The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners met Monday, Feb. 12 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 to view on the town’s YouTube channel.

Presentation

Police Chief Duane Hampton presented a summary of 2023 police activity and crime trend information. The report included details on crime throughout the past year, highlighting topics that included violent crimes, property crimes, traffic stops and crisis intervention calls. Hampton showed a rise in calls for service but explained that violent crime — while a primary concern for the department moving forward — has continued to fluctuate at an expected level in response to town growth and population change. Overall, most crime is trending downward since 2022.

Hampton stated confidence in the department, citing the completion of over 4,700 training hours and over 70 internal accountability reviews to monitor areas like use of force. He said community engagement initiatives and the department’s new diversion social worker also are having a positive impact on community relations and advanced mental health support.

Appointments

The board approved the following reappointments:

Planning Board — Robert Iglesias and Hooper Schultz with three-year terms expiring in January 2027.
Tourism Board — Barney Caton and Victoria Pace with terms expiring in December 2026.

Resolutions

The board adopted resolutions:

Authorizing the town to engage in electronic payments as defined by North Carolina General Statute 159-28 or 115C-441.
Amending the Water and Sewer Management, Planning, and Boundary Agreement to reflect an expansion of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority’s primary service boundary. The agreement provides a comprehensive countywide system of utility service areas that Orange County, OWASA, Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough can rely on when making decisions related to issues such as planning, land use, annexation, zoning and growth management. All five members must adopt resolutions amending the agreement. OWASA provides water and sewer service to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill area.

Retention schedule

The board directed staff to draft an internal policy guaranteeing the retention of public meeting audio and video recordings for 10 years. The town is not statutorily required to retain audio or video recordings if approved minutes are available. Official minutes must be retained indefinitely.

Town code amendments

The board approved the following amendments to the Hillsborough Code of Ordinances:

Section 14-56: Cross Connection — to not mandate annual inspections for backflow prevention devices that are not required by the town.
Section 14-1: Definitions — to add definitions for “development” and “redevelopment” based on existing state statute definitions. The proposed adoption will not result in any change to the town’s enforcement of existing standards.

Project updates

The board approved:

Multiple text amendments for stormwater and planning in the Unified Development Ordinance. Amendments included updates to riparian buffer variances, permitting for government maintenance yards, off-street parking regulations and requirements for new and improved streets. The Planning Board unanimously recommended approval of these amendments after the Jan. 18 joint public hearing with the town board.
Accepting ownership of the sidewalk and water line assets for the Aldi property located on N.C. 86.
Accepting the water utilities infrastructure for the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealership located on N.C. 86.