The signs were everywhere. Orange County sales tax revenues, down. County building permits, down. County economic development, down, but then when in the past decade has it been really up? Yet the Commishes kept spending every penny of the FY 2009-2010 budget.
The progressive mantra in Orange County has been not to worry about living within one’s means, but to live within one’s feelings. If a county program promotes social justice, then fund it. Don’t worry about how household county tax burdens have more than doubled compared to the rate of inflation. Don’t worry about how a high tax burden dissuades private businesses from settling in Orange County. Don’t worry about spiraling pension funding costs and how the average county employee makes over 50% more than the average county privately paid employee, if one includes all benefits.
Only now the fowl price tag for the spending spree by progressive Commishes for the past decade has come home to roost. Anyone who hasn’t visited Hillsborough lately hasn’t seen where their tax dollars have been poured into the ground. There’s a new government center costing $25,000,000. Too bad it wasn’t competitively bid. Too bad commish pals walked away with substantial profits from this deal. There’s a new library costing $8,000,000. Too bad the Commishes didn’t resolve a countywide library system with all county towns BEFORE building a book palace in Hillsborough. There’s a new justice center costing… well, you get the picture.
Maybe Commish Mike Nelson knew what he was doing when he abandoned his beloved, but tax overburdened Carrboro for Hillsborough right before the big county spending spree in Hillsborough.
Orange County has a $5,700,000 budget shortfall heading into FY 2010-11. That amount represents 3.77 cents per $100 of assessed value on the county property tax rate, or about $113.10 on a $300,000 house.
County Manager Frank Clifton delivered the chicken roosting report last week. The property tax base (75% of county revenue) is flat (obvious to anyone viewing the property sales reports). County sales taxes (another 10% of revenues) remain flat with little growth expected. What a surprise, except to those following the monthly sales tax reports from the state.
No wonder former County Manager Laura Blackmon flew the coop.
The county has about 915 authorized positions, 145 of which are currently vacant, and therefore unpaid. According to Mr. Clifton, ”We will probably be recommending the elimination of a lot of positions. I don't know how many. It's a key element of our strategy for next year's budget.” However, eliminating unfilled and unpaid positions doesn’t solve a budget shortfall problem. You have to make cuts. (Pulpster know the Pulp refrain about the growth in local municipal FTE positions far outpacing the rate of population growth.)
So Mr. Clifton says he will look at cutting programs beyond the county's core mission of providing education, emergency services, solid waste disposal and other basic services. When was the last time Pulpsters heard that expression, “core mission”? The Commishes like talking about everything but the core mission. Witness the trash transfer station siting debacle over the past four years.
Unbelievably, Mr. Clifton is considering cuts in the arts, tourism or land conservation. ”Each one has a core constituency. We're sure not everybody's going to be happy.” (See CHN OC Budget Story.)
As predicted by the Pulp in October 2009, Mr. Nelson is leaving office ahead of a budget disaster, just like he did Carrboro before that.
No word on the next political venue to be blessed to receive Mr. Nelson’s Midas touch.
