Tuesday's Orange County Board of Commissioners' regular meeting was unusually busy - in addition to the regular agenda the board heard five public hearings.
After soliciting opinions on the N.C. Community Transportation Program and an update on the county Consolidated Housing Plan the board conducted a second hearing to receive public comment on the county manager's Capital Investment Plan which was first proposed Nov. 5.
The CIP encompassed both funded and unfunded projects including additional office space for the county's Health Department and the Department of Social Services the creation of a new branch of the Hyconeechee Regional Library System and several unfunded needs identified by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Steve Scroggs assistant superintendent for support services of the city schools and Lisa Stuckey vice chairwoman of the school board requested particular attention for the currently unfunded school projects.
Scroggs also called for the completion of several unfinished sections in schools across the county such as Carrboro High and McDougal Elementary.
Two other proposed projects Elementary School No. 11 and Middle School No. 5 are budgeted at $30.9 and $50.7 million respectively.
Several residents also asked the board to incorporate other projects into the CIP.
The Rev. Robert Seymour requested an expansion of the Robert and Pearl Seymour Senior Center opened last May to include more space for the wellness center located on the second floor.
Seymour noted that Orange County will double its senior population by 2020. Exercise classes are currently held in the center's great hall where lunch is served as well.
The board then solicited public comment on which revenue option either a 0.4 percent increase in land transfer tax or a quarter-percent increase in sales tax should be placed on the ballot in the May 6 primary for voter consideration.
Several senior citizens spoke out against any increase in taxation and in particular an increase in land transfer tax asking that both be placed on the ballot.
Some said they believed the land transfer tax would be an unreliable source of revenue while others spoke of their inability to cope with rising costs while on a fixed income.
A younger resident focused on the burden a land transfer tax would place on lower-income families and the instability of current economic conditions.
He first proposed not to increase means of taxation but the tax base itself. He also said CIP economic development projects that have the potential to increase the tax base should be given special attention.
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