By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

County Manager Harry Jones on Tuesday proposed a 2011-12 county budget of $1.38 billion, up $39.4 million, or 2.9 percent, from this year. The proposed budget still needs approval from the Mecklenburg County Commission, but at least in its current form has some good news for supporters of libraries and schools. The budget also would reduce the county tax rate slightly, and for the first time since 2003, it would not use any money from the county’s reserves.

County Manager Harry Jones’s spending plan calls for a property tax rate of 82.49 cents for every $100 of property value, 1.38 cents less than the current tax rate of 83.87 cents. That’s also 3.66 cents higher than the “revenue-neutral” tax rate of 78.83 cents following the recent county property revaluation. (A revenue neutral rate would be the level of taxes required to keep county revenues flat with last year given the overall increase in assessed values for property within the county.)

“At the recommended property tax rate, approximately 57.3 percent of residential property owners will experience a tax bill increase, while about 42.7 percent will pay less in taxes,” Mr. Jones said in prepared remarks to county commissioners. “This distribution of the tax responsibility is due, in large part, to the shifting of tax assessment values from revaluation.”

LIBRARIES INTACT?

Mr. Jones said his budget includes $42 million in cuts in some areas to be “reinvested” in other areas, including schools and libraries, pay increases for county employees, and a “debt service fund.”

The budget proposal includes $2 million in additional funding to restore hours at regional libraries and keep open small branches, including those in Cornelius and Davidson.

In a message to the county commission, Mr. Jones said: “One of the areas of great interest in this community is the sustainability of our public library system. Recently, this Board – and the Library Board of Trustees – approved implementing the recommendations of the Library Task Force. Consistent with the task force recommendations, the FY12 budget proposes a funding increase for the Public Library to keep branches open and expand hours at regional libraries.”

At a Davidson Town Board “chat” Tuesday night at River Run Country Club, Mayor John Woods said he and other local leaders have been lobbying county officials to find money to keep open Davidson’s and other small libraries. He welcomed the news that the county manager has more money for the libraries, but he reminded citizens attending the forum that “the budget is still yet to be passed.” He said residents can help by calling or emailing county commissioners urging them to go along with the manager’s plan.

Davidson residents raised $211,000 this past winter to help cover a big shortfall in the county library budget in the current fiscal year. The county manager’s budget proposal would avoid a shortfall this year and allow expanded services in the library system.

Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte said the money is critical to save the Cornelius library and other local branches. “Two million dollars in additional funding is a watershed level necessary to save our library based on the direction suggested by the Library Task Force,” he said, referring to a countywide citizen panel that met this winter to discuss the library’s future.

“Those funds should enable all the branches in the surrounding municipalities to stay open, while expanding operations at the regionals,” Mayor Tarte said.

MORE FOR SCHOOLS

The budget includes an operating budget of $326 million, or an extra $26 million, for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. That’s 8.7 percent more than last year, but $19 million short of what the school board requested last week. Mr. Jones acknowledged that, but suggested the county commission could consider a 1/4-cent sales tax increase, which could be earmarked for education.

The budget trims taxes, funds libraries and schools in part with cuts in other areas.

Mr. Jones’s plan would eliminate entirely the county’s $16.6 million subsidy for indigent care at local hospitals run by Carolinas Healthcare System and Presbyterian Novant Health Care System.

“Both of these systems are highly successful and stable organizations that do not need the subsidy of Mecklenburg County taxpayers to remain solvent,” Mr. Jones said in his message.

CorneliusNews.net editor Christina Rogers contributed to this article

PRESS RELEASES FROM COUNTY AND LIBRARY

Here’s a press release from the County Manager’s Office Tuesday:

Manager’s Recommended Budget Lowers Tax Rate, Increases Education Spending, Manages Debt and Invests in Employees

In his $1.38 billion recommended budget for FY2012, County Manager Harry Jones lowers the property tax rate, increases education spending, restores employee pay raises and creates a debt service fund to better manage and pay the County’s debt.

The recommendation is $39.3 million or 2.9 percent more than the current year’s adopted budget. The $1.38 billion funding level recommended for FY12 is consistent with the funding level in the County’s adopted budget in FY09.

Jones said a tax rate of 82.49 cents for every $100 of property valued – which is 1.38 cents less than the current tax rate of 83.87 cents – is needed to support his budget. The rate Jones proposes is 3.66 cents higher than the revenue-neutral tax rate of 78.83 cents.

“At the recommended property tax rate, approximately 57.3 percent of residential property owners will experience a tax bill increase, while about 42.7 percent will pay less in taxes,” Jones said in his prepared remarks to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. “This distribution of the tax responsibility is due, in large part, to the shifting of tax assessment values from revaluation.”

Jones said he built his budget for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 using the Board’s priorities, feedback from residents and the critical success factors the Board identified for achieving its community goals in the wake of the Great Recession. These key drivers of the budget recommendation are:

• Additional funds for education and education support to increase high school graduation rates and develop the workforce
• Fiscal Discipline to establish a debt service fund; addressing long-term liabilities, specifically Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB); and stewardship of public facilities, technology infrastructure and other public assets.
• Operational Excellence by re-investing in employees and enhancing fiscal compliance
• And, sustaining the public library system

Education funding for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Central Piedmont Community College and other education support services receives a majority of the new revenue generated. For example, 65 percent of the new funding would go to CMS for its operating budget and debt costs. The increase in operating funds for CMS is for help with student population growth, sustaining operations and keeping 260 teachers in the classroom. Also, as an option for additional education funding, Jones said the Board can consider a referendum asking voters to support an additional ¼-cent sales tax.

His budget includes $42 million in recommended cuts to be re-invested to fund the key drivers, Jones said. One example is the manager’s recommendation on the indigent care subsidy the County pays to two area hospitals.

He recommends the County eliminate 100 percent of the subsidy the County pays to Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) and Presbyterian Novant Health Care System for indigent care. Jones says eliminating this subsidy will not reduce access to care or quality of care available to indigent patients in Mecklenburg County.

Jones also recommends the County phase out its subsidy paid to CHS for operating inpatient mental health care at CMC Randolph/Behavioral Health Center.  The FY12 budget recommends paying the FY11 subsidy amount in FY12, with the phase out occurring over the subsequent three years. Jones proposes a Blue Ribbon Committee to develop the transition plan.

A public hearing on the manager’s recommended budget is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, in the Meeting Chamber of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. The BOCC is expected to adopt a FY2012 budget at its regular meeting on June 7, 2011.

For more details and budget information visit the County’s website.

LIBRARY PRESS RELEASE

Here’s a Charlotte Mecklenburg Library press release from Tuesday night:

County Manager recommends $2 million in additional funding to help Library implement recommendations of Task Force in FY12

CHARLOTTE – May 17, 2011 – This evening, Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones presented to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) a recommended budget that includes $2 million in additional funding to allow the Library to expand hours at the regional libraries without closing any other branches, plus other funds to support existing operations.

This budget represents Jones’ recommendations to the Mecklenburg BOCC. The BOCC will review this budget in the coming weeks, and vote on the final budget at their June 7 meeting. If the manager’s recommendations on funding for the Library were approved by the BOCC, the $2 million will be added to the Library’s base funding level and would be used to begin implementation of the recommendations from the Future of the Library Task Force.

This funding would not restore Library hours to pre-recession levels of 1,521 per week, but would allow the Library to expand hours from the current 722 to approximately 824 per week. Hours would be expanded at the larger regional locations: Beatties Ford Road, Independence, Morrison, North County, South County and University City. Hours at Main, ImaginOn, and the smaller community locations would remain at their current levels.

“We are very pleased with the support the Library has received from the Manager, the BOCC, and the citizens of Mecklenburg County this year,” says Library CEO Vick Phillips. “We look forward to implementing the recommendations of the Task Force, and the funding in this recommended budget will allow us to do that.”

In his presentation, Jones said that the driving factors for his recommendation, including the increase in Library funding, were the BOCC’s priorities and the Critical Success Factors identified by the County earlier this year. The BOCC will receive additional feedback on the budget in the coming weeks at a Budget Public Hearing on May 19 and budget workshops in early June.

Full information about the Manager’s recommended budget can be found on the county website, CharMeck.org.

The Library’s FY2011 budget, which is still underway, includes historic contributions from the City of Charlotte and five towns in Mecklenburg County. These contributions, plus additional funding from Mecklenburg County, gave the Library one year to examine its operation and funding models. The results of this examination included the recommendations of the Future of the Library Task Force (www.charmeck.org/libraryfuture), and the decision to consolidate several internal Library functions under the County. Both were approved by the BOCC and Library Board in early May.