As the reality of upcoming budget cuts sets in, town officials are considering how the University’s economic troubles will affect Chapel Hill.
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Chancellor Holden Thorp have been working together to gauge the impact the budget crisis could have on the town’s workforce and economic development.
Additionally, Kleinschmidt has approached other mayors of towns that host UNC-system schools to help them prepare for the cuts and the effects they will have.
“What I’m trying to do is provide information and increase the awareness among mayors who host UNC schools on how budget cuts will affect their communities,” Kleinschmidt said. “The idea is that they will share these concerns with their local legislators.
“Hopefully, it will have an impact. Hopefully, they will minimize the cuts.”
North Carolina is facing an estimated budget deficit of about $3.7 billion for the 2011-12 fiscal year, and the UNC system is being asked to consider reducing spending by up to 15 percent.
While the University has absorbed budget cuts during the past two years, most of these cuts were administrative and didn’t have much of an impact on the town, Kleinschmidt said.
“Now they’re going to go deeper. It’s likely going to involve real people this time,” he said.
Kleinschmidt said Chapel Hill’s main employer is the University, which has been credited with keeping the area’s historically low unemployment rate far below the national average during the recession.