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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-08-2000 - 3ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 8, 2000 SUBJECT: Staff Report on BOCC Standing Sub - Committee Options DEPARTMENT: County Manager 1 Action Agenda Item No. 3 PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: BOCC Task Forces John Link or Rod Visser, ext 2300 1/20/00 Hypothetical Committee Structure 2/00 Proposed BOCC. Committee Structure TELEPHONE NUMBERS: 2/8/00 Standing Committees in other North Hillsborough 732 -8181 Carolina Counties Chapel Hill 968 -4501 2/8/00 Staff Paper Durham 688 -7331 Mebane 336- 227 -2031 PURPOSE: To consider the creation of, and to discuss options for the structure and rules of operations for, standing sub- committees of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. BACKGROUND: At the January 20, 2000 annual planning retreat, the BOCC discussed the desire to make their working processes more efficient and to streamline the conduct of BOCC regular meetings and work sessions. Commissioner Gordon prepared and circulated a proposed set of guidelines for the formation and operation of BOCC committees. Commissioner Jacobs prepared and circulated a hypothetical BOCC committee structure as well. Those two documents, as well as a list of ad hoc BOCC committees that have been created during the past year, are attached for further discussion by the Board. A three -page report summarizing standing subcommittee structures in thirteen other North Carolina counties is also attached. The BOCC also asked the Manager to prepare a document that includes recommendations for the Board to consider regarding operating and principles and possible structure of BOCC standing sub - committees. The attached staff paper contains suggestions that the Board may wish to consider in conjunction with the ideas that have already been put on the table, and other ideas that individual Commissioners may raise for discussion at this February 8 work session. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None at this time. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report for information, discuss the attached documents, and provide appropriate direction to staff. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER TASK FORCES AND OTHER SHORT TERM APPOINTMENTS Board of County Commissioner Task Forces" are short term groups in which commissioners work with staff to expedite, certain tasks, and report back to the BOCC (and sometimes, others) for discussion and action. Below is a partial list of.BOCC task forces and other short term appointments of commissioners made during 1999. The list does not include all recently created or about- to -be- created task forces nor does it include task forces created before June 30, 1999. The list was updated on.November 4, 1999. Task`Forces /Other Appointments = June 30, 1999 Cable Casting BOCC Meetings Task: Develop schedule and equipment needs for cable casting BOCC meetings as soon as feasible BOCC memberCs): - Margaret Brown, Moses Carey Citizens' Guide Task: ;Develop a citizens' guide to accessing the public process BOCC member(s):.Barry"Jacobs (Margaret Brown joined at a later date} Tax Bill Inserts Task: Develop information inserts to be mailed with tax notices BOCC members) Margaret Brown County Space Needs Inventory Task: Develop an inventory of County space needs for the next ten to twenty years BOCC'member(s): Margaret Brown, Alice Gordon Innovation and Efficiency Develop charge for the'.Innovation &,Efficiency committee along with a suggested list for membership categories BOCC member(s): Stephen Halkiotis, Barry Jacobs Value Engineering Task: Interview and recommend selection of value engineering consultant BOCC member(s): Margaret Brown, Barry Jacobs Master_ Plan for the Homestead Road Campus Task: Building on the existing sketch plan, develop recommendations concerning the County Master Plan for the Homestead Road Campus BOCC member {s): Alice Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis Quick Response Team Task: Address opportunities and problems of school /park proposals when they arise BOCC member(s):. Alice Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis Page 2 County Representative to the NCACC Conference in August 1999 BOCC member(s): Moses Carey IFC Shelter Alternatives Task Force Task: To develop a list of criteria and alternative sites for the Homeless Shelter (besides downtown in its current location), and evaluate those sites. BOCC member(s): Alice Gordon,.Stephen.Halkiotis BOCC Rules and Regulations Task: To review these regulations,and recommend revisions, as appropriate BOCC member(s): Alice Gordon (with Beverly Blythe) Resolution for Appointments to County Boards and Commissions Task: To review this resolution and recommend revisions, as appropriate BOCC member(s);. Alice Gordon (with Beverly Blythe) Task forces /Appointments - Fall 1999 CP &L Intervention Task: To organize Orange County's responses for its intervention in CP &L`s' application to expand storage pool capacity BOCC member(s):r Margaret Brown, Barry Jacobs Liaison to Hispanic Center BOCC member(s): Moses 'Carey, Stephen Halkiotis C &D Recycling Task: To investigate possibilities for recycling C &D' waste, and related issues ,BOCO member(s): Margaret Brown, Barry. Jacobs Community College Task: To evaluate the feasibility of establishing ,a branch of Durham Technical Community: College in Orange County BOCC member(s): Moses Carey, Stephen Halkiotis Legislative Issues Task: To evaluate legislative issues and recommend them to the BOCC for action by the state legislature BOCC member(s): 'Stephen Halkiotis, Barry Jacobs Master Aging Plan (MAP) Task Force" Steering' Committee BOCC liaison: Barry Jacobs Soccer Symposium Task: To organize a'symposium on soccer, and soccer facilities BOCC member(s): Barry Jacobs A POSSIBLE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OFCOMMISSIONERS Here is a suggested grouping of tasks into five standing committees of the BOCC. Two commissioners could serve on each committee, with a third designated as an alternate. Ideally this structure gives some order to the proliferating ad hoc efforts undertaken by the BOCC, allows preliminary discussions at which policy considerations are identified And explored prior to presentations to the entire board, and permits brainstorming with staff in a less formal setting than a regular board meeting or work session. Such an approach should improve board efficiency, increase situations in which commissioners become knowledgeable advocates (or critics) of certain proposals, and decrease the amount of time taken at meetings to identify potential pitfalls. Ground rules would be developed to assure that no hidden agendas or overzealous actions would compromise the integrity of the entire board's decision making. A level of trust in the process must be maintained. All meeting would be open. INTERNAL RELATIONS Manager's Review Instrument Space Study Value Engineering EXTERNAL RELATIONS Legislation Liaison with Alamance, Durham Hillsborough parking, Fairview EDUCATION Schools and Land -Use Council AFO Funding formulas- SOLID WASTE Future Search C &D Task Force Liaison With SWAB LAND USE /OPEN SPACE Carrboro Northern Transition Area Cane Creek clustering Recreation/Open Space Coordination BJ 11/10/99 A HYPOTHETICAL COMMITTEE TEE STR CTURE Here's a possible grouping of tasks into five subcommittees of the BOCC. Two commissioners could serve on each committee, with a third desig aated as an alternate. The intent is to: 1. Lend some predictable order and structure to the num us ad hoc efforts undertaken by the BOCC; 2. Allow preliminary discussions where policy considerad ons are identified and explored prior to presentation to the entire board; 3. Allow brainstorming with staff in a less formal setting a regular board meeting or work session. Such an approach should increase board efficiency, create situations where commissioners become knowledgeable advocates (or critics) of c proposals, and . decrease the time taken at meetings to hash out alternatives suitat le to the board. 'Having five committees means each commissioner can serve on two and a the alternate for a third. Ground rules must assure a level of trust that no hidden eqendas or overzealous actions will compromise the integrity of the entire board's decisio a making. PERSONNEL AND FACILITIES Personnel Matters Space Study Construction Standards LEGISLATION AND LIAISON Legislative Agenda/Advocacy Overtures To Neighbors EDUCATION Schools and Land -Use Council SAFO Community College SOLID WASTE Future Search Coordinate With SWAB Provide Guidance During Transition LAND USE/OPEN SPACE Coordinate Comprehensive Plan Update Cane Creek clustering TDR BJ 0 /20/00 . 6 Proposed . B000 Committee Structure February 2000 Here is a proposed committee structure for the Board of County Commissioners ( "BOCCI or "Board ") that is presented for commissioner discussion. I. Definitions A. ."BOCC Committees" are long term groups in which commissioners work with staff to expedite certain tasks, and regularly report, back to the. BOCC for discussion and action. These committees are created by formal action of the BOCC and are intended to work in specified areas as designated by the BOCC.' ; B. "BOCC Task Forces" are ,short term groups in which commissioners work with staff to expedite certain tasks, and regularly report back to the BOCC for discussion and action. These task forces are created by formal action of the - BOCC and may work in any area the BOCC ideems appropriate. Il. Purpose The purpose, both of the BOCC Committees and BOCC Task Forces, is to increase Board efficiency and to decrease time taken at meetings to hash out alternatives suitable to the Board. These groups are to be used to work out alternatives concerning issues for which it is not controversial to assign the task to a subgroup of the BOCC. They would be used when a super- majority of the BOCC (four members) agrees that the issue or task should be assigned to one of these groups (c.f. the Consent Agenda where all five Board members must agree). This procedure would make it more likely that recommendations of the groups would be acceptable to the entire Board, without compromising each Board member's responsibility for decisions made. by the entire Board. III. Transition Guidelines for Committees and /or Task Forces A. If a task force or other group already exists, it will continue its work as it was originally charged. B. In the future, work will usually be given to the appropri ate committee, if one exists: C. The BOCC may establish a limited number of committees or task forces in the future if that is deemed appropriate. D. The task force /committee structure will be evaluated in November .% 2000, and thereafter the BOCC will decide how to proceed.: IV. Formation of New Committees or New Task Forces A. New committees or task forces will be formed by 'a formal vote of the B000. B. Each Board member will be.. asked whether he /she is interested in serving on. the new group. C. If one or two 'members wish to serve, and if the Board agrees, the group will be formed and these commissioners will serve. D. If no members wish to serve, or if three or more commissioners wish to serve, there will first be an attempt to increase /decrease the group to one or, two commissioners. 8 I INFORMATION ON STANDING COMMITTEES AND STRUCTURE FROM OTHER NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES As part of the investigation and thought process relating to the establishment of standing committees of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, it was determined that contact with other North Carolina counties may be helpful to provide examples and/or as a guide for Orange County. To this end, contact was made with thirteen (13) North Carolina counties chosen by staff. Those counties were: Buncombe, Cabarrus, Catawba, Craven, Cumberland, Durham, Forsyth, Iredell, New Hanover, Onslow, Pitt, Rowan, and Wake. The point of contact was the clerks to the boards of county commissioners of these counties, or, in a few cases, with members of the clerks' staff. Discussions with these counties yielded only two examples of counties that operate with standing committees (subcommittees) of the boards of county commissioners. Those two counties were Catawba and Cumberland counties. The clerks from the other counties noted that while their counties do appoint members to various boards and do from time -to -time appoint task forces and issue- specific committees that include members of the board of commissioners, their counties do not maintain standing committees or subcommittees of the boards of commissioners. The information from Catawba and Cumberland counties is as follows: Catawba County Three Subcommittees -- Finance & Personnel Public Works Policy & Goals Each subcommittee consists of two commissioners that are appointed to the respective subcommittees by the entire Board. Appointments to subcommittees occur annually in December. The Board Chair serves as an ex- officio member of each subcommittee and may or may not attend the meetings. Subcommittee chairs are not elected or chosen. Each subcommittee meets once a month, usually one week before the Board of County Commissioners' regular meeting. Staff is available as appropriate and as needed for consultation and assistance. One of the three subcommittees reviews most, but not necessarily all, of the matters that are to be discussed and decided by the entire Board of Commissioners. Some minor items are simply addressed by the entire Board. It e was noted that there are a few instances where it is not clear which subcommittee should address an issue due to its nature. In these cases, the entire board determines the appropriate subcommittee to review the item. Each subcommittee reviews each matter and forwards a recommendation to the entire Board, unless there is no consensus of opinion between the two commissioners. In this case, the matter is referred to the entire Board without any recommendation and information regarding the varying opinions is included. According to the Clerk to the Board, no actual documentation'exists outlining this subcommittee structure. Cumberland County Four Subcommittees -- Finance Facilities Policy Personnel Each subcommittee consists of three commissioners that are appointed to the respective subcommittees by the Board Chair. (Note: The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners consists of seven (7) Members.) Appointments to subcommittees occur annually in December. The Board Chair serves as an ex- officio member of each subcommittee and may or may not attend the meetings. Subcommittee chairs are elected. Each subcommittee meets once a month. Staff is available as appropriate and as needed for consultation and assistance. The three subcommittees review items placed on their agendas by any commissioner or by the county manager. Each subcommittee reviews each matter and forwards a recommendation to the entire Board. In cases where there is a difference of opinion on the subcommittee, the majority's recommendation is forwarded to the entire Board along with information on the minority opinion. The minutes of the subcommittee meetings are also forwarded to the entire Board for reference purposes. Ib Other Information As additional information, it will also be beneficial to be aware of activities in Durham, Forsyth, and Wake counties. Durham and Forsyth counties do not operate with any "subcommittees" of the boards of commissioners. However, the boards of commissioners for these counties do meet as committees of the whole prior to their regular meetings for "agenda work sessions ". During these work sessions, the boards review their upcoming agenda items, ask questions of staff, and request additional information. No decisions are made. However, having these work sessions provides the boards with the opportunity to address potential issues and questions ahead of the regular meeting. This allows the regular meeting to flow more smoothly, and the regular meetings normally last less than two hours. Regarding Wake County, it should be noted that the Board of Commissioners operated with six (6) standing subcommittees up until two years ago. Those subcommittees were: Community Services, Administration, Public Safety, Human Services, Intergovernmental, and Education. Each commissioner, except the Chair, served as a chair for one of the subcommittees. Two other commissioners joined the subcommittee chair, making a total of three commissioners on each subcommittee. The subcommittees met on an "as needed" basis. The subcommittee structure was abolished two years ago due to several reasons. The clerk to the board noted that the same in -depth discussion and information- sharing was occurring at both the subcommittee level and the full board level, thereby defeating the intended purpose of the subcommittee structure. The subcommittee structure and its associated meetings were also creating additional meetings for the commissioners, and since the entire Board was discussing issues fully anyway, the abandonment of the subcommittee structure was viewed as a time - saving, meeting - reducing opportunity. • ORANGE COUNTY STAFF PAPER CONSIDERATIONS IN POSSIBLE STRUCTURE OF BOCC STANDING COMMITTEES February 8, 2000 At their annual planning retreat on January 20, 2000, the Board of Commissioners discussed the concept of creating standing committees that under some circumstances would work with staff to examine issues and develop recommendations to the full board. The underlying interest of the Board would be to increase the efficiency with which the County Commissioners are able to deal with the heavy workload presented during the more than 50 meetings of the full board scheduled each year. The Manager was asked to develop some recommendations regarding a possible committee structure, which the Board can consider in conjunction with other proposals that Commissioners have developed or may subsequently bring to the table. It may be that some hybrid of the following concepts and those previously identified will lead to a structure that satisfies the Board's needs to more efficiently manage its workload. Whatever structure the Board may pursue, the Manager recommends that the following principles be observed: ■. Each task or issue dealt with by a committee should be undertaken upon specific direction or commissioning from the full Board that the committee should address that particular task or issue ■ Each committee should have two Commissioners, although the Board may wish to work out a back -up system where one or more additional Commissioners can serve on a rotational basis ■ Each committee should report back periodically to the full board on the tasks or issues it is working on using format and groundrules agreed to by the full board ■ Staff must assist the Board in ensuring that requirements of open meetings and public records laws are observed One approach to establishing committees would be to structure them along the lines of the major functional areas of Orange County government, as laid out in the County's budget ordinance and budget document. Some of the larger functional areas, either in percentage of the County budget or number of operational departments (e.g. Education and Human Services) could stand alone as BOCC committees, Issues in other smaller functional areas (e.g. Community Maintenance, General Administration, Taxation and Records) could be addressed in one BOCC committee combining several functional areas. There may be value in identifying five committees, with the expectation that each Commissioner would serve on two. Clearly, there could be more or fewer than five, if the BOCC determines 'a more effective and appropriate committee structure. In many cases, assignment of a task or issue to the appropriate committee would be fairly clear (e.g. a review of Adult Care Home issues would naturally fall to the Human Services Committee, as the issue involves the Department on Aging, Health, and DSS, which are all Human Service departments). In other cases, an issue might arguably be addressed by more than one committee (e.g. the Cost Efficient Facilities Initiative might be either an Education or General Operations committee issue). In such cases, as part of the "commissioning" process mentioned above, the Board would decide at the outset which committee should take the lead, and whether in the particular set of circumstances there should be collaboration on an issue between several BOCC committees. One possible committee structure, reflecting the functional areas and operational departments each 12 committee would subsume (along with assumptions about where some of the current, and possible future, ad hoc BOCC committees might fit under this structure) follows: 1. GENERAL OPERATIONS (Community Maintenance, General Administration, Taxation and Records) Departments • Board of Commissioners • Elections • Soil and Water • County Manager • Budget • Finance • Purchasing and Central Services • Information Systems • Register of Deeds • Land Records • Assessor • Revenue Existing Ad Hoc Committees • Cable Casting Meetings • Citizens' Guide • Tax Bill Inserts • County Space Needs Inventory • Innovation and Efficiency • BOCC Rules and Regulations Possible Future Initiatives • Personnel Matters • Legislative Agenda/Advocacy • Overtures to Neighbors 2. COMMUNITY PLANNING (Community Planning) Departments • Planning and Inspections • Economic Development • Environment and Resource Conservation Existing Ad Hoc Committees ■ Quick Response Team (for school/park acquisition opportunities) (Education or Human Services are also possibilities) Possible Future Initiatives • Coordinate Comprehensive Plan Update • Cane Creek Clustering • Transfer of Development Rights 13 3. HUMAN SERVICES (Human Services and Outside Agencies (within the Nan - Departmental function)) Departments • Social Services • Health • Cooperative Extension • Recreation and Parks • Aging • Orange Public Transportation • Human Rights and Relations • Library • Child Support Enforcement • Mental health • Outside Agencies Existing Ad Hoc Committees • Master Planning for Homestead Road Campus • IFC Shelter Alternatives • Liaison to Hispanic Center • Master Aging Plan • Soccer Symposium • Northern Human Services Center Task Force 4. EDUCATION (Education) Existing Ad Hoc Committees ■ Community College ■ School Funding Options Task Force ■ Cost Efficient Facilities Initiative (formerly Value Engineering) (could go under General Operations instead) Possible Future Initiatives ■ School Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance 5. JUSTICE, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND PUBLIC WORKS (Public Safety, Public Works) Departments • Courts • Sheriff • Jail • Emergency Management Services • Solid Waste • Public Works Existing Ad Hoc Committees • CP &L Intervention • C &D Recycling Task Force 14 Possible Future Initiatives • Coordination with Solid Waste Advisory Board • Future Search There are many other Commissioner work assignments not reflected above that could conceivably be assigned to the committees noted above. There are other combinations of functional areas that the Board could consider as the basis for committees. The committee structure outlined above might appear to be unbalanced (in terms of numbers of "bullets "), although some of the ostensibly larger committees might have fewer or less intensive tasks associated with them. Changes in committee responsibilities could be made over time if it became clear to the Board that one or more committees have substantially more work to do than others. Of course, there are other approaches to committee structure beyond pegging them to established functional areas of Orange County government. With regard to details regarding the formation; operation, and groundrules of committees, Commissioner Gordon has laid out a proposal (a separate attachment to the abstract for this agenda item) that can form the basis of discussion for the BOCC. The Manager and staff stand ready to fine tune a BOCC committee structure based on the Board's direction.