Amy Fowler is a Democrat running unopposed for reelection to the at-large county commissioner seat.
Fowler previously served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education from 2017-2020 and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Special Needs Advisory Council (SNAC) from 2015-17. She also led the Orange-Chatham chapter of the Autism Society of North Carolina (ASNC) for 7 years.
Fowler is a pediatrician in Chapel Hill – full disclosure: some of our kids see her – and has been a strong advocate for the public schools in Orange County during her first term.
We interviewed Fowler over email and her answers are published in full below.
The only population increasing in Orange County is 65+, both due to Baby Boomers aging in place and housing prices remaining high. What does this mean for the future of our school systems?
The school population will likely be flat for several years before starting to grow again. This takes pressure off the need to add any more schools over the next 10 years. Yet both county school systems have significant school facility improvement needs due to aging facilities and a lag in funding school improvements in the past. This occurred due to the county directing a significant amount of funding to school operations to supplement insufficient school operational funding from the state. (An important reason to vote for democrats up and down the ballot). Between the 2 school systems, a recent study determined the county needs $1.1 billion in school improvements. Unfortunately, that is just not possible in our current budget and debt models. The most ambitious yet fiscally responsible target for the school bond referendum to address facility needs is $300 million. This, along with $100 million in “paygo” funds (funds directly from general fund budget) will address a significant portion of the school capital needs and likely reflects what can realistically be achieved over the next 10 years. I strongly urge voters to vote “yes” to the school bond referendum for 2 reasons. It ensures the funding goes to school capital needs and ensures the county gets the best bond rates and thus the most improvements for the money.
How will you balance the needs of the schools with all of the non-school needs across the county? Can you share your top three spending priorities?
In terms of county budgetary pressures, the county also has significant capital improvement needs, which the BOCC plans to address proportionally to school capital improvements. School and county capital needs are the county’s statutory obligations and thus a priority. On the operational side, I am pleased that we recently approved our first ever Climate Action Plan. We are investing heavily in climate mitigation with several million dollars of our 24/25 budget being allocated to lowering our greenhouse gas emissions. Other top priorities include investing in a behavioral health facility to divert individuals with mental health crises from emergency departments and law enforcement to receive the appropriate care they need. This past year, the BOCC also approved a Strategic Plan that incorporated the input of county residents that is heavily focused on equity. Housing has been a top priority within that. Based on amendments proposed by Phyllis Portie-Ascott and supported by the entire BOCC, our current budget allocated funds to eviction diversion that previously was funded by the ARPA grant that recently expired. The county has many other statutory obligations to support such as the departments of health, aging, transportation, housing, justice, environment and parks and recreations, and the sheriff’s office.
Do you think Orange County is growing too quickly, too slowly, or about right? Why?
Orange County is growing rapidly compared to the state as a whole, but slightly more slowly than other counterparts in the triangle. Last year, the BOCC approved changes to our zoning ordinance that approved accessory dwelling units, thus allowing more housing in the region under county control. The BOCC also recently approved changes that may allow water and sewer and development south of Chapel Hill to the Chatham County line with the goal of increasing housing in an area that is already being heavily developed on the Chatham County side. The county is currently working to update our Comprehensive Land Use Plan and looking at ways to increase development while also preserving farm and forest land. While affordable housing was a community priority, so was land conservation; thus the BOCC aims to address both.
The county and towns within Orange County previously collaborated to create the water and sewer boundary agreement that relatively limits development within the rural areas and promotes development within the town limits. This is generally beneficial in that it protects vital farmland and conserves forest land that serves to lower carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) while increasing density in towns, locating people near their work, public transportation, and shopping centers. This should lower overall vehicle miles traveled, again mitigating climate change.
The towns have often been asked to fund many county initiatives through joint agreements (while residents also pay county taxes and are the main source of property taxes to the county), yet there are few examples of county investments in the towns. How would you advocate for working with and supporting the towns as part of the county? Do you believe the Commissioners should focus on issues outside of the towns or begin to support housing, environment, and other joint priorities within the towns more?
I posit that the county already invests in the towns and collaborates with the towns on shared interests.
Many county amenities are located within the towns. For example, the county has two senior centers, one located in Hillsborough and one located in Chapel Hill. Similarly the health department has locations in both Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. The county fully funds a public library that is situated in Hillsborough. The county also just funded construction of a new library in Carrboro and will fully fund its operation. Thus, Carrboro and Hillsborough do not have to fund these amenities and can focus their dollars elsewhere (such as housing and climate). The BOCC also provides supplemental funding to the Chapel Hill Public library; thus, Chapel Hill, similarly, has slightly more funding to address other needs.
The county currently collaborates with the towns on affordable housing (HOME collaborative and development of the Greene Tract). In 2023, the BOCC approved $15 million in affordable housing bonds, most of which will go to housing within town limits. The County also supports a housing hotline, eviction diversion, vouchers, home repairs, and a longtime homeowner’s (tax mitigation) program to assist residents with housing expenses throughout the county. In terms of environmental concerns, the county recently approved our Climate Action Plan which directs significant funding toward lowering our carbon footprint. During our most recent budget, the BOCC invested several million toward investments that meet county obligations while improving our sustainability (e.g. purchasing EV vehicles to replace older vehicles in the county fleet). The BOCC also continues to provide climate grants which the towns have applied for and received. Many of the ways the county and towns collaborate already, such as on public transportation, planning, and housing, naturally address climate mitigation while also improving the lives of people in our county and towns.
Why did you push for the schools to draw down their fund balance?
Specifically, CHCCS was asked to spend down their fund balance to the amount recommended in the school fund balance policy. The school districts have a fund balance policy to maintain approximately 5%. A few years back, the CHCCS school district fund balance was up to 14%. The purpose of a fund balance is to ensure the schools can pay their bills in a timely manner. There is no need for schools to have a much larger fund balance. Accumulating more funds in the fund balance would suggest that they were not using and thus not needing the operational budget they were given each year. The reality is that the fund balance accumulated, in large part, due to vacant positions and lapsed salaries. When school districts do have extra fund balance, it may be used for non-recurring expenses. This could be capital needs, of which there are many, or could be spent on new curricula that better meets student’s needs or on computers and hotspots to improve student access. The one thing it cannot be spent on is recurring expenses (i.e. salary increases or new positions).
Last year, the Mebane City Council approved a proposal by Buc-ee’s to build a large gas station in Alamance County after the Orange County BOCC turned down a similar proposal to build the gas station in Efland, costing Orange County an estimated $1 million in annual tax revenue. Do you think this was a good decision? What kinds of development do you think is unsuitable for Orange County?
To be exact, Orange County did not turn down the proposal. Buc-ees withdrew their application after a few discussions with the BOCC in open meetings. I will admit that I did ask Buc-ees to include 10 functioning EV charging stations to accompany their 120 gas pump sites that they proposed. Unfortunately they felt 10 EV charging stations seemed unreasonable, despite that being approximately how many EV chargers the Starbucks in Chapel Hill has.
While we would like to diversify our tax base, Orange County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state. We should avoid companies that spew PFAs or organic waste into our air and water or that do not pay a living wage. Orange County should seek development from companies that have a low impact on the environment and that provide living wages to our residents.
Since the 1980s, Orange County has asked its municipalities to take on almost all of the burden of providing new housing. While this was done with rural preservation in mind, what we’ve seen is leapfrog development, with significant growth in our neighboring counties (Alamance, Chatham, Durham) occurring as a direct consequence of our inability to add sufficient housing. Do you think this is a problem? If so, how do we change this dynamic?
The latest data published by the Chamber reveal that 40% of residences are located in unincorporated Orange County while 60% are in towns. I believe Orange County is setting an example for how other counties should develop. We are concentrating development in our towns, near public transportation, jobs, and amenities. We have minimized urban sprawl which is rampant in neighboring counties. Our development pattern is better for climate mitigation and locating people near their jobs and amenities. And, as mentioned previously, the county is studying potential changes to our Comprehensive Land Use plan that could substantially increase residential development while also preserving farm and forest land within the county’s jurisdiction.
Do you support the municipality’s strategy for dense development to ease housing shortage within town limits and what will you do as commissioners to further this goal?
Yes. I believe we need to place residential development near public transportation, jobs, and amenities. There are some places where extending boundaries make sense (southern border of Chapel Hill to Chatham County line) to increase housing along transportation routes. The BOCC has collaborated in that effort by approving an amendment to the water and sewer boundary agreement.
There are longstanding tensions between the municipalities in southern Orange County (Chapel Hill and Carrboro) and the rest of the county, with the rural buffer effectively serving as a wall between the two. How can we encourage dialogue across the county?
The BOCC is open to dialogue between the county and towns. The rural buffer was created via collaboration between willing parties from both county and towns approximately 35 years ago.
How should we respond to the increase in housing prices and the increase in demand for housing here?
Housing prices have increased throughout North Carolina and the nation. I believe the county and towns are responding as quickly as possible, given the current market conditions, which are heavily affected by a shortage of labor and supplies which add to the cost and slow construction of new housing. On top of that, many homeowners have excellent loan rates on their current homes that they currently would not be able to obtain if they were to trade up to a new house. This also impacts the market prices by lowering the supply of older homes. As inflation pressures ease and interest rates drop, more houses may come on the market.
Do you think preventing sprawl depends on substantially increasing the housing in the municipalities? Why or why not?
Our water and sewer boundary agreement, created before my time on the BOCC, essentially prevents urban sprawl. So it does not depend on increasing housing in the municipalities. However, to meet the housing needs, the presence of the water and sewer boundary does require increasing housing density in towns and creative zoning in the county for developments that cluster homes while preserving forest and/or farm land.
Elected officials have to make tough choices when it comes to spending money, as there are many worthy causes and limited resources. Can you name one service or department that we spend too much money on, and one that we should fund more robustly?
The county is fairly judicious in its spending. I would not say we spend too robustly on any department. Most county departments would argue the opposite, particularly our housing department, social services, behavioral health, and schools. Our department of the environment, parks, and recreation usually takes the brunt of cuts in order to meet more urgent needs. And of course, mitigating climate change as rapidly as needed, would take significant more investment. The county has many statutory obligations and many more goals than we can fully fund without substantially raising taxes. This would be untenable for residents who are already stretched. Thankfully, the BOCC recently completed our Strategic Plan to help us prioritize our decisions with a focus on equity.
If you could design a pair of Crocs for yourself, what would they look like?
Amy Fowler sent a photo of her purple “peace and love” personalized Tevas as her “kindly outside the box response to the croc question.” She also wrote this:
I do own pink crocs, but unadorned. Were I to adorn them, it would be with a motion activated musical device that plays the Meb Ko song “Put a Woman in Charge”. I could listen that song all day long.
Questions for county commissioners were compiled by Melody Kramer, Stephen Whitlow, Martin Johnson, Lou Rivers III, and Geoff Green.