Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02-09-2010 APPROVED 3/2/2010 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING WITH BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES February 9, 2010 5:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a joint meeting with the Social Services Board on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee, and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Mike Nelson, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES: Joe Robbins, Chair and DSS members Harold Russell, Albert Williams, and Pat Garavaglia DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES STAFF PRESENT: Director Nancy Coston, Denise Shaffer, Yvette Smith, Joyce Lee, Sharron Hinton, and Lindsey Shewmaker COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, 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) 1. Introductions Introductions were made. 2. Message from the DSS Board Chair Joe Robbins said that the most important thing from last year is the new Social Services facility at Hillsborough Commons. He said that the County has provided wonderfully for Social Services. He said that when the County Commissioners look at the legal assistance during the budget process, the DSS Board would like to be involved in that discussion as it relates to DSS. He said that the board has been approached by two judges about retaining the system as it has been. He said that the staffing situation at DSS is an issue and he hopes the County Commissioners would approach this with an open mind during the budget process. Commissioner Jacobs arrived at 5:41 PM . 3. Purpose of Meeting Social Services Director Nancy Coston said that DSS has a lot of safety net programs and there has been an increase in the services, which has not subsided since 2000. Lindsey Shewmaker and Nancy Coston presented the PowerPoint. 4. Background Information--ppt • Current Recipient and Workload Statistics • State and Federal Funding Updates and Issues • ARRA Program Updates Social Services Board — BOCC Joint Meeting Orange County Department of Social Services Southern Human Services Hillsborough Commons 2501 Homestead Rd. 113 Mayo St., PO Box 8181 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Hillsborough, NC 27278 (919) 968-2000 — Main Line (919) 245-2800 — Main Line (919) 644-3086 —Spanish Line Social Services Board-BOCC Joint Meeting •Introductions •Message from DSS Board Chair •Purpose of Meeting •Background Information •Current Recipient and Workload Statistics •State and Federal Funding Updates and Issues •ARRA Program Updates •DSS 2009-10: Issues and Solutions •DSS Issues for 2010-11 •Discussion Background Information: Current Recipient and Workload Statistics Food and Nutrition Services •Increased 11% for the current fiscal year •Average increase of 21% over FY2009-10 Background Information: Current Recipient and Workload Statistics Food and Nutrition Services - Increased more than 187% since 2000-01 Background Information: Current Recipient and Workload Statistics Medicaid Programs •Increased 5% for the current fiscal year •Average increase of 7.6% over FY2009-10 •State now pays the Medicaid match Background Information: Current Recipient and Workload Statistics Medicaid Programs - Increased 100% since 2000-01 Background Information: Current Recipient and Workload Statistics Emergency Assistance Programs •Approximately 200 more people received some type of emergency assistance during the first 7 months this year than the same period last year. •More money was available in the General Assistance Program •$145,000 in County Critical Needs Reserve funds carried forward •$30,824 in non recurring ARRA funds Background Information: Current Recipient and Workload Statistics Emergency Assistance Programs - Agency anticipates receiving federal funds this year Background Information: State and Federal Funding Updates and Issues State Cuts •16% Cuts in Specific Programs •Social Services Block Grant—State •$2,987.20 Reduction •Child Protective Services — IV-E •$15,674.56 Reduction •Child Protective Services —State • $11,344.80 Reduction •Foster Care/Adoption IV-E •State Aid to Counties •Cut $58,851 Background Information: ARRA Program Updates •ARRA Funds Received for FY 2009-10 •Anticipated Subsidized Employment$280,000 ($140,000 per federal quarter) • Homelessness Prevention Grant $1,000,000 .3 year grant •Child Care Subsidy $599,000 •Emergency Food and Shelter$30,824 •Food and Nutrition Services Administration $73,413 •Food and Nutrition (FNS) Benefit Increase •Over 13% automatic increase in benefits •$1.84 return on investment for every dollar in FNS 5. DSS Issues for 2010-11 DSS 2009-10: Issues and Solutions •ARRA Funds for Staff •Although two time-limited FNS positions funded by ARRA were approved, agency used existing staff and some temporary staff instead and used ARRA funds to make up for cut in State Aid to Counties. •One Social Worker has been pulled from emergency assistance/child care and temporarily reassigned to assist with the Homelessness Prevention Grant. Grant also provides partial funding for supervision. •Reception position from the Skills Development Center was reassigned to main agency to assist with Homelessness Prevention Grant. DSS 2009-10: Issues and Solutions •Other Staffing Solutions •Currently utilizing one time limited position to supervise work experience clients providing janitorial services at Hillsborough Commons. This is a pilot project in the County. Orange Enterprises continues to clean the public areas at night. DSS 2009-10: Issues and Solutions •Other Solutions •Agency worked with nonprofit partners to consolidate certain emergency funds related to shelter. It is more efficient for the community but the agency now has more administrative responsibility. •Worked with Employment Security Commission to provide services at the Skills Development Center and Hillsborough Commons. DSS Issues Identified for 2010-11 .Plan to Manage Ongoing Demand for Services •Reassignment of staff or duties, particularly to assist clients in crisis •Utilize time-limited staff if additional ARRA funds become available •Continue to waive all DSS positions from hiring delays and extra paperwork. •Focus on basic needs DSS Issues Identified for 2010-11 •Critical Needs Funding •Approximately $200,000 in extra federal funding was received in 2008-09 •$145,000 in County Critical Needs Reserve carry forward appropriated in 2009- 10 •$30,824 in non-recurring ARRA funds appropriated in 2009-10 •Needs continue to increase •No recurring funding identified to meet the gap for 2010-11 DSS Issues Identified for 2010-11 •Child Care •EBT Card •ARRA Funds not Recurring (Loss of$599,000) •Possible State Expansion and Streamlining of Programs •Food and Nutrition Services Eligibility Increase to 200% of Poverty •Categorical Eligibility •Streamlining Food Programs •WIC •Free and Reduced Lunch Programs Commissioner Hemminger asked if all of the people applying for food stamps could be processed in one day and Nancy Coston said no. There is a 30-day window where staff has to verify recipients' information. The emergency food program can be expedited in about a week for those who are truly in emergency situations. There is also some immediate food available for those that have nothing, through the Friends of DSS. Commissioner Nelson arrived at 6:06 PM. Yvette Smith talked about Work First clients. She said that DSS has identified 15 family members with children —those who have been on Work First and those who are currently on Work First—that will be employed. Southern Seasons has committed to hire five family members with the commitment to hire more. JOCCA has committed to five family members. Social Services has identified six slots to utilize family members. This program is in the federal legislation to be continued past September 301h Sharron Hinton talked about the Homelessness Prevention Grant and said that families have to basically be destitute to be viable for these funds. Nancy Coston said that she is constantly trying to find ways to reassign staff or duties within the agency. One of the things on the agenda for next year relates to child care. Commissioner Gordon arrived at 6:20 p.m. Tina Weiler said that hopefully in July, DSS will be piloting an EBT card system for child care, which works similarly to the food and nutrition program. A parent applying for child care subsidy will receive a card so that the day care center can swipe the card and would show real time when the child was dropped off. The day care providers will be housed with the scanning station and will be paid bi-monthly or bi-weekly. Also, DSS received $599,000 in stimulus funds, but this is not recurring, so this is basically a loss of$599,000 for next year. 6. Discussion Commissioner Jacobs asked about the cutoffs for utilities and if all of the utility providers in Orange County were working with people or if there were hold outs that should be contacted. It was answered that there is a very good working relationship with the utility companies. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the Homelessness Grant and asked if it was a combination of Durham and Orange Counties. Nancy Coston said that the grant is an Orange County grant, but the homelessness grant does not recognize residency. She said that they are not trying to bring in people from elsewhere, but the County can rent an apartment in any county surrounding it. Commissioner Yuhasz said that there are a number of different agencies with different eligibility requirements and asked if there was any way to share information between agencies, especially common information. Nancy Coston said that the information regarding the school lunch program can be shared. The information can be shared as long as the individuals give permission. Commissioner Hemminger asked if the Information Technology problems have been resolved within DSS. Nancy Coston said that they have the capacity now to access files and information. Commissioner Gordon said that she just came from an Advisory Board on Aging meeting and they were talking about using senior coupons for the lunch program. She asked what type of relationship DSS has with the Department on Aging. Nancy Coston said that DSS distributes food stamps and the relationship with the Department on Aging is very cooperative and collaborative. Commissioner Gordon asked Nancy Coston to follow up with the Department on Aging regarding the integrated model. Willie Best asked about the formerly affluent that have lost their jobs and how long it takes for them to get into the system. Nancy Coston said that they have to go through the same process and it is a shock to them to realize how poor they have to be to get assistance. She said that most of the people on the food and nutrition program have probably been middle-class and working class who have lost their wage earner or lost hourly wages and have dropped down. The higher middle-class people are above the limits, but are getting close and are exhausting unemployment. Commissioner Jacobs suggested doing a press release on this information. Frank Clifton suggested calling the Editor of the Chapel Hill Herald in order to get the information out to the public. Commissioner Jacobs asked if the DSS Board has talked about the dual service model and Nancy Coston said that there was a letter written by the DSS Board a few years ago referencing that discussion. The message then was that there should be something at both sites— Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. Joe Robbins said that the board has not directly discussed this topic. Commissioner Jacobs said that before he makes a decision he would like to hear from the Board of Health and DSS. Frank Clifton said that these two boards need to meet periodically to discuss the common issues and where crossovers exist, because a lot of the clientele is the same. 7. Closing Remarks Joe Robbins thanked the County Commissioners again for having them and he commended his board for its strength. He hopes that the County Commissioners see that the DSS staff is professional and has empathy for the clients they serve. He said that the treatment of all clients is individualized. Chair Foushee said that the next time these two boards meet, Joe Robbins will not be a part of that and he will be rotating off. She thanked Joe Robbins for his years of service and leadership. With no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 6:51 PM. Valerie Foushee, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board APPROVED 3/16/2010 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION February 9, 2010 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a budget work session on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee, and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Mike Nelson, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz to add to the agenda a Resolution Giving Notice of Adjustment in Salary for the Sheriff and Register of Deeds Positions. Human Resources Director Michael McGinnis said that this resolution comes up every four years to set the salaries for the Sheriff and the Register of Deeds. He said that this is standard procedure. A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to adopt the resolution, which is incorporated by reference. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 1. Space Issues: Update, Revere Road Reallocation, Divestiture, Hillsborough Commons Next Steps Revere Road Reallocation: Frank Clifton said that this item is to discuss being proactive so that staff do not just grow into this space and so that space can be allocated appropriately. There is also a need to create a secure records storage area. Asset Management and Purchasing Services Director Pam Jones said that the floor plan stays the same and ERCD will come and occupy more space in the building. This will allow the ERCD staff to be along the perimeter of the building and to move storage into the middle of the building. Cooperative Extension will stay where it currently is located. The USDA Farm Services Agency will expand a little and will now pay the County for this space. Frank Clifton said that some of the ERCD offices will be associated with some Parks and Recreation administration functions. He said that it is a low-key reallocation of space and it works in the short-term. Commissioner Yuhasz asked about the managed records storage and if there would be any staff management of this area and Frank Clifton said no. Departments would have to have keys to access this area. Pam Jones said that there would be opportunities once a year to purge the records. Commissioner Jacobs asked about lighting and Pam Jones said that there would be windows in the front and some of the interior walls would be torn down. Commissioner Jacobs pointed out that the HVAC in Cooperative Extension is horrible and Pam Jones said that this will be assessed. Frank Clifton said that the staff will prioritize this area and will bring it back for the Board to decide how much money to spend. Commissioner Gordon asked about Parks and Recreation administration and where this would be located. Frank Clifton said that he would be looking at Parks and Recreation in total. Parks Maintenance is in a rental facility and Administration is at the gym. There may be some core functions that can interact with existing functions within ERCD. Staff is working on an organizational study of that issue now. Discussion ensued on how many staff could be located here. Frank Clifton said that if the Board approves this in concept, then it will be put in a more formal format. Commissioner Gordon verified that USDA would be paying market rates for the rental. The Board agreed that the staff should proceed on this issue and bring it back with more detailed and formal information. Divestiture: Pam Jones said that the County is offering the old Emergency Services Center site on New Hope Church Road for divestiture tonight. The other space is the old Purchasing office, 129 E. King Street, and there are a lot of people interested. The appraisal for the 1914 New Hope Church Road property was $430,000. Commissioner Nelson said that the County should divest of both of these properties. Commissioner Gordon said that the 1914 New Hope Church Road site is centrally located in the County. She said that this site is north of but near the population centroid. She wonders what the thinking was on this, because the County does need to divest, but there is a hole in this area in the Emergency Services Plan. Pam Jones said that Emergency Services Director Frank Montes de Oca has said that he is splitting this area into two areas and part of that is coming to Revere Road and the other is being negotiated with a fire department for a site on Whitfield Road. Frank Clifton said that one of the issues is to create more partnerships to co-locate ambulances. He said that the New Hope Church Road site is not a very cost-effective location. Commissioner Gordon said that the New Hope Master Plan has a place for the Parks and Recreation Maintenance facility. She asked if this building could be used for that. Frank Clifton said that staff has had the discussion about the Parks and Recreation Maintenance Facility and it may make more sense to have small maintenance facilities at each park. Commissioner Jacobs said that there is also a fire station south of this property. He said that it is a good idea to see what the appraisal is for the old Purchasing building, but before deciding to divest, he would like to see the Heritage Center report. He said that he received a call today from the Chair of the Orange County Historical Museum Board that said that they are very interested in taking over responsibility for the Heritage Center. The Historical Museum Board is also interested in the old courthouse. Pam Jones said that this building would still be used for courts. With respect to the downtown Hillsborough properties, Frank Clifton said that he passed along to the Town Manager that it might be a viable option for the Town to acquire some of these buildings through a negotiated purchase and then sell the buildings independently, but keep the parking lots for public parking. He thinks that the buildings would sell quicker without the obligation of the parking lots. Commissioner Yuhasz made reference to the New Hope Church Road building and said that he has heard some concerns from some of the neighbors as to what the building might be used for. He suggested putting on some restrictions. Commissioner Nelson said that the County should proceed with putting the King Street building on the market at the same time as the other property. He is not interested in giving the property away. He wants to send this message to the Heritage Center representatives. He would be open to considering giving part of it if a grant became available for the Heritage Center. Frank Clifton said that there are some proposed uses for this New Hope site such as a day care center, etc. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the buildings that have already been put up for divestiture. Pam Jones said that the advertisements have been prepared. It will be brought back to the Board probably within 60 days with a response. Commissioner Yuhasz asked about the Homestead Center and John Roberts said that the closing was supposed to be today. Chair Foushee said that she supports divesting of these two properties (King Street and New Hope Church Road) and Commissioners Pelissier, Yuhasz, and Gordon agreed. The Board agreed to proceed with divestiture of these properties. Hillsborough Commons: Frank Clifton said that he has had Financial Services Director Clarence Grier do some analysis. The County has to close on Hillsborough Commons by February 2012 in order for the current agreement to be valid. He said that he made some recommendations in the abstract. Besides the fact that the County only has two years to put the financing in place, if the County chose to purchase this, there is a one-acre area that will not be conveyed. He said that he is talking to the Town about parking requirements. He said that the next issue is the timeframe to make a decision on this property. He said that the assessed valuation of the property is $7-8 million, and the purchase price is $15 million after deducting rents, etc. He said that the County has made the property more valuable because it is leasing space for a 15-year period. He said that a lot of the tenants are seeing a boost in their business as a result of the County being there. If the County buys this property and tries to evict tenants, then this could be a public relations nightmare. It would also decrease the amount of commercial development. In the meantime, he feels pretty confident that the County could make a case for a different purchase price. At the minimum, the lease could be extended and the County Commissioners can discuss the price in a closed session. The County will continue to get Medicaid reimbursements from the rentals. He thinks that there should be a revaluation of this property. Commissioner Nelson said that there was not really good consensus that the tax value was a good price a couple of years ago when the agreement was negotiated. It was confirmed that no appraisal had been done to support the cost of $15 million. He thinks that $15 million is a lot for this property. Frank Clifton said that he thinks the rental agreement is a good deal and it is a good idea to co-locate services in a shopping center area. Commissioner Hemminger said that she likes the lease situation and she does not see the urgency in buying this right now. She would like to see the appraisal figures first. She said that the County cannot take on more debt right now. Frank Clifton said that the significant difference on the lease versus owning is the Medicaid reimbursement (for DSS) of 55% of the rental costs. If the County purchases the property, the reimbursement would only be 3-5%. Commissioner Hemminger asked if the landlord was allowed to sell it to anyone else and Pam Jones said yes, after February 2012. Frank Clifton said that if the County chooses to purchase this, he would like to negotiate to purchase the one acre as well. Commissioner Jacobs pointed out that continuing to rent this facility keeps it on the tax rolls, meaning that the owner pays taxes to Orange County and to Hillsborough. He said that he is interested in having the agenda abstracts about this facility emailed to the County Commissioners. He would also like to see a revised chart of the County's debt capacity. Commissioner Gordon said that it sounds like there is a lot of agreement to continue with the lease. She said that now the issue is the long-term question about the Health Department space. Commissioner Nelson said that the lease is great and he is not opposed to having a conversation with the owner about the purchase price. He thinks that this would be a great economic development opportunity. He suggested bringing the Economic Development Director into the discussions. Frank Clifton said that at a minimum the County could negotiate an extension on the lease, since Orange County has only two years to decide about the purchase. It does not look like this is going to happen in the next two years. He said that the County could talk to the owner about extending the option to purchase date. Commissioner Jacobs suggested getting a copy of the student presentation about this property, because there was a redevelopment proposal. Frank Clifton said that he would suggest opening a discussion with the owner and letting him know that the County will be getting an appraisal. There was consensus to stay with the lease for the current term and open discussions with the owner about the purchase price, and to move forward with an appraisal only if the purchase price is going to be renegotiated. Commissioner Gordon said that the expansion at the Southern Human Services Center factors into this because the population centroid is close to the northern part of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and we need to consider the long-term needs. She thinks that the County should have a substantial presence for the delivery of services in the southern part of the County where 2/3 of the population is located. Commissioner Jacobs said that at one time, there was some discussion about renovations or reworking of Public Works and partnering with Hillsborough and asked if that was off the table. Frank Clifton said that he has had discussions with the Chapel Hill Manager about bus maintenance and possibly Chapel Hill providing maintenance service for the County's buses. Also, Triangle Transit has had some discussions with the Town of Hillsborough about doing a park-and-ride lot on the Town's property. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the square footage in the Skills Development Center and Pam Jones said 13,000. Commissioner Hemminger asked what services were there and Pam Jones said that Durham Tech offers classes, and Employment Security is there. Frank Clifton said that this property was very expensive for the County to own. He said that most of these services could be done elsewhere much less expensively. 2. Board Discussion of Dual Service Model As It Relates to Future Facility Needs Frank Clifton said that he distributed a summary of what he could find in various minutes of the Board of County Commissioners and various boards about the dual service model. He said that there are varying definitions of "dual service model." In one instance it means to locate dual services under one roof versus having the same services at each end of the County. He said that there is a large contingency of citizens that use basic human services and a large contingency that use a lot of other County services. He said that the basic cost models are impacted when services are duplicated at each end of the County if the two facilities are open at the same time. His concern is that any service delivered should be delivered at the best quality level. He asked the County Commissioners what they thought the dual service model meant and what types of services they would like to focus on. Commissioner Gordon said that she thought it meant locating the same services at both ends of the County. The situation is that the population centroid is in the southern end of the County, but the geographic centroid is in Hillsborough. The County has stayed with the dual service model so that human services are more accessible to everyone in the County. Commissioner Hemminger said that she understands the cost savings, but it is really about the time and energy and the clientele that need to use the services. She said that the services need to be more efficient to give the citizens the best service possible. Some citizens do not have cars and need to use buses to get to the health department, etc. She understands that this is not cost-effective. Frank Clifton said that he is not proposing eliminating dual services but the issue is from a cost standpoint and what services have multiple locations. He said that the County Commissioners should not ask the staff to compare the costs of delivery to other counties, because Orange County is different. Commissioner Jacobs said that he agrees with Commissioners Hemminger and Gordon in that it is a geographic duality. He also thinks that the Manager's point is a good one and that there can be some kind of priority order. Commissioner Yuhasz said that the critical question is the level of service that is going to be provided and whether it will be provided at multiple locations. Commissioner Pelissier suggested looking at who the clients are and where they come from. She would also like to talk about the issue of building permits and the clients. Commissioner Nelson said that for him this is just about providing services close to where people live. He said that the people who need the services that are being discussed are often the people that have the hardest time getting to the services. He views this as protecting northern Orange County as much as anything else. He thinks it is important to come back to what this is about— people and delivering services to where the people are. Frank Clifton said that he could work with DSS, Health, and the Department on Aging and take a look at the client's zip codes that use the services. Commissioner Nelson said that he does not want to forget about the possibility of a mobile dental clinic. Discussion ensued about the dental clinics. Commissioner Yuhasz said that his concern is that when they look at these models that they need to look at them in totality, and not just one piece of the service. Chair Foushee said that it might be helpful if staff could bring back a number of service delivery models with costs attached. Commissioner Jacobs agreed. He said that the human services transportation was meant to take people who could not otherwise get to the human service. He suggested factoring in a growth projection regarding the population in Orange County. Frank Clifton said that he would like to narrow this down to a couple of services. He wants to provide services at the highest quality. Commissioner Nelson agreed with Chair Foushee and said that he strongly supports getting a strong analysis about the where the needs are. Overall, he views this as a dual- service model and not a dual-facilities model. With no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:09 PM. Valerie Foushee, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board