Bunkey Morgan

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1970 Marthas Chapel Road
Apex,
NC 27523

Phone 919-427-1348

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Bunkey

Calendar
Jan 5:
Beta site launched.
Jan 23:
Beta site reviewed.
Jan 30 :
Discussion of beta site.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Capital improvement plan funds 11 county facilities.

Chatham County’s Capital Improvement Plan, approved by the Board of County Commissioners last fall, will complete 11 new county and school facilities over the next five years. The projects were primarily funded by a four-cent tax increase in last year’s county budget and school impact fees collected by the county.

“It is very significant for a county to do a program this big for just four cents on the tax rate,” said Doug Carter, a financial planner hired by the county to develop the funding strategies for the capital improvement plan presented by the commissioners.

“Dedication of the four cents to these projects ensures that the county has the revenue to pay for these needed projects. It’s one thing to approve the project, but this budget ensures we have the funding necessary to make these projects a reality,” stated County Manager Charlie Horne.

Having a dedicated revenue source will help the county when it asks to borrow the approximately $133 million needed to fund these facilities. “It was a very positive factor when we went to the debt market,” stated Chatham County Finance Officer Vicki McConnell. “We were able to obtain the best interest rates because we showed a dedicated funding stream.”

Take a moment and study these improvements and you will agree they should have been taken care of over the years. Chatham County citizens should be proud of our commissioner board for taking the necessary steps not only to address these needs but also to have the ability to manage the situation in the correct matter

The plan allows the county to borrow $133 million for facilities, including:

New elementary school in Siler City. Bunkey Morgan tried to get the school system to build this school four years ago, but they turned him down. The price increased over four million dollars since.

New middle school in northeast Chatham. The commissioners asked Newland to donate more land so a middle school could be built and they did so. Besides donating the property Newland will be paying over twelve million dollars in impact fees.

New and expanded cafeteria for Jordan Matthews High School.

Expanded classroom space at Northwood High School. We were willing to add the base needed for another five hundred students.

An additional $45 million for a new high school. This new school would have been built in the northeastern part of the county and was funded to start being built in three years. Although this school was funded the commissioners felt the citizens should vote on it, but the vote was postponed, at the request of the Board of Education.



Infrastructure (such as water and sewer) for the county’s business park in Siler City. After being a cow pasture for six years we now have the Central Carolina Business Campus.

New building at Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) in Pittsboro.

New main library in Pittsboro. Plans for the new joint library with Central Carolina Community College are underway. Would you like to guess how long this project had been discussed?

New CCCC job training center in Siler City (located at the county’s business park).

Expanded, renovated social services building. The present DSS building has been out of compliance by the state for over ten years.

New judicial facility and county offices.



2006-07 budget holds tax rate even with improvements.

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved the 2006-07 budget with no property tax increase, but expected revenue growth allowed the county to fund 13 new staff positions and six onetime capital projects, such as equipment or software.

(NOTE: A four-cent increase approved in the previous year’s budget goes into a capital reserve to fund the capital improvements mentioned in the article above.)

One-time capital projects funded in this year’s budget include: electronic document management software, jail and law enforcement software, new Health Department phone system, enhanced GIS (geographic information systems) mapping capabilities, website improvements and renovations to the Dunlap Building, which houses several county departments.



General Fund Transfers: The final budget included two transfers from the

General Fund to cover capital projects:

An additional $1.585 million for school capital projects, including $1 million for school technology. The rest will fund furnishings, vehicles, equipment, etc. (projects that are ineligible for lottery proceeds or school impact fee revenues).

Chatham County currently ranks 13th in the state in terms of total local funding for schools.

$5 million was transferred to the Water Capital Reserve to help offset the cost of water system construction, which is in a major building phase.

Despite these transfers, staff projections show the fund balance will remain above the 20% threshold required by the county’s Financial Policy.

After all the progress we made with these projects the 2005/2006 year ended with an additional two million dollars going into the county’s fund balance.

Water System Construction: The Water Department has made major progress with construction of the first phase of the Southeast District waterlines, including lines installed along major portions of these roads: Beaver Creek, Pea Ridge, New Elam Church, Old US 1, East River, Hermitage Lane, Moncure-Pittsboro (eastern section), Jordan Dam and Mt. View Church.

Other progress this year includes:

Initiated improvements to the North Chatham District, including a new pump station and 500,000-gallon water tank (nearing completion).

Prepared for construction of the first phase of the Southwest District along the following roads: Johnny Shaw, Chatham Church, Pete Roberson, Moncure- Pittsboro (western section), Hwy, 902, old US 421, Alex Cockman and Silk Hope roads.

Constructed a waterline from Siler City to serve Silk Hope Elementary.

Western Senior Center: The Chatham County Council on Aging has been busy with the construction of its new Western Chatham Senior Center in Siler City, which should open sometime this fall. The 12,000-square foot facility will house senior activities and meals, community events, full commercial kitchen and transit ticket office. The nearly $1.5 million center was paid for through a combination of county funds, grants, private donations and a low-interest loan. The county commissioners contributed $ 600,000. from general funds to make this project a success. This center will also serve as a shelter during a disaster.

Grants: A new position in the County Manager’s Office focused on increasing grant funding, which helped the county secure more than $500,000 in less than seven months.



OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

I believe in always starting with the positive. We have so much to be thankful for and our future looks great when we work together and make things happen.

·         Economic Development Incentive Policy to create jobs. This proposal stayed on the commissioner table for five years without action. Since it was adopted over $132 million is scheduled to be invested by businesses and 164 new jobs.

·         Created a small business loan assistance fund.

·         Equipping Council On Aging building in Pittsboro to be used as a disaster shelter.

·         Established a lifetime scholarship to Central Carolina Community College for Chatham County citizens.

·         Sewer Study for countywide wastewater problems.

·         Funding for the sewer line from Sanford to Goldston if the town can provide service to its residence.

·         Arranged for a major cellular company to provide coverage in Harpers Cross Road and southwest Chatham County. Assisted EOC with funding.

Thanks to each and everyone of you, especially the county staff, for your hard work making these things possible.

Bunkey Morgan