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Town mulls choices for local investment
Improvement bonds may be on ballot
BY RYAN C. TUCK
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
The Chapel Hill Town Council
approved Tuesday the introduction
of five bond orders that could
become referendums on the Nov. 4
ballot.
The council will decide at its
Sept. 8 public hearing whether it
will allow the bond orders to
become voter referendums on the
upcoming ballot and for what value.
Petition assails systems’ consolidation
BY NICK EBERLEIN
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
Distressed by a possible merger
between Orange County’s two local
school systems, area parents have
begun a cyberspace initiative to
urge county officials let voters
address the issue in a referendum.
The Internet petition asks the
Orange County Board of
Commissioners to grant voters the
right to decide on a merger, which
the parents oppose.
“We’re a democracy, can we
please pretty please be allowed
to vote on this,” said town resident
Jay Brenman, who was the first to
sign the Web-based petition.
As it stands, the Chapel Hill-
Carrboro City Schools system and
the Orange County Schools system
could become a single, unified body
if three of the five commissioners
vote in favor of their combination.
The most recent talks regarding
a merger began in January, in the
midst of local government debates
over the Schools Adequate Public
Facilities Ordinance. The law,
passed by all three area govern
ments in July, places a moratorium
on residential development if
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The orders comprise one bond
for expansion and improvements
to Chapel Hill Library on Estes
Drive, and the remaining four seek
money for capital improvements to
the town’s overarching green infra
structure project.
Council members approved a
bond order of about $16.3 million
for the library improvements and
about $13.1 million for the green
infrastructure enterprise, which
home building begins to outpace
school construction.
The idea of a merger arose dur
ing the SAPFO debate because offi
cials thought the move might alle
viate crowding. A Carrboro
Planning Department report found
a merger might delay the need for
more schools for 10 to 15 years.
A merger also likely would shift
money from schools in Chapel Hill
and Carrboro to those in the coun
ty. Commissioner Moses Carey,
who proposed the merger idea,
said that because of its larger tax
base and wealthier populace,
Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools
received sl2 million more per year
in funding via its school district
tax. The county school system has
no district tax for its schools.
“The first thing (a merger) will
do is come closer to equalizing
funding,” Carey said. “The county
commissioners have the responsi
bility to care for every child in this
county, no matter where they live.”
But Kim Hoke, CHCCS spokes
woman, said that funding could be
equalized without a merger. “There
was a proposal for a district tax in
Orange County, but the commis
News
includes improvements to local
sidewalks, streets, parks, recre
ation areas and greenways, public
open spaces and buildings.
The sidewalk and street bond
was recommended by the
Committee on Sustainability,
Environment and Energy, which
was appointed by the council.
Increasing neighborhood, pedes
trian and bicycle safety and an
upgrade in pedestrian amenities
are included in this bond.
The greenways bond proposal is
for the preservation of parks and
sioners decided not to pursue it.”
Some parents, however, are con
cerned that officials are focusing on
cost effectiveness at the expense of
education. “The theme that keeps
coming up is cost and whether we’ll
exceed the facilities ordinance," said
Brenman, who has two children in
CHCCS schools. “It’s never about
the quality of the education kids
receive. “The main beneficiary of (a
merger) would be the developers.”
Logistical and cultural issues,
along with parents’ concerns, also
likely will factor into future merg
er discussions, Orange County
Planning Director Craig Benedict
said Friday. “It becomes a countv
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recreational areas and is an attempt
to establish a tax base for preventing
urbanization in preserved areas. An
open spaces bond was recommend
ed to maintain a minimum of unde
veloped public land, and the pro
posed bond on public buildings
would pay to improve the energy
efficiency of existing public facilities.
If the bonds become referen
dums, their enactment falls into the
hands of local voters. Approved ref
erendums will authorize the town to
subsidize the ensuing debt, said Jim
Baker, town finance director.
wide mind-set against an urban
versus rural mind-set.”
Carey acknowledged that
reshuffling district lines would pose
a problem, but said the current sit
uation leaves much to be desired.
“What we’re doing now is sending
two school buses into the same
neighborhood and taking some of
the kids to different schools,” he
said. “That’s not acceptable.”
The board will present the
county’s study of the potential
impacts of a merger at its Sept. 15
work session in Hillsborough.
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2003
“The amount of debt it is leads
to increased taxes (for the voters)
in order to make debt payments,"
Baker said.
Although residents might face a
larger tax burden in order to fund
bond orders totaling more than
$29.3 million, an increase in over
all tax payments is not automatic,
explained council member Edith
Wiggins.
“When we have bonds out there
being retired, nothing can hap
pen,” she said. “In actuality, people
may never notice (an increase in
taxes).’
Baker said that when bonds are
adopted, the council has the ability
to finance them during a seven-year
period.
This leads to debt payments in
installments and decreases the like
lihood that taxpayers will see a sig
nificant increase.
The council approved a set of
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bonds totaling $13.1 million in 1996,
and the payments on the final bond
in that package were initiated in
March 2002. Baker said this type of
debt payment schedule will enable
retired bonds to cycle out as new
bonds are issued in.
“It’s a rolling and continuing
process; bonds continue to be paid
off and new ones brought in,” he
said.
Bonds worth about $1.3 million
are retired each fiscal year.
Sept. 8 will be the last forum for
concerned citizens to voice their
opinions on the bond orders before
the council votes whether to make
them ballot referendums.
For complete information on the
bonds’ contents, visit the council’s
web site at
http://townhall.townofchapelhilLorg.
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
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