The Hillsborough Police Department is now signing up participants for its 2010 Basketball Camp.

The camp for youths ages 10 to 18 years old will be 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., July 26-30, in the gymnasium at C.W. Stanford Middle School, 308 Orange High School Road in Hillsborough.

A registration fee of $5 will go toward a pizza party on the last day of camp.

To sign up, visit the Community Policing Substation, 501 Rainey Ave., to fill out the necessary paperwork. The camp will be limited to 60 participants.

For more information, contact Cpl. Tereasa King at 732-2441, ext. 26.    

Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce president Aaron Nelson responded to my blog post about county staff reconsidering their contract with Office Depot because it has no location in Orange County. He alerted me that the chamber itself is poised to sign a contract on behalf of its members for discounted supplies from Office Depot.

"We're using that power of the collective to help our members save money," Nelson said.

Though county staff mistakenly mentioned keeping sales tax in Orange County by buying from Staples (local governments don't really pay sales tax as they get reimbursed), Nelson points out that the county share of sales tax goes to the county in which goods are delivered, regardless of their shipping origin. That means ordering online from Office Depot for delivery in Orange County keeps sales tax in Orange County.

Economic development was the key theme in the spring Democratic primary campaign for Orange County commissioner. The topic recently grabbed hold of some county staffers, who wondered why Orange government has a contract for paper supplies through Office Depot, which has no presence in Orange County.

It seems even county personnel do their shopping in Durham.

"Can we purchase paper from Staples, here in Orange County?" wrote county financial-services coordinator Deb Smith in an e-mail to purchasing-agent David Cannell. "Clarence (Grier, county finance director) would like to see the sales tax stay here in Orange County."

Unfortunately, there's no "easy button" for that. The Office Depot contract is in effect through the end of the year.

They’ll hold a public hearing next Tuesday, June 1 at their meeting at the Department of Social Services Office, 113 Mayo Street in Hillsborough.  The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. 

County sales tax revenues have dropped by 30 percent since fiscal year 2008.Over that time, property taxes have gone from providing about two-thirds of the county's revenues to three-quarters.

"Unless something changes, next fiscal year we'll be looking at a property tax increase," said county manager Frank Clifton.

The current sales tax rate in Orange County is 7.75 percent -- 5.75 percent for the state and 2 percent for the county. The proposed 1/4-cent tax would increase the local sales tax rate to 8 percent. Unlike a property-tax hike, it would increase the amount of taxes collected directly from tourists and other visitors who buy goods and services in Orange County but don't live here.

During the 2007 legislative session, the North Carolina General Assembly granted county boards of commissioners the authority to levy, subject to voter approval, an additional one-quarter cent county sales-and-use tax. If the commissioners decide to go forward, voters would have to approve the tax by referendum on November 2.

The ¼-cent county sales-and-use tax would generate approximately $2,300,000 for Orange County on an annual basis.  If the voters approved the referendum this fall, implementation would not start until April 1, 2011 generating approximately $575,000 for the remainder of FY 2010-11. 

If elected officials follow staff recommendations, Orange County property owners won’t be paying any more in taxes this year than they did last.

Orange County manager Frank Clifton delivered his 2010-2011 budget recommendation Tuesday with no change in the county’s 85.8-cent-per-$100 tax rate nor the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ 18.84-cent-per-$100 rate. That follows in line with suggested budgets in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro, whose managers also proposed no tax increase.

The typical $300,000 home in the towns would cost $4,500 to $5,000 per year in property taxes. Taxes in the rural areas of the county would be $858 per $100,000 of assessed value.

The balanced budget will come at a cost: The county won’t be filling vacant positions, building needed facilities like a jail expansion or purchasing new equipment outside of public safety needs. Officials also plan to close the Cedar Grove branch library and cut hours at the Carrboro Cybrary.

“Every function of government has been touched,” said county finance director Clarence Grier. “This was probably one of the most difficult things that we’ve had to do.”

Though the schools will have to delay capital projects just like the rest of county government, Clifton assured that teachers’ jobs are safe.

“There would be no impact on the classrooms at this point in time,” he said.

Elected bodies like the Chapel Hill Town Council and the Orange County Board of Commissioners still need to approve the budget proposals in each of their jurisdictions. They'll be reviewing them over the next few weeks.

Orange County library director Lucinda Munger recently visited the county's Skills Development Center on West Franklin Street, a possible site for a new library branch, and liked what she saw.

"It would be a good location and size (13,000 square feet) to serve both the residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro," Munger wrote in an e-mail to other county officials. "I could see the materials/computers from the (McDougle library) fitting in the space -- if that is what is decided, or some other collection."

Orange Commissioner Barry Jacobs, who proposed using the Skills Development Center for a library, said existing services might be able to transfer to the Hillsborough campus of Durham Community Technical College. As the county considers increasing its contribution to the Chapel Hill Public Library, Jacobs said it might not have to climb as high if some patrons are diverted to a new branch on the west side of town.

Commissioner Mike Nelson has proposed increasing the county's funding of the Chapel Hill Public Library by $10,000 this year, with approximately $200,000 in annual increases in the three years following, to bring the county's share to $900,000 by July 2013. That would come close to 40 percent of the library's budget, matching the ratio of library patrons who come from the county but outside Chapel Hill.

Do you ever get that feeling of satisfaction when your trash is less than half of what you're recycling? You might want to double check everything you chucked into your recycling bin -- even though items may be recyclable doesn't mean they're getting recycled.

The Orange County commissioners may have lost a little leverage in their negotiation with the Chapel Hill Town Council on how much the county will contribute to the Chapel Hill Public Library's budget. The county currently contributes $250,000, yet non-Chapel Hill residents of the county use 40 percent of the library's resources, the equivalent of  $950,000 on the library budget.

At an Assembly of Governments meeting in December, county commissioners demanded a seat on the library's Board of Trustees as part of any renegotiation of funding. The thing is, the county already has a seat on the board, filled by Evelyn Daniel of Carrboro.

"That may be our fault that we have representatives on boards that don't report to us," said Commissioner Barry Jacobs as he sat down with town officials Thursday night to hammer out a new agreement. "We didn't even know we had one."

Jacobs and Commissioner Mike Nelson agreed with Town Council members Sally Greene and Gene Pease that the county's contribution ought to be tied to the ratio of usage by county residents, rather than the county's level of funding for its own library. County Manager Frank Clifton had suggested paying Chapel Hill 48 percent of the county's own library funding, or about $500,000. That percentage is based on what the county paid when the library was built in the 1990s.

The county had proposed raising its share in phases over three or more years, but the town is asking for something closer to $1 million. The county plans to prepare a specific proposal after Clifton releases his proposed 2010-2011 budget in mid-May and before the Town Council votes on whether to expand the library on May 24, according to Jacobs.

The majority of the Town Council voted Monday to direct Town Manager Roger Stancil to negotiate with Orange County Manager Frank Clifton to increase the county's share of funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library.

The two council members who voted against that plan wanted an immediate vote in favor of a long-planned $16-million expansion at the current library off Estes Drive. The majority also supported the expansion but opted to wait until an agreement with the county was in hand before acting. The council has until this summer to decide whether to issue about $20 million in bonds for the library and parks that voters approved in 2003.

"I don't see how we strengthen our position with Orange County ... if we make a decision tonight to go forward," said Councilman Matt Czajkowski.

"We don't have to move with irrational haste," agreed Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt.

The majority also left open the possibility that Stancil's talks with the county could include a branch near the Carrboro town line, which might trigger capital funding from the county. As it stands, county leaders are only willing to increase their share of operating costs unless a project would also meet their goal of a full-service branch in Carrboro.

About 40 percent of library patrons come from Orange County outside Chapel Hill, but the county's funding makes up only about 11 percent of the library's operating budget.

"What if the county has the ability to take our $15 million and turn it into $25 million," said Councilman Gene Pease. "I'm kind of intrigued by the pressure we've put on the county and what they've come back with."

Councilwoman Penny Rich, who voted against the delay, doesn't think the county will back out of its tentative proposal to double its annual contribution to $500,000.

But "we can't be sure of anything, of any funding from the county," said Councilman Jim Ward.

Next week, the Orange County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for another Assembly of Governments meeting with the Carrboro Aldermen and the Chapel Hill Town Council. Last time around, former Mayor Kevin Foy and Town Council members berated commissioners for not increasing the county's share of funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library.

Commissioners want no part of that next Thursday. They voted Tuesday directing County Manager Frank Clifton to negotiate with town management to set the new contribution level.

"There's some emotion attached to this issue, and it'll be resolved quicker with negotiations by the manager," said Commissioner Mike Nelson.