Chapel Hill Town Council members discussed the preliminary budget proposal for the 2016-17 fiscal year, passed a traffic calming measure on Edgewater Circle and passed the Land Use Management Ordinance text amendments to comply with changes to state law.
On average, the town has 50 job positions that are not filled.
The money budgeted for those jobs goes unspent because the budget plans for zero job vacancies.
Chapel Hill Town Council member Jessica Anderson questioned if it was normal to have many vacancies.
Kenneth C. Pennoyer, business management director for Chapel Hill, said it was common for larger governments to have vacancies.
“It’s highlighting an issue that we’re not able to fill these positions,” Anderson said.
Council member Maria Palmer agreed it was concerning to just lower the vacancies and suggested to actually fill them.
The council also approved the addition of two speed tables on Edgewater Circle in the Southern Village neighborhood.
The speed tables will cost $8,000 in total with the goal of reducing the speed of vehicles, not reducing the amount of traffic.
Southern Village resident Maya Styner spoke at the public hearing about her concern for her children who must walk on that road to commute to school.
She said Edgewater Circle was the longest stretch of road in Southern Village without a stop sign.
A more comprehensive traffic study of the Southern Village neighborhood will be presented to the council in September.
Notable:
The Council approved the Land Use Management Ordinance to clarify language about residential permits.
“There were pieces of the language that were confusing,” said Mary Jane Nirdlinger, the town’s planning and sustainability executive director.
Quotable:
“Each position represents a lower level of service and an additional burden on other folks,” Palmer said of the town’s job vacancies.
city@dailytarheel.com
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