BC 2007 05 22 Recessed Mtg. - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

May 22, 2007 (Recessed Meeting) Page 378 population growth and school construction. That's an 18.5 cents tax increase on top of an 18$ increase from revaluation. This trend of rapidly escalating spending on school operational costs and debt service for new school construction is expected to continue after the five-year planning period. Current projections show the need for at least seven new schools and one expanslon for the next five-year period beginning in 2013. There is no single way to moderate this trend of steadily increasing population and taxes, but there are several steps that, taken together, might have the desired effect: 1. Increase the amount of the voluntary school adequacy mitigation payments. 2. Encourage the municipalities to place considerable limits on utility extensions. 3. Maximize the amount of land zoned for employment purposes and reduce the amount zoned residential across all jurisdictions. 9. Consider placing annual caps on residential development across the entire county. 5. Consider reducing permitted residential densities in targeted areas across .all jurisdictions. Plans are under way to bring together elected officials representing all local governments in the county for a summit on growth to address these issues and come to a consensus on ways to handle growth countywide. Hopefully, this summit will be fruitful and .some or all of the five steps described above will be implemented. This budget, along with its five-year financial plan and CIP, fulfills the county's obligations and meets the critical needs of its citizens. It does not, however, include funding for the Kannapolis City Council's request for $150 million from Cabarrus County over 25 years for municipal infrastructure improvements and beautification projects. If the Board of Commissioners desires to grant the city council's request, it may do so in one of three ways, or in any combination of them: 1. Raise taxes above the proposed levels found in this document. 2. Cut funding for school operations or school construction. 3. Cut funding for county programs. In addition to the five-year financial plan and CIP, a concise summary of expenditures and revenues for FY 2008 begins on page C-1. Thorough descriptions of county programs, services and expenses may be found in the program summaries, which begin on page G-l. The county staff and I look forward to assisting you in reviewing this information. I appreciate the efforts of the many people who contributed to the preparation of this document and offer them my sincere gratitude. I especially want to thank Deputy County Managers Pam Dubois and Mike Downs, Budget & Performance Manager Loretta Lee and Budget Analyst Becky Crabtree for their considerable efforts. Respectfully submitted, /s/ John Day John Day, County Manager Expenditure Summary and Summary of Poaitiona Loretta Lee, Budget and Performance Manager, reviewed the following budget related information: FY 08 Ad Valorem Tax Revenue Generation Estimate; proposed fee changes for the following departments: Environmental Protection, Parks, Emergency Management/Eire Marshal and Commerce; Revenues by Fund for the General Fund, Landfill Fund, Arena Fund, and the Tourism Fund; Summary of Expenditures by Service Area for all Funds; the number of new positions requested and the County Manager's recommendation (52.09 FTE's and 33.72 FTE's respectively); and requests for position reclassifications or change in hours.