You can craft a budget by starting with the money you expect to have in the coming year and determining how to spend it. Or you can envision the lifestyle you want and figure out how to afford it.
Chapel Hill’s budget for Fiscal Year 2018, which starts July 1 of this year, does a little of both.
One way or another, all of the money we have to spend comes from taxpayers, through property taxes and sales taxes; fees, such as for stormwater management and solid waste; a parking rate increase; and bonds that voters have approved. Visitors pay a hotel occupancy tax to the county, which divvies it up with the town.
Although the town’s recommended tax rate has gone down this year, most of us will pay a higher tax bill because the county increased the value of our residences. Commercial property values have risen even more steeply and are passed along to businesses renting space in commercial venues, so the pressure is on for local business owners to increase their sales.
This year, town employee health insurance costs increased by 12%. The town’s Employee Wellness Program keeps the premiums from going even higher. The budget puts money aside to pay for health-care coverage and pensions we promised to retired town employees, the much-discussed OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) liability.
At council’s request, the town manager has included a 2% increase in the amount of funding for human services agencies. The nonprofits the town contributes to provide services that not only improve the quality of life for our most economically fragile residents but also divert residents from unaffordable situations — for instance, offering in-home support services so seniors can age in their own homes, rather than pay for an expensive assisted living facility.
The manager also shifted funds to boost the affordable housing pot to more than $1 million.
The budget includes money to replace worn-out buses with more fuel-efficient models and to rent an electric bus as a mini pilot program. The manager has designated funds to pay for a rewrite of the Land Use Management Ordinance to address the high-density development we face today.
A problematic cost comes in the manager’s recommendation of a 2.5% pay raise across the board, which increases the wealth gap by greatly benefiting those at the top end of the pay scale and minimally benefiting those at the lower end. More than 50 job categories pay between $100,000 and $200,000. I have advocated that those employees receive a $1,000 bonus instead of a percentage increase.
Council members who support an across-the-board percentage increase say that higher-paid workers will feel disrespected if they get a lower proportional pay hike and may leave. From my observation of private-sector businesses, money won’t keep a restless employee in his job. He’ll take the pay increase and keep looking for a more interesting, challenging position.
Perhaps that’s a good thing. Don’t we want to make room for employees who are excited about the work they do, rather than feel shackled by golden handcuffs?
We have many projects to invest in that would benefit town residents and visitors of all income levels. We don’t need to divert funds to feed systemic inequality.
— Nancy Oates