staff has tried to absorb costs wherever possible. It is his job to provide a budget that is workable. It is difficult; there were unfunded mandates this year. They have been absorbed, but at the cost of some other needs that the schools or others have identified. Two years ago, it was said that there would be no more unfunded mandates, Federal or State level, but they are still coming. In the future, those items can be shown as a separate unfunded item in the budget. Ms. Thomas said she chaired VACO's Finance Steering Committee last year and she got VACO to change their approach to unfunded mandates. They were getting sucked into what the General Assembly was doing which was to postpone the implementation date of some programs. They would pass the program this year and so it would not be a burden on anybody this year and not appear to be an unfunded mandate, the program would be phased in. Now, VACO is supposed to keep track of all of the regulatory unfunded mandates, and not just the ones the General Assembly passes in that particular year. That is something that was being done quite cleverly by the General Assembly two years ago. March 24, 1997 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 4) . oooao8 Mr. Martin said it is a great idea. The County has plenty of great ideas on its own. Just look at the unfunded list. There are issues of books, the summer school, buses, etc., that the County can't fund. Ms. Humphris'asked if there were any further discussion. There was none. She then asked Mr. Tucker what the Board needed to do today. Mr. Tucker said the Board needs to order a public hearing on the budget as proposed in the handout today for the Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 1997, totaling $126,628,365.00. Ms. Thomas said she believes everyone realizes there will be needs which come up next year that will be identifiable, but that might possibly not take care of unmet needs this year. There are lots of legitimate unmet needs. She has told most of her constituents that this Board can't provide more money to the School System than the School System asks for. She is also in a district where the School Board member in her district was one of two Board members who felt this was not an adequate budget. She believes there are a lot of people in her district who do not think this is an adequate School budget. She asked if there is any support among the Supervisors members to go to Public Hearing for any additional funds for the SchOols. Mr. Marshall said he will not support any additional funds. The School Board keeps submitting an unbalanced budget to this Board each year. They should submit a budget with unfunded priorities. He feels like he is getting an unfunded mandate from the School Board when they do not balance their budget before submittal. If the Board has the money, it usually gives the School System all it can give. It bothers him that it is an elected school board which is promising the people funding for the School System that they can't provide. It is up to the Board of Supervisors to provide those funds. If he gets another unbalanced budget submittal next year, he is going to vote against it. Mr. Martin said he understands what Ms. Thomas said, and he does not necessarily disagree. He wishes there were someway to underline that as of next year, it may come down to the public deciding on a meals tax or an increase on the real estate rate, or both. He would be willing to entertain an idea that what Ms. Thomas suggested is a way to underline that fact. Ms. Humphris asked if any Board member thinks there will not be either a meals tax or a property tax increase or both next year. She said the Board must have more funds from some source. She would prefer that it be a meals tax, but it is possible a meals tax will not suffice alone. She would love to do more for education this year, but she thinks the Board needs to "sit tight" this year and next year "bite the bullet" and go with a meals tax. A meals tax would be five cents on the property rate and that is a big help, but the Board still will not know if that will be enough, with the opening of a new school, and the looming possibility of new standards of accreditation. She asked how the other Board members feel about this question. Mr. Marshall said he believes Ms. Humphris is right. He would urge all of the citizens to support the meals tax to avoid new real estate taxes. The County is going to need the money to open the new school, and he will have no choice but to support a tax increase in one form or another. Ms. Humphris said she is always torn when she hears the comments at public hearings because she knows that when citizens ask for more money for education, they are sincere and do believe the money would be well-spent. But, she has to remember the people who cannot pay more tax on their property. She learned more while serving on the Board of Equalization about what happened to people because they built a nice house in 1950 or so, and now they are retired, and their taxes are more than their house payments. It is a terrible tax, and the Board is being asked to tax all of those people more on their property, and they don't have more to pay because they are living on a low, fixed income. Ms. Thomas said that is almost entirely because the State is giving the county less money, and is a point she finds annoying because the State has the better, more just taxation system. Mr. Bowerman said the State is doing to the County what this Board does to the School Board. He thinks this Board is asking the School Board to make use of every cent that they can, to be as efficient as they can in the allocation of their resources, and not to do anything they feel is not part of their educational program. If the County is looking to the State to do 000309 March 24, 1997 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 5) something for it, the State is not going to do it. He thinks they are keeping the pressure on the localities to make the localities use their resources to the best of their abilities. When the locality has to raise taxes,' there is nobody who is better able to do it and get feedback from both sides than the local government. Ms. Humphris ~said there is a flaw in that theory. The flaw is that the options the State allows the localities are not good options. Mr. Bowerman said he does not think the State is going to allow any changes. He thinks the vote was 18 to one against the request for a local option income tax. Instead of harping about the State, he thinks the Board needs to recognize what cards have been dealt to the locality and continue to deal with that because there is no relief coming. Ms. Humphris said the citizens need to get that message. Mr. Bowerman agreed. Ms. Thomas said that is the real point of her question. She really wants the citizens to understand what is happening. She does not have enthusiasm for hurting the people Ms. Humphris is talking about. If the Board conserves to the point where it is causing some harm, and it does not let the public know what is going on, then that is not exactly correct either. Mr. Bowerman said it is difficult to have bus loads of people show up in Richmond in the middle of a work day. The system is stacked against local governments. If there were 100 buses in Richmond every day the Legislature was in session, there would be some changes, but that will never happen. Mr. Perkins said his disappointment is in the reverse direction. The Board can see what is coming next year, and yet it is spending every penny it has this year. That is not the way it should happen. He thinks the Board should set aside funds in preparation for next year. Ms. Thomas said money is being set aside in the Capital Reserve Fund. Mr. Perkins said that there will still be a shortage. The County is basically spending all the funds it has knowing that next year it is going to take a big hit. Mr. Marshall said he has heard many times that the State will not build roads until long after they are needed, and schools are not built until long after they are needed. That is a problem. The Board has no reserve contin- gency fund at all for the next fiscal year. That worries him. Ms. Humphris said the Board will have some money as the year goes on, it is just not identifiable at this time. Mr. Marshall said he is used to seeing some funds in that reserve fund. Mr. Tucker said the Board can take some revenues and put them aside as a reserve~ or as something else. He jUst indicated that in order to meet the Schools maintenance of effort bUdget, the funds could be used in that way. If the Board wants to use those funds for other purposes, it can do that. Mr. Marshall said he is concerned about what 'is happening to the "little man." He appreciates Ms. Humphris' remarks. He sees wealth being concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. It is putting more people into the lower income bracket nationwide, and the middle class is virtually being destroyed because it has been paying all the bills. The Board can't get t° the people Who have the "big bucks", because it does not have the power to tax the people who have the money. That concerns him because a lot of people who were born in Albemarle, and whose families had been here for generations, are being forced out. What is this Board going to do to help them? Ms. Humphris said to carry Mr. Bowerman's philosophical discussion further, the Board knows what is happening as the result of State fiscal policy. Do they know, and is this what they want to happen in the localities? Mr. Bowerman said they must know what they are doing to local governments. They are not dumb people. Ms. Humphris said if they know, why do they want to do it? How do they expect the locality to continue to build the infrastruc- ture that makes a community that has a high quality of life if they can see that the policy that is in place is destructive to the localities and that every locality is stressed by this policy? Mr. Bowerman said they have the differential funding formula. Albemarle County gets less money for its schools because it is a richer county. That is their answer to it. Ms. O00a:tO March 24, 1997 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 6) Thomas said that is based on income tax reports which the county has no way to access. Mr. Marshall said when billionaires move into the county, it increases the per capita income considerably. It is a misnomer. People come t° public hearings time and again and say this is the richest county in the State, but they don't realize that money is concentrated in the hands of a very few, and the county does not get any of it. Mr. Bowerman said the way the political system is set up, the people who are the most affected come and talk to this Board when they should be talking to the State representatives about local tax issUes. They don't do that. Ms. Humphris said if Albemarle can't provide quality education, it may not be on the list of best places to live much longer. That will hurt Richmond and the tourism industry. It can happen if the County can't provide quality education and all of the other things it is expected to provide. Ms. Thomas said one of Albemarle's neighboring cities appeared on the list of places one would not want to visit. It is not far from here, so it can, in fact, happen. Mr. Martin said one thing that can happen is to have the community support the meals tax which is a much more equitable source of income. Mr. Bowerman said it is still not as good as the local option income tax. Ms. Thomas said she thinks the meals tax will be fought by those who do not want ~he collection to fall on one segment of the community. There are a lot of people who don't feel the pain of a property tax. If you could afford to build a new home this year, then you are probably not being hurt by the property tax. It is the people who could not afford to move now into the place where they are currently living who would generally be hurt by a property tax increase. There are a lot of people in the community who would say they would rather have it on the property tax than on the meals tax. She hopes this discussion helps to make the point that the property tax is a very painful and inequitable tax and destroys a lot that is good in the community when people have to move off of their land because of it. She hopes this argument will be made throughout the discussion about a meal tax that there are worse things than a meals tax. She does think there is a certain mental- ity that will say a property tax is better than a meals tax. Looking at the community as a whole, that is not so. Ms. Humphris said it is difficult for people to think about what is best for the whole community. It is natural for people to think about what is best for themselves. The Board sees a lot of that at public hearings. She then requested a motion to set the budget for a Public hearing~ Motion was offered by Mr. Marshall, seconded by Mr. Bowerman, to set the FY 1997-98 County Operating Budget for public hearing on April 9, 1997, with the proposed tax levy being advertised as: $0.72/$100 for real estate and mobile homes; $0.72/$100 for public service corporations; $4.28/$100 for personal property; and $4.28/$100 for machinery and tools. Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Mr. Marshall, Mr. Martin, Mr. Perkins, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman and Ms. Humphris. NAYS: None. Agenda Item No. 3. Other Matters not Listed on the Agenda from the Board. Mr. Tucker distributed to the Board members a memorandum answering questions from last week's meeting concerning the Ivy landfill. At 1:00 p.m., motion was offered by Mr. Bowerman, seconded by Ms. Thomas, that the Board adjourn into Executive SeSsion pursuant to Section 2.1- 344.A of the Code of Virginia under Subsection (1) to discuss County appoint- ments to a Board, and to discuss a personnel matter concerning a complaint relating to a County employee, and, under Subsection (7) to consult with legal counsel and staff regarding specific legal matters related to reversion issues. Approved by the B( Date i 2-/~/~ ~ Initials LJ~ March 24, 1997 (Adjourned Meeting) (Page 7) O003:t . AYES: NAYS: Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: Mr. Marshall, Mr. Martin, Mr. Perkins, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman and Ms. Humphris. None. At 2:25 p.m., the Board reconvened into open session. Motion was immediately offered by Mr. Bowerman that the Board certify by a recorded vote that to the best of each Board member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing the executive session were heard, discussed or considered in the executive session. The motion was seconded by Ms. Thomas. Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Mr. Marshall, Mr. Martin, Mr. Perkins, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman and Ms. Humphris. NAYS: None. Motion was offered by Mr. Marshall, seconded by Mr. Martin, to appoint Mr. Michael Brown to the Development Areas Initiative Committee to serve as the at-large representative. Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Mr. Marshall, Mr. Martin, Mr. Perkins, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman and Ms. Humphris. NAYS: None. Agenda Item No. 4. Adjourn to March 26, 1997, 4:00 p.m. With no further business to come before the Board, at 2:35 p.m. motion was offered by Mr. Bowerman, seconded by Ms. Thomas, to adjourn this meeting until March 26, 1997, at 4:00 p.m., at Glenmore County Club on Route 250 East. Roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Marshall, Mr. Martin, Mr. Perkins, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman and Ms. Humphris. None.