Billy Corriher

News

Town to Strive to Keep Down Taxes in 2003-04

By Billy Corriher | January 21

The Chapel Hill Town Council, preparing to begin deliberations on the town's 2003-04 budget, hopes to avoid raising taxes for a second year in a row. Town Manager Cal Horton's budget estimates, which were presented to the council at a planning session Friday, include a 1.96-cent increase to the tax rate of 51 cents per $100 valuation. But after last year, when the town raised the tax rate by 4.9 cents per $100 valuation, council members said they believe another tax increase is undesirable. Horton's budget estimates are only preliminary guidelines.

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Gov. Easley to Address Chamber of Commerce

By Billy Corriher | January 21

Gov. Mike Easley will be the keynote speaker at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting at the Carolina Club in UNC's Alumni Center. Easley will address the chamber Jan. 30 and is expected to speak about economic issues, said Aaron Nelson, executive director of the chamber. "We expect him to talk about the state's economy and role that small businesses and the University play in it," he said.

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Group to Consider Apple Chill's Future

By Billy Corriher | January 17

Chapel Hill's Street Fair Review Committee is seeking input from the community on whether to continue holding the Apple Chill festival in its current form. University Relations Coordinator Linda Convissor, a committee member, said the group wanted to get input from the public on what to do about the festival before making a recommendation to the Chapel Hill Town Council. The committee, which met for the first time Tuesday, scheduled a public forum for Feb. 25.

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Council Aims for More Minority Hires

By Billy Corriher | January 17

The Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss increasing the number of minority supervisors working for the town at a planning retreat today. At last year's planning retreat, the council set a goal of increasing the number of minorities employed by the town in a supervisor capacity. As the first step toward meeting that goal, town staff compiled a report on the status of minority employment. The council will discuss that report today.

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Boards to Give Feedback to OWASA

By Billy Corriher | January 16

Officials from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County will give the Orange Water and Sewer Authority feedback on its new, more strict draft of the area's water conservation rules at a joint meeting tonight. The meeting will be an opportunity for the local governments to make suggestions about the OWASA board of directors' latest draft of the rules before the board finalizes its proposal and sends it back to the governments for ratification.

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Land Trust Proposes Affordable Duplexes

By Billy Corriher | January 15

Though the Chapel Hill Town Council passed a temporary ban on duplex construction in October, members plan to consider allowing some duplexes, but only for families who need affordable housing. Robert Dowling, executive director of Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, presented the duplex proposal to the council earlier this month because he said developers would prefer duplexes as a way to provide affordable housing. The land trust helps working families purchase affordable homes with aid from local governments.

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Town Makes Plans to Spend Surplus From State, New Tax

By Billy Corriher | January 14

With the implementation of the local half-cent sales tax last month and unexpected revenue from the state, Chapel Hill is proposing putting much of the surplus money toward improving town property, public safety and other town services. The proposed amendment to the 2002-03 Capital Improvements Program budget includes $815,000 to go toward renovations and repairs for the Inter-Faith Council homeless shelter, the Hargraves Community Center and two local fire stations.

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Citizen Asks Town Council To Oppose War With Iraq

By Billy Corriher | January 13

With the prospect of a possible war against Iraq increasing, the Chapel Hill Town Council will be asked to consider a petition Monday speaking out against any U.S. military action. If the council passes a resolution condemning military action, it will not lead to any specific action, but will serve a symbolic purpose, members said. Other municipalities across the country have passed similar resolutions, including Carrboro. The citizen introducing the petition, Robbin Helweg-Larsen, said he thinks the council will support his motion.

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Proposed Decks May See Some Resistance

By Billy Corriher | January 10

Implementation of a recent proposal by the University's Advisory Committee on Transportation might encounter problems stemming from previous agreements with the town regarding development. If passed by the UNC Board of Trustees, the proposal will replace the Manning Drive parking deck with two others near Cobb Residence Hall and Jackson Place. The Manning deck was drafted into the Development Plan, UNC's eight-year plan for campus growth.

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Public Forum To Examine Water Laws

By Billy Corriher | January 9

The Orange Water and Sewer Authority's public hearing tonight will be the last opportunity for public input on a new water conservation ordinance before it is sent to county and town governments for approval. OWASA Planning Director Ed Holland said the revised ordinance includes better ways of determining when water is in short supply as well as stricter conservation guidelines year-round to ease the effect of drier seasons. Holland said the new system for measuring water supply will give OWASA a more accurate trigger to alert the community to a shortage.