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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 199403281 APPROVED 5/17/94 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL MEETING MONDAY, MARCH 28, 1994 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Monday, March 28, 1994 at 6:00 p.m. in the meeting room of the Government Services Center, Hillsborough, North Carolina. COIINTY COMMISSIONERB PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Stephen H. Halkiotis, Alice M. Gordon, and Verla C. Insko COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Don Willhoit. COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COIINTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Albert Kittrell and Rod Visser, Economic Development Director Ted Abernathy, Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe, Data Processing Director Keith Brooks, Human Resources Analyst II Yelena Chandra, Finance Director Ken Chavious, Budget and Management Analyst Donna Dean, Register of Deeds Betty June Hayes, Human Resources Director Elaine Holmes, Human Resources Analyst II Darlene Jacobs, Recreation and Parks Director Bob Jones, Director of Purchasing and Central Services Pam Jones, Budget Director Sally Kost, Public Works Director Wilbert McAdoo, Human Resources Analyst II Cornelia Moore, Social Services Director Marti Pryor-Cook, Health Director Dan Reimer, Land Records Manager Roscoe Reeve, Director of Elections Bobbi Strickland and EMS Director Nick Waters NOTE: THE FOLLOWING AGENDA ITEMS WERE NOT TAKEN IN THE ORDER THEY ARE LISTED. ALL BACKGROUND INFORMATION IS IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE AGENDA 1. COMPENSATION The Board delayed discussion on benefits for County Commissioners until their April 4, 1994 regular Board meeting. They discussed four questions as stated below: A. Do we want to continue with a Work Planning and Performance Review System? The Board agreed that they do want to continue this system. B. Do you want to continue to tie Performance Evaluation to Merit Pay? Commissioner Insko stated her support to continue to tie Performance Evaluation to Merit Pay but not the percent of merit pay they have used in the past because the Board seems to modify it based on what the County can afford. She feels the issue has been that the employees with the best opportunity to receive the largest merit were the department heads. Commissioner Gordon asked if there should be merit for effective performance. She favors bonuses because everyone has an opportunity to receive the same amount instead of higher level employees receiving the most money. Commissioner Insko noted that if the Cost of Living was high 2 enough, people would feel compensated and a highly effective person could receive a bonus. Chair Carey asked if the objective is to give people on the low end of the scale a higher percentage than those at the top end of the scale. If everyone receives a merit, the question is how effective is it. He said that the problem with bonuses is that the money is not added to the base pay which is used in determining retirement benefits. He suggested eliminating the merit for effective and increasing the cost of living adjustment. Elaine Holmes explained the system being recommended at the State level which has three components. The first is career growth recognition. The second is a cost-of-living increase and third is a plan for performance bonuses. The funding decisions for each level will be done annually. This year they are recommending two percent for career growth recognition, one percent for COLA and one percent of payroll for performance bonuses giving flexibility in this area with the actual award being more or less than the one percent. This would mean that every employee will receive at least a three percent increase on base salary and a performance bonus that would not become part of the base salary. Chair Carey suggested that employees below a certain salary level could be given a choice of adding the merit to their base pay or receiving a bonus. He noted that there is not a perfect plan to address compensation. He feels the County has a good program in place and what the Board needs to decide is if they want to continue with the plan in place or change it. Commissioner Insko noted they decided not to do the survey. Commissioner Halkiotis noted that he wants to look at what can be done for the people at the lower end of the salary scale. By the time the deductions are taken, there is not much left. The minimum for a full-time employee is $7.13 an hour. Chair Carey said the Board will continue to be concerned with those employees at the lower end of the scale. It was decided that the Board does want to continue to tie Performance Evaluation to Merit Pay. C. What types of salary increase do we continue to pursue? John Link reiterated that he understands from the discussion that part of the increase needs to be an adjustment in the salary range which will increase the base salary for retirement purposes. It seems that the lingering issue is how to apply the merit pay. He suggested that he come back to the Board with alternatives and figures on this part of the plan. Commissioner Gordon said that she is still interested in looking at a combination of bonus and salary increase. John Link noted that the administration of a combination would need to be developed. It may be difficult to determined how one person gets one percent and another person with the same rating gets three percent. He feels it would be important to have some consistency throughout. Commissioner Halkiotis stated that there needs to be a clearly defined process. He wants to be sure that the County can keep good competent people. He asked if there have been any employees suggest changes that will save money and John Link indicated that that has been happening. He will be presenting, during budget discussions, an incentive program for saving money. Commissioner Halkiotis endorsed this idea stating that he feels there are lots of ideas that can save the county money. He noted that both school systems come in with their budgets and for the last eight years, the Board has 3 increased funds for the schools and in doing so the County employee compensation and merit money becomes meat to chop. Chair Carey asked John Link to come back with recommendations before he finalizes his budget request. Commissioner Gordon would like to see the incentives for saving money. John Link will present these items in May. D. What consistency should there be between increases in salary plans and other aspects of the County budget? Commissioner Insko feels it is problematic for the Board to wait until the last night of budget discussions to discuss employee compensation. She would like to put everything on the table at once. Commissioner Gordon noted that what happens is that the Manager presents a budget with a recommended increase and the Board usually decreases the increase. She made reference to the percent of the school budget attributed to enrollment and noted that when looking at the increase, the number of new units must be considered and whether they are for new students or new employees. John Link made reference to the budget and noted that any new positions which will require new resources will be detailed with alternatives and information on how the departments are working together. He will include a COLA and two or three alternatives on addressing merit increases. 2. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP) Mary Bushnell, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education, stated that they will need a second elementary school within the next ten years. The rooms will be built to accommodate 23 students in grades K-3 and 26 students in the fourth and fifth grades. The Orange County Schools have 18-23 students per classroom at the present time. In answer to a question from Commissioner Halkiotis, both school systems are using mobile classrooms. Commissioner Insko noted she would like to know in the budget what increase is attributed to an increase in new space. She asked about outdoor seating at the three middle schools and the new high school and was told that this would be regular stadium type seating. In answer to a question from Commissioner Halkiotis, Mary Bushnell indicated that they do still park all the school buses at the high school. John Link noted that the one outstanding issue deals with recurring capital. Both school systems have asked for one million dollars. He asked if this should be funded by a tax increase or additional sales tax revenue. This may be addressed this year through unexpected tax revenue but this does not address the long term issue. Chair Carey noted that recurring capital will need to be increased and perhaps this is the year to reconsider the policy of how they allocate sales tax revenue. John Link said that the reallocation would either have to come from what is presently allocated to the schools or from county projects. John Link asked that the Board consider making a decision on whether or not to renovate the upper floor of the new courthouse or add a separate annex. He made reference to the addition of 3,000 square feet to the Southern Human Services Building and noted that the total 33,000 square feet will accomplish most functions for that building. The committee is still working on final appropriation of space. One thing not included is a dental clinic. 4 The skills development center included in the CIP places emphasis on rural education and skill development. With reference to the Rural Education Center, the CIP includes money to establish a set of scales for weighing livestock which is the first priority of this facility. The second phase will be the building itself. John Link explained the purpose of the skills development training center. Commissioner Halkiotis asked that the two school systems and the County discuss this training center. Commissioner Gordon feels it is a good idea to think about enhancing skills for those who are not going to college. One component of this training is transportation. She said that there are not enough opportunities for job training within the high schools and that maybe a survey of needs will help. Mary Bushnell suggested including someone from the State in the discussions because they are working on apprenticeship programs. Also the Communities in Schools may be interested in this project. Commissioner Insko made reference to pages 27 and 28 of the CIP and the amount of money going into the Master Client Index system. John Link said that the state has a responsibility in~developing this system and must reach an agreement on how they are going to pursue eligibility. The Board discussed the court facilities and John Link suggested having the architect walk through each proposal for the Board. This will be done at the April 19th meeting. Discussion ensued on several of the projects in the CIP but no changes to the CIP were made. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for a list of the programs that will take place at night at the new Orange County middle school. Commissioner Gordon asked about the Utility Extension Development project as described in the CIP and it was decided to change the wording to indicate that as the fund is reimbursed, the remaining balance available would never exceed $250,000. With regard to the Sheriff's facility, the architect will present the various options available for this project at the April 19, 1994 meeting. In conclusion, John Link said he would ask the County Commissioners to endorse the CIP at their May 2 meeting as amended so it can be considered in the budget. Also, a policy decision needs to be made on recurring capital at that meeting. The policy decision is to determine what percent of sales tax will be spent on schools taking into consideration the impact of that decision on county projects. One element that could defuse this decision is to appropriate unanticipated sales tax revenue toward recurring capital for the next year. That is an option. Commissioner Insko feels it important to understand that money is being put into buildings which have an ongoing expense and perhaps growth in revenue should not be put into buildings. 3. STATE REVOLVING LOAN AND HIGH-UNIT COST GRANT PROGRAM FOR PINEY MOUNTAIN SUBDIVISION SANITARY SEWER County Manager John M. Link, Jr. presented for the Board's consideration of approval a resolution which is part of an application for grant funding of the construction of the facilities necessary to connect the Piney Mountain sewerage collection system to that of the City of Durham. The NC Attorney General's Office and the NC Department of Environment, Health and 5 Natural Resources have apparently determined that the use of grant funding to provide financial assistance to the Piney Mountain home owners is appropriate. The application deadline is March 31. If the Board finds something unaccept- able between now and July 1, they do not have to accept the funds. Geof Gledhill explained that the plan would be for the County to own the project for a certain amount of time but to contract with OWASA to build and operate the project. Commissioner Gordon questioned the language used in the resolution and John Link explained that this language is required by the State. He emphasized that this resolution does not commit the County to accept the funds -- only to make application for the funds. In answer to a question from Commissioner Insko, Geof Gledhill stated that the County will negotiate with the State on the County's responsibility and adopt an amended resolution. If those negotiations does not result in an agreement, the County would withdraw its application. It will be understood that any cost not covered by the grant will be paid from another source of funds. He will add a sentence to this resolution to reflect this information. Chair Carey asked to make it clear in the cover letter that there are certain points to be negotiated before the County will accept the grant. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the lawsuit filed by 30 of the property owners in the Piney Mountain Subdivision against DEM and was told that it may be six years before that lawsuit is heard. Commissioner Gordon stated her support for this resolution if (1) all the costs are covered and (2) consideration be given of hiring someone to do the work rather than add work to the County staff. John Link noted that the cover letter will include these points. Allen Whitaker who lives in the Piney Mountain Subdivision stated that the grant and the lawsuit are two different things. The entire cost of the system will be $600,000 to $700,000. He asked that the Board approve the resolution applying for the grant. It was decided that the details of the grant would be presented at a later date as an agenda item. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Insko, to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the resolution as stated below authorizing the submission of a grant application for construction of a sewer pumping station and force main for Piney Mountain Subdivision. RESOLUTION BY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF ORANGE WHEREAS: The North Carolina Clean Water Revolving Loan and Grant Act of 1987 has authorized the making of grants to aid eligible units of government in financing the cost of construction of wastewater systems, and WHEREAS: The County of Orange recognizes the need to replace the failing on- site ground absorption waste treatment system currently serving the Piney Mountain subdivision and intends to see constructed a wastewater transmission system, consisting of a sewer pumping station and approximately one mile of sewer force main, which will connect the existing waste water collection system serving the Piney 6 Mountain subdivision to the waste' water collection sIr'em of the City of Durham, and ~:-- ~- WHEREAS: the Cronect f Orange intends to request state grant a stance for P j ~ ~r NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF ~UNTY OF ORANGE: a. That the County of Orange, if it receives and accepts the grar~~~quested, will exercise if necessary its eminent domain power to acquire c~ea~`title to all interests in land essential to the project. ~'~- That the County of Orange, if it receives and accepts the grant 'requested, will arrange financing for all remaining costs of the project. ~~~ That the County of Orange, if it receives and accepts the grant re"quested,~~ will adopt and place into effect on or before completion of~~~he project a schedule of fees and charges which will provide adequate funds for proper operation, maintenance, and administration of the system That the County of Orange, if it receives and accepts the ; grant~'`rec~uested, will provide for efficient operation and maintenance of the'•p~o~ ect on completion of construction thereof . „~~ ? That John M. Link, Jr., County Manager, and successors so titled,-~"'S hereby authorized to execute and file an application on behalf of the'rC~unty of Orange with the State of North Carolina for a grant to aid in the cotruction .., of the project described above. ..,:~., That John M. Link, Jr., County Manager, and successors so titlecY,~`s hereby authorized and directed to furnish such information as the appropriate State agency may request in connection with such application or the project: to make the assurances as contained above; and to execute such other documents as may be required in connection with the application. -_ _: That the County of Orange has substantially complied or will substantially comply with all Federal, State, and local laws, rules, regu};ations and ordinances applicable to the project and to Federal and State. grants pertaining thereto. VOTE: UNANIMOUS ADJOIIRNMENT ~~~~~- With no further items to consider, Chair Carey adjourned the,;~„ting at 9:05. The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, April 4, 199w~ at 5:30 p.m. at the Pleasant Green Community Center in Eno Township. .~•::1 Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk Moses Carey, Jr., Chairx .~