The Orange County commissioners got together with department heads yesterday to go over the proposed budget for what’s being described as a “tough” budget year. We hear that cry from commissioners every year, of course, and then they hike the tax rate again. This year won’t be much different, based on this story and others. It seems the best Orange residents can hope for is that the rate hike won’t go over $1.
What’s most interesting, however, is the mindset that comes through via the commissioners’ comments on department requests, particularly from the two school systems.
Commissioner Mike Nelson said the Orange County Schools system had taken the lead in presenting a lean budget, and that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools also had done well. “We should reward their leadership,” Nelson said.
But Jacobs and Carey, while agreeing with Nelson, said the schools might have to share in budget cuts along with county departments. “Everybody did a yeoman’s job of trying to come in with as low an increase as possible,” Carey said.
Really? They evidently don’t remember what I called the Chapel Hill Superintenent’s “fuzzy math” in this May 23 blog.
