BCR's Daily Fishwrap Report for January 27, 2009

• County Commissioners okayed the $3.1 million cut in Durham Public Schools' budget; the controversial cut will mostly be made up by DPS by "deleting $2,671,267 in lottery funds that had not yet been committed to any project and by reducing the capital outlay budget by $410,595," according to the Herald-Sun. DPS spokesperson Michael Yarborough noted at BCR yesterday that while the funds have been described as unallocated to any specific project, they would have been applied to a specific list of $4 million in capital projects that now face delays. Meanwhile, county manager Mike Ruffin warns the budget shortfall is likely to grow. (H-S)
• ABC 11 reports that the bids for the current construction projects proposed by the County -- including the human services complex on E. Main and, we expect, the county courthouse -- have come in $20 million below expectation. County manager Mike Ruffin has renewed his call for accelerated construction -- including possibly using the cost savings from the work towards further-out capital projects such as the expansion of the jail, and potentially moving some of those more distant capital expenditures up on the schedule. Ruffin continues to expect that the county would borrow at low short-term rates and seek permanent financing when the economy improves. (WTVD)
• More in the H-S' RTP series; the Park is looking at the Park Center area off I-40 and NC 54, with its hotels and banks, as a possible heart for more mixed-use development to be added to the research center. (H-S)
• The BOCC approved $300,000 in funding towards collaborative programs to fight truancy and to target youth who are potential drop-outs. (H-S)

Comments

[Todd]

DPS just passed $3.1 million in capital money back to the County to balance the budget - most of the money is from the "Education Lottery" that would have gone for school renovations.

Now bids for the new courthouse and human services buildings have come in $20 million under projection, and the County wants to use the windfall for the jail expansion and for County Stadium.

What the Hell? Can DPS get their money back? Shouldn't Durham be building/renovating schools instead of a stadium and jail cells?