This month’s presenter, Town Manager Roger Stancil, discussed the current fiscal conditions and answered questions regarding property tax, urban sprawl, and Chapel Hill 2020.

“We’re trying to evaluate our assets in light of today’s reality,” Stancil said. “We’ve learned that the measures we’ve taken will not work in the future.”

Stancil said that most budget decreases have been in parks and recreation and library services, but there are plans for investing in the future.

“We’re a hot bed of creative individuals and entrepreneurs. Right now they usually go to Durham to start their businesses. We want them to come back,” he said.

He went on to discuss tourism in Chapel Hill, and the need for a more stable housing market.

“The biggest dilemma for me is that we have a work force that doesn’t live here,” Stancil said. “We are perilously close to becoming a resort community.”

Stancil expressed his pride in the success of Chapel Hill 2020, and said it was time to focus on putting the input into action.

“It’s been a year of sustained intensive public engagement. We now need to move on to framing it,” he said.