Bonnie Hauser, the president of Orange County Voice, sheds light on Orange County Commissioners’ budget deliberations. Here’s what she has to say about the commissioners’ season finale: On Tuesday, the BoCC will approve increased taxes and fees for 2013-14. On top of Chapel Hill’s 2 cent tax increase, the county will add 2 cents for […]
All posts in category Spending
Business as usual?
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 17, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/06/17/business-as-usual-2/
Budget busters
The town can’t afford to keep the larger library open as many hours a week as the pre-renovated space without raising taxes or cutting other services. From the beginning the plan for funding the increased operating costs was to raise taxes, but the economy hasn’t exactly bounced back. Now state laws are hitting some of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 10, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/06/10/budget-busters/
Price vs. value
When I heard about the 120 or so taxpayers who showed up at the County Commissioners meeting on May 23 pleading to pay more in taxes to fully fund the schools budget, I recalled a scene from Crocodile Dundee wherein New York City street thugs brandish a switchblade in an attempt to rob the protagonist […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 3, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/06/03/price-vs-value/
Putting the priority in budgeting
My husband has wanted a new couch for years. And I agree we could use one. But something always elbows ahead of it on our priority list. An immediate emergency – the washing machine breaks and the estimate for the repair equals the cost of a new one. A capital improvement – our very expensive […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 27, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/05/27/putting-the-priority-in-budgeting/
A representative view
Former Town Council member Julie McClintock, who also worked for the EPA, has participated in many planning efforts. She offers her reaction to the town’s priority-budgeting survey: In a recent email from the Town, I was invited to take a budget survey to show “what [I] value.” Since I’m an engaged citizen, I took the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 18, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/03/18/a-representative-view/
Big Bang Theory
How much would you pay for the fireworks display last week? Technically, we’ve prepaid for the July 4th show through our taxes, but the town put out a tip jar at the entrance gate and sent around an email with instructions on how to make a tax-deductible contribution through its Friends of Chapel Hill Parks […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 9, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/07/09/big-bang-theory/
Windfall
I’ve read about people who come into money and then the trouble starts. Town Council showed a hint of that at Monday night’s meeting when they began talking about how to spend the money from the sale of “two-thirds” bonds. These bonds don’t need voters’ approval, but council does have to approve the sale. The […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 19, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/19/windfall/
Gym jumps through hoops
Chapel Hill now has two town-owned buildings that can’t be rented out due to overdue maintenance. The Chapel Hill Museum building at 523 E. Franklin St. was shuttered in June 2011 because the town did not have the approximately $800,000 to do the repairs. And last week, Orange County Gymnastics learned it would have to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 27, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/02/27/gym-jumps-through-hoops/
The Roger Stancil Show
Town manager Roger Stancil is a completely different person in daylight than he is tucked away at the end of the dais during Town Council meetings at night. As guest speaker at the Friends of Downtown meeting Thursday morning, he was relaxed, gregarious and funny. Stancil referenced signs that have popped up around town since […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 27, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/01/27/the-roger-stancil-show/
Fiscally happy New Year
Town manager Roger Stancil must have eaten his New Year’s Day Hoppin’ John on behalf of the town this year. When Town Council resumes meetings tonight, council members will vote on whether to accept money from several sources. The consent agenda asks council to accept $5,000 from OWASA toward Code Red, a service that notifies […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 9, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/01/09/fiscally-happy-new-year/