BC 2007 05 22 Recessed Mtg. - Laserfiche WebLink

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May 22, 2007 (Recessed Meeting) Page 377 The Board of Commissioners for the County of Cabarrus met in recessed session in the Multipurpose Room at the Cabarrus County Governmental Center in Concord, North Carolina on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at 3:30 p.m. Present - Chairman: Robert W. Carruth Vice Chairman: Joni D. Juba Commissioners: Grace M. Mynatt H. Jay White, Sr. Absent - Commissioner: Coy C. Privette Also present were John D. Day, County Manger; Mike Downs, Deputy County Manager; Pam Dubois, Deputy County Manager; Loretta Lee, Budget and Performance Manager; Kay Honeycutt, Clerk to the Board; and Lori Hinson, Deputy Clerk to the Board. Call to Order Chairman Carruth called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. FY OB Budget Overview John Day, County Manager, reviewed the following budget message for FY 08 and responded to several questions from the Board. To the Honorable Chairman and Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners: Moving in to FY 2008, the county's departments continue to increase and enhance programs and services while holding the line on spending. The efficient and progressive manner in which the county departments operate is evidenced through a number of state and national recognitions received during the past year. I expect this trend to continue with the addition of performance management for FY 2008. By implementing performance management, departments will tie in their goals, successes and performance measures with the overall goals of the county, as determined by the Board. This new measurement device will better ensure efficiency and accountability. This year's budget and the five-year financial plan, however, give reason for concern by illustrating the considerable costs of growth. From FY 2008 to FY 2012, General Fund spending is expected to increase by about $65 million, or nearly 99~. About 95~ o£ that, or $80.5 million, goes to increases in school operating expenses and new debt service requirements, mostly related to school construction. These two areas drive not only spending priorities, but also tax rates. For FY 2008, the tax rate returns to 63 cents (up from 62.89 cents in FY 2007) . The two largest areas of increase are school operational costs, up more than 17$, at $6.61 million,-and debt service, which increases by $5.62 million. Together, these two increases alone account for 7$ of the entire $179 million General Fund budget. This spending trend continues throughout the five-year planning period, which includes a Capital Improvement Plan (CI P) totaling nearly one-half billion dollars. Fourteen and one-half percent of the funding for the CI P, about $71.7 million, comes from cash. The remainder is financed. Recently, the county's two school systems requested about $470 million over the next five years for new schools, additions and renovations. The CIP includes only those school construction projects that produce new "seats" for students. The cost of those 22 projects including financing costs (but not interest payments) totals $373.4 million, producing 11,626 new seats. Property revaluation occurs in FY 2009, but the tax rate will need to remain at 63 cents, primarily to pay for student growth and school construction. Holding the tax rate constant through the revaluation is equivalent to an 18~ tax increase, on average. The following three years require tax increases of 8 cents, 9.5 cents and 6 cents, respectively, to support student