Public Meeting to Address Carrboro's Budget

On Feb. 5, Gov. Mike Easley announced a projected $900 million state budget shortfall for the 2001-02 fiscal year. In order to deal with the deficit, Easley announced several measures, including possibly withholding money from municipalities statewide.

Carrboro will lose $299,284 in funding from the state this year, prompting the need to focus on next year's financial situation. The town's budget is $12.5 million. The aldermen will continue to discuss the budget cuts for the town at 7:30 p.m. today at the Carrboro Town Hall.

The meeting also will address topics such as the sale of surplus town property and the active projects report.

Alderman Joal Broun said the focus of the meeting would be what kind of cuts to make and where.

But even with the weight of the budget issue, the aldermen are worried people will not come to discuss the cuts.

Alderman Jacquelyn Gist said she has been disappointed by the turnout of residents in the past. "I would be delighted if the room was packed," she said.

But Gist predicted that only about three people would come to Tuesday's meeting. "There are only about 20 people in the town you can generally count on," she said. "People will only care when they have an ax to grind or they want money for themselves."

But Broun said she thinks the aldermen do a successful job of informing the public. "People come when they want to raise an issue," she said. "They'll come when there is something to talk about. People will come to talk about almost anything."

Gist said that the aldermen used to send notices to residents about public hearings but that because of the budget crisis, they can no longer afford to do mass mailings.

But Broun and Gist both said residents can access the aldermen through the Carrboro Web site, public access television and by phone.

The Carrboro aldermen meetings are aired at 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday on public access television channel 18, and the board's Web site can be found at http://www.carrboro.com.

Alderman Diana McDuffee said Carrboro's Web site, which has details about tonight's meeting, including ways to contact state legislators, is a great way to get information out.

"Our Web site is improving all the time, and it reaches people that newspapers can't," she said.

Town Clerk Sarah Williamson said people who have used the Web site find it useful.

"We get positive feedback all the time about our Web site," she said.

But Broun said the most successful way of reaching the public is to talk to people on the streets.

"If we see someone on the streets, we'll ask them to come to the board meeting," she said.

But Gist said Tuesday's meeting might have a higher than usual public turnout.

"This is a crisis the town of Carrboro is facing, not just the board," she said. "The only way to come up with workable solutions is for the town to work with the aldermen to come up with these solutions."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.