Board of Commissioners Meeting Summary
Jenn Weaver recognized and new board sworn in; cross-connection ordinance updated and FY23 audit presented
The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners met Monday, Dec. 11 at the Town Hall Annex. Following is a brief summary of noteworthy actions. It does not include all actions taken at the meeting and should not be viewed as official minutes. The meeting is available for view on the town’s YouTube channel.
Recognition
Jenn Weaver was recognized for her 10 years of service on the town board as she concluded her second term as mayor. She expressed gratitude for her colleagues on the board, staff, the community, businesses and organizations; and she expressed confidence in her successor, Mayor Mark Bell. Weaver was presented with a key to the town and received a framed proclamation recognizing her service to the town.
Oaths of office
Bell and commissioners Evelyn Lloyd, Matt Hughes and Meaghun Darab took their oaths of office. Bell is commencing his first two-year term as mayor after serving eight years as a commissioner. Hughes is starting his second full term, and Lloyd is starting her ninth term. Darab was elected to her first term in November. Commissioner terms are four years.
Appointments
The following appointments were made:
- Mayor pro tempore — Commissioner Robb English was chosen by the board to serve as mayor pro tempore, the board’s leader in the mayor’s absence.
- Committee seats — Board members also determined the town, county and regional boards on which they will represent the Board of Commissioners in 2024 and 2025. All will share in attending meetings of the Hillsborough Water and Sewer Advisory Committee.
- Bell will serve on the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Board and Orange County Solid Waste Advisory Group.
- Darab will serve on the Community Home Trust Elected Officials Committee, Hillsborough Tourism Board, Hillsborough Tourism Development Authority, Upper Neuse River Basin Association and as an alternate on the Orange County Solid Waste Advisory Group.
- English will serve on the Hillsborough Parks and Recreation Board, Orange County Intergovernmental Climate Council and Orange County Intergovernmental Parks Work Group.
- Ferguson will serve on the Central Pines Council of Governments Board of Delegates, Orange County Housing Collaborative and Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness.
- Hughes will serve on the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, Orange County Family Success Alliance Advisory Council and as an alternate on the Central Pines Council of Governments.
- Lloyd will serve on the boards of the Fire Department Relief Fund and the Orange Rural Fire Department.
Cross-connection ordinance update
The board approved changes to the Hillsborough Code of Ordinances to allow air gaps, a no-cost option, to be an allowable method of backflow prevention between the town’s water supply and water features that are over 24-inches in depth and not directly connected to plumbing.
The board also approved the reimbursement of seven in-ground residential swimming pool owners who had recently installed a backflow assembly on their water service at the requirement of the town prior to the board relaxing the code. The financial impact to the town will be approximately $17,000 and town staff will contact the impacted parties with the requirements for reimbursement.
Audit presentation
The board received a favorable audit report for Fiscal Year 2023 from the accounting firm PBMares, as the firm issued the highest level of assurance. One material weakness with internal control was identified: the road improvements made as part of the reservoir expansion project were inadvertently listed as a town asset in 2022. The road was transferred to the North Carolina Department of Transportation without being removed from the capital asset ledger. The auditor stated this has been corrected and is not a cause for ongoing financial concern.
Financial metrics indicate the town is in solid financial condition as of June 30, 2023. The audit was completed before December 1, which is an important deadline set by the Local Government Commission, a regulatory division of the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer.
