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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20090129 APPROVED 3/3/2009 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION January 29, 2009 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Work Session on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee, Vice-Chair Mike Nelson and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. 1. FY 2009-10 Board Priorities The Board considered clarifying its shared vision and desired outcomes for FY 2009-10 priorities and deciding on common guidance and direction regarding development of the FY 2009-10 budget. Laura Blackmon said that the Board discussed this at the January 10th retreat. Attachment 1 - minutes of the retreat Attachment 2 - Guiding Principles for County Priorities Attachment 3 - Identified Priorities for 2009-2010 Budget Item P-1, conserve high priority natural areas, wildlife habitat, and prime forests, got the most votes. Attachment 4— First 14 Board Identified Priorities for FY 2009-10 Work Plans and Fiscal Impact Statements. P-1: Conserve high priority natural areas, wildlife habitat, and prime forests. Donna Coffey said that staff tried to identify the steps that staff understands would need to be taken in the next few years to achieve the priorities that the Board of County Commissioners identified, and to identify the fiscal impact of each piece. Some of it is an exchange of staff time from one priority to another. Commissioner Nelson read Priority 1, "Conserve high priority natural areas, wildlife habitat, and prime forests," and said that this reads as a value statement and not an action. Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil said that he tried to think about the constraints they will be operating under in the next year and some of this was to look at low-cost programs. He said that he tried to capture this priority in a year that they knew they would be constrained. Commissioner Jacobs pointed out that there are things that are action items and that the Board has talked about doing. Commissioner Pelissier agreed with Commissioner Jacobs. Planning Director Craig Benedict said that the County is in a more regulatory mode and he focused on the issue of the change of regulations to conserve additional lands. Commissioner Yuhasz cautioned that, in talking about creating more open spaces, there is a cost to developers and, in turn, citizens. Laura Blackmon said that staff will be spending the majority of the time on this priority and will take away from other priorities. Chair Foushee asked if there were any items listed that do not require action or if there were ones that could be collapsed. She asked staff to look at this. Craig Benedict said that the payment-in-lieu would most likely use a consultant and the second item of looking at the amount of open space in subdivisions could be done by staff. Commissioner Jacobs suggested another priority for possible action, "review the master park plan for completion and oversights." P-2.a. Implement Comprehensive Plan (Goal 3) and process for annual Plan review and work planning - Small Area Plans implementation - Process for implementation of plan objectives by annual work plan P-2.b. Implement Comprehensive Plan (Goal 3) - Rewrite zoning and subdivision regulations [Unified Development Ordinance] Craig Benedict explained this priority. He said that all of the books could not be collapsed into one book because there is some rewriting that is necessary. The staff is suggesting a consultant for this. Commissioner Yuhasz said that it is important to finish what the County started and to implement the small area plans. He supports the rewriting of the ordinances. Commissioner Gordon asked for more detail on the rationale for the costs. Craig Benedict said that it was mostly for legal advertisement costs. It costs $3,000 per amendment advertisement. Commissioner Gordon asked for more detail on the funding. Craig Benedict said that for each of these items, there will be a more organized way to address the 160 objectives in the Comprehensive Plan. Laura Blackmon said that the County has normally gone through the small area plan without doing a good job of stopping and implementing what has already been developed. P-3. Develop economic plans for three EDDs (could be rolled into major ED plan rewrite) Economic Development Director Brad Broadwell said that this should be looked at in regards to priority P-9 also as a subset, which is, Update Economic Development Plan for County (Goal 3), and have the three EDDs be included in that plan. Brad Broadwell answered clarifying questions of the County Commissioners. Commissioner Nelson said that he is not convinced that the specific plans for the EDDs should be wrapped up in the economic plan. Commissioner Pelissier suggested that other departments need to be added in here. She said that outside of the EDDs relates to agriculture and she would like to include Cooperative Extension. Commissioner Jacobs said that he had talked about partnering at the retreat and the County needs a broader, more aggressive Economic Development plan with multiple partners. Brad said that the current deliverables relates to what he is talking about, such as the Value-Added Center, working with Cooperative Extension, working with Durham Technical Community College, agricultural training, etc. Commissioner Gordon said that there is a five-year strategic economic development plan, which ends in 2010. She asked if anyone was talking about redoing this plan and Brad Broadwell said that this is his question here. He said that the objectives are missing. The County will not create 5,000 jobs. Some of what has been done is immeasurable and some is measurable, but there is no objective to measure against. He wants to use the assets in the community. Discussion ensued about the Economic Development plan. Commissioner Gordon asked for more detail and information on what happens if there is no funding and what would drop out. Laura Blackmon said that these are draft priorities and actions. The staff has to do some basic groundwork first because there has been no discussion on implementation. Commissioner Yuhasz said that economic development needs to happen now, even though the fruits will not be seen for another 5-10 years. He wants to provide the Economic Development Director with the resources he needs for this. Economic Development needs to be at the top of the priority list and Commissioner Jacobs agreed. Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like a better understanding of what the two engineers do before talking about Engineering Services. P-4: Review services to identify and protect "safety net" programs and services including services for shelter, food/clothing, medical care and programs that assist the most vulnerable. Social Services Director Nancy Coston explained this priority. She said that any money within this priority is not currently in the budget. She said that she tries not to have more than 400 cases per social worker and this is likely to get worse. The emergency assistance programs are critical and she has $150,000 in her budget for this, but this will most likely be exhausted before June 301h. This will be an issue for this year and next year. Health Director Rosemary Summers said that one of the large items is the expansion of the service hours of the Health Department. The Health Department does not have the physical ability to expand services during the day, but it could in the evenings or weekends. Part-time staff could be used for these clinics. She said that the projected cuts in the State Health Department include cuts to local health departments. She said that the patients with insurance are down 30% as people are losing insurance. Commissioner Jacobs asked staff to communicate with Congressman Price about the monies for administrative fees for DSS and the Health Department. P-5: Encourage for-profit investments in affordable housing and review available tools. Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes said that staff is suggesting to review the available tools in the County. P-6: Develop plan and tools to improve the way County and citizens communicate with each other; foster two-way exchange (Goal 2) Laura Blackmon said that the primary action that the staff is recommending would be to have a position within the organization - a Public information Officer- that would work across departmental lines to provide communication. Commissioner Hemminger said that this is a high priority, but this position has not been added in the last few years. She does not want it to go away, but it seems unlikely to add a position right now in the economic times. She asked for more details on things that could be done in a short timeframe, such as reassignments. Chief Information Officer Todd Jones said that one of the real enduring issues is staff ability to update the information and keep it fresh. There are some technology components, but having a professional role will go a long way in enhancing the communication. Commissioner Nelson agreed with needing a Public Information Officer. He said that Orange County has not kept up with communication and he thinks that there are some tools that could be used. He suggested having this as an agenda item to talk about these tools, such as having a County blog. Commissioner Jacobs suggested reviewing the strategic plan, changing it, and reviewing the Information Technology Strategic Plan to establish priorities. Commissioner Yuhasz said that someone would need to guide the review of the plan, and the PIO would be the person needed to look at the plans. He asked the Manager to come back with suggestions about how to shift existing personnel to create at least a part-time PIO who could begin to look at these things. Commissioner Gordon and Commissioner Foushee agreed about reviewing the plan. P-7: Improve intra-inter governmental coordination and cooperation. Work with Town of Hillsborough on Join Land Use Plan, policies and ordinances, and annexation. Work with Durham on economic development districts. Craig Benedict said that this is a continuation, with the Town of Hillsborough, for an Urban Rural Transition plan from 2004 and a Strategic Growth Plan Phase I from 2006. This is now in Phase II. On February 191h, there is a joint meeting with Hillsborough and the hope is to have a draft work product of what the task force has been working on. He said that partnerships need to be developed with Durham, Hillsborough, Orange-Alamance Water System, and the City of Mebane. Commissioner Jacobs suggested keeping Mebane in this picture. At this point, the Mebane Board does not want to be involved, but the municipal elections are soon and the composition of the Board might change. P-8: Examine advisory boards and commissions (Goal 2). Donna Baker said that she was going to need more direction and discussion because she has a lot of questions. This will be incorporated into the work session regarding Board procedures and processes. Donna Baker suggested setting up a subgroup to look at this. P-9: Update economic development plan for County (Goal 3). This was discussed earlier. P-10: Develop an energy plan that includes economic development strategies to attract, retain, and grow "green" business. Dave Stancil said that the initial thought was to ask the Board what it envisioned the energy plan being. Commissioner Nelson said that when the Board initially discussed this, it was fairly broad. He is interested in a broader look at an energy plan with an emphasis on economic development. Commissioner Jacobs said that this seems to be a part of P-12, which is related to the County's environmental responsibility goal and how County government can be more responsible. Commissioner Gordon asked if the energy plan should be done before getting green businesses. Craig Benedict said that the Board of County Commissioners wanted to lead by example and he is trying to get the private sector to volunteer building to green standards. He thinks that there can be some parallel work. Dave Stancil agreed about the parallel tracks. Commissioner Nelson said that he is not convinced that a consultant is needed. He would like to discuss more about how to create the energy plan. P-11 — Invest in technology to increase worker efficiencies, e.g., web streaming, paperless agendas, integrated tracking systems between field and office. Chief Information Officer Todd Jones said that this is a collection of some initiatives that have been discussed in departments as well as IT's Strategic Plan. Commissioner Yuhasz asked for an estimate from departments on how much money and time this might save. Todd Jones said that they usually look at efficiency gains. Commissioner Yuhasz said it is hard for him to look at these figures without looking at the possible savings. Commissioner Jacobs said that all of these items should be in the strategic plan. If it is not in the strategic plan, then it should not be on this list. He suggested adding, "Invest in technology to increase public awareness and worker efficiencies..." Todd Jones suggested taking it off of this priority and putting it on P-6. Commissioner Jacobs said that the IT plan should include all of the elements together in priority order. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he is not sure where this strategic plan falls in the Board's priorities. He needs to know this. Chair Foushee said that the Board has not discussed this plan yet. It was decided to leave the public awareness component in P-11. P-12— Implement County's Environmental Responsibility Goal (Goal 5). Dave Stancil said that the staff would like to give a report on what has been done and what it is doing. The Environmental Stewardship Action Committee is a group with representatives from each department that meets periodically to review the environmental responsibility goal actions. One of the goals is to complete the ESAC Benchmarks and Assessment report on proposed action strategies. P-13— Plan to provide `equitable' library services for Orange County residents (Goal 5). `Equitable' would consist of citizens having equal access to library services at any Orange County Library location. Using measurable goals, specific levels of information resources will be determined by BOCC priorities for individual communities. Emphasis will be placed on these areas: Collection; Outreach; Programming; Technology; Staffing and Facilities. Library Director Lucinda Munger said that she tried to flesh out what the Board of County Commissioners meant by equitable access, which is ensuring the residents of Orange County have access to library services. Equal access would be measured by goals and objectives, working with the Board to make sure that the County is meeting the equitable access that the Board has set forth, emphasizing the basic core services that a library provides the citizens. She would also like to develop a Strategic Plan for the library system, taking into account the information provided in the 2004 and 2007 task forces that were convened by the County and putting them in a measurable plan of goals and objectives that could be reached within 3-5 years. There would be library staff time associated with this, as well as related departments. The new facility is being built and the furnishings and equipment are estimated at $700,000 and the Operations are estimated at$350,000 a year. Commissioner Jacobs said to make it clear that the furnishings are in the budget. He made reference to the equitable part and said that the task forces spent a lot of time on this. He said that there was a transportation element so that people have equal access to get to the libraries. Lucinda Munger said that this was part of what she asking for guidance about, regarding what equitable access is. Commissioner Jacobs said that a transportation element is very important. He would also like to start addressing the Heritage Center as well as interoperability between the Orange County and Chapel Hill library systems. Laura Blackmon said that she has given this task to Lucinda Munger and they are undertaking both of these issues. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Board made a commitment to get Orange County above the average for State spending on libraries, and he does not want to lose that in this priority. Commissioner Pelissier verified that the $350,000 was over and beyond what it costs to operate a library now. Commissioner Pelissier asked for clarification on the $50,000 to do a strategic plan and Lucinda Munger said that this is the estimated cost for staff time that it would take to develop the plan. Commissioner Nelson agreed with what Commissioner Jacobs said about equitable access. He said that what he meant by equitable access included implementing the Library Services Task Force Report, which includes a Carrboro branch. He really wants to get up to the State average for spending. Commissioner Yuhasz asked about the State average and Lucinda Munger said $24.88 per capita. Chapel Hill spends $33-35 per capita and currently Orange County spends $17 per capita. Commissioner Yuhasz asked that the staff time that would be taken away for the strategic plan not have an impact on the library patrons. Lucinda Munger said that she would try and make the impact as minimal as possible. Commissioner Gordon referenced the Library Services Task Force recommendations. She asked if the Heritage Center could be in the new library. Laura Blackmon said that there would be no room. Lucinda Munger went over the timeline. In 2010-11, staff would present to the BOCC for adoption the 3-5 year strategic plan for all Orange County Libraries utilizing professional library standards and guidelines based on community needs. In 2011-12, there would be a plan and design for the Southwest Regional Library. In 2012-13, the Southwest Regional Library would be open. The estimated annual cost is $485,000. In 2013-14, there would be an evaluation of expanding the Cedar Grove Branch and an evaluation of a need for the Efland-Cheeks Branch. P-14— Fulfill remainder of bond issuance approved by voters in 2001 for soccer and Twin Creek (G-5). Parks and Recreation Director Lori Taft said that she and Dave Stancil both submitted information on this item. She said that it would be possible to implement the idea of a linear park at Twin Creeks in the near future, using the existing money from the 2001 bond that is designated for Twin Creeks. A hard surface greenway or linear park would be close to meeting the specification that Carrboro outlines for its greenway program, and could be connected from the southern end of Twin Creeks property all the way up to the school. This would include a bridge. Regarding soccer, she has spoken with Town of Chapel Hill staff, and she thinks that it is doable. The $600,000 is what is believed to be the remainder of the Soccer Superfund Money. The Smith Middle School field could be redone, but this would cost $800,000. The Board needs to discuss this further. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Chair, Vice-Chair, and Manager had a meeting with the Mayor and Manager with Carrboro in October and they talked about Smith Middle School and possibly doing another presentation. He would like to explore the options. Commissioner Gordon said that the money appropriated for Twin Creeks should be spent for Twin Creeks. The linear park is in the master plan. David Stancil said that these decision points would be coming to the Board in the near future at a work session. Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Gordon about spending the money allocated for Twin Creeks at Twin Creeks. 2. Board Guidance Regarding FY 2009-10 Budget Development Laura Blackmon said that this could be moved to the next budget work session. Commissioner Hemminger asked for updated numbers on sales tax and students. Donna Coffey said on February 12th the staff will be providing a fiscal outlook for next year. The student membership could also be provided in that package. In school year 2010-11, preliminary projections indicate that CHCCS will be overcapacity in the elementary school level by 26 students. This is a preliminary number. Commissioner Gordon asked that staff bring back the information about timelines for Elementary#11. The information for this item and the Federal Economic Stimulus Package will be coming back on February 121h 3. Federal Economic Stimulus Package This item will be addressed on February 121h A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Nelson to adjourn the meeting at 10:19 pm. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Valerie Foushee, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board