Commissioners begin budget deliberations; adoption set for June 16

Orange County Manager Bonnie Hammersley unveiled her proposed 2020-21 county budget on May 5, and the Board of County Commissioners has scheduled a series of budget workshops and public hearings through June 4. Budget adoption is tentatively planned for June 16.

Hammersley's plan included a memo to the Board explaining the unusual parameters that guided the formation of the budget. "The FY2020-21 Recommended Budget uses a combination of long-term financial austerity measures and expenditure reductions as well as shorter term emergency measures to delay an anticipated tax rate increase and balance the budget. These emergency measures are not sustainable over the long term, but they are necessary in order to create a measured but realistic reaction to the pandemic while preserving the existing County services and workforce in this time of great uncertainty. As a result, the FY2020-21 Recommended Budget represents the beginning of multi-year financial strategy intended to preserve services and maintain the county's long-term fiscal health."

Budget amendments

During the budget process, individual commissioners and staff may propose amendments. These amendments will be voted on by the BOCC at the last work session (June 9) prior to budget adoption.

Budget highlights

The proposed General Fund budget is $239.2 million, which represents a $1.9 million or 0.81% increase over the budget for the current fiscal year.
The Recommended Budget maintains the current tax rate of $0.8679 cents per $100 of value, delaying a projected 1.63 cent tax rate increase to accommodate growth in debt service.
Because of the pandemic, the county budget adjusted several revenues downward for 2020-21, including a reduction of $781,000 in anticipated property tax revenues, a reduction of $142,000 in projected automobile property tax revenues, and a 4.5% decrease in sales tax collections. Historically, sales tax collections have grown by five percent (5%) or more each year, so in relative terms, the Recommended Budget assumes a 10 percent reduction in anticipated sales tax revenues for a $1.5 million decrease in sales tax collections from the current year.
The budget includes several austerity measures to cover the projected gap between revenues and expenses, including a hiring freeze, limiting travel and training and no wage adjustment or performance bonuses for county employees.
The budget increases the school current expense budget by $485,000, resulting in a total recommended appropriation of over $113.9 million including debt service.

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Orange County Health Department, Sheriff’s Office Collaborate on COVID-19 Safety Video

The Orange County Health Department and the Sheriff’s Office produced a video in English and seven other languages commonly spoken in Orange County. The video is meant to simultaneously educate and reassure the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a recent weekly meeting with the immigrant and refugee health team, participants heard several accounts of community members enduring frightening encounters, such as a person being sprayed with Lysol by a stranger at the grocery store. The group proposed the video project to comfort community members who were fearful they might be victims of violence or xenophobia.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood opens and closes the video by encouraging people to call 911 if they have a concern about safety – their own or someone else’s. The body of the video provides instruction about social distancing, encourages people to stay home whenever possible, and reminds viewers not to discriminate against members of other racial groups. This content is delivered by a person fluent in the target language.

Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager and Public information Officer for the Health Department said, “Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic is obviously a new experience for everyone, and it raises anxiety. Some people express that anxiety by blaming the people they feel are responsible. Others become so anxious they hesitate to go out at all. We wanted to make a short message to educate and reassure people no matter what experience they were having.”

The health department worked with the Refugee Community Partnership (RCP) and the CHICLE Language Institute to have the script translated and read into Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Mandarin, Spanish, and Swahili. The English version of the video includes, in addition to Sheriff Blackwood, appearances by several employees of the Sheriff’s Office, and Prelipp of the Health Department.

The video series is available on the Health Department’s YouTube channel (OCHDNC) and on the Sheriff’s channel (OCSONC). Efforts are also underway to air the films on local government access television stations.

Orange County Government transitions into Phase 1 of reopening plan

As Orange County transitions into Phase 1 of Governor Roy Cooper’s plan to reopen North Carolina, most county buildings remain closed to the public, but many county departments are increasing access to services or accepting appointments. The county continues to urge residents to remain at home if possible during this COVID-19 outbreak. Any residents who need to transact business with Orange County Government are asked to use our available online services or the telephone.

Orange County's Phase 1 plan maintains the limit of 10 people for all mass gatherings, with none of the exceptions allowed by the state.

Click here for information on differences between Orange County's Phase 1 and the state's Phase 1 recovery plan.

Below is a list of which departments are offering limited functionality during this time, either over the phone or via the website. If it is an urgent or emergency situation, staff will respond appropriately. Some offices offer in-person appointments, but residents must call before visiting the office to arrange an appointment.

Click here for a list of which departments are offering services to residents.

Orange County Unveils Permit and Inspection Permitting Information Portal

Orange County recently implemented a new permit tracking/management software system, commonly referred to as the Land Management Central Permitting System (LMCPS), designed to allow various County Departments to utilize the same property and applicant data in an effort to:

Streamline the permit and inspection(s) process for our customers; and

Improve field inspectors’ access to permit data and allow them to enter inspection data on-site in real time.

Work on this project includes development of the Permitting Information Portal (PIP) providing customers with:

Better access to information so you can see exactly where permits are in the process;
A more streamlined process across all development applications and permits in the county; and
Improved reporting capabilities.

PIP is mobile friendly and will be a time saver for you and your development teams.
NOTE: Development of PIP is on-going, with additional services being developed.
PIP provides customers with 24/7 online access to various permitting activities within Orange County.

Click here to access the website and portal.
FAQ

Or click the graphic to go directly to our online form.

www.orangecountync.gov