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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19871205326 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES DECEMBER 5, 1987 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Saturday, December 5, 1987 at 8:30 a.m. in the Duke Power Exchange Club meeting room, Hillsborough, North Carolina for the purpose of holding a work session on setting goals and objectives. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Shirley E. Marshall and Commissioners Moses Carey, Jr., Stephen Halkiotis, John Hartwell and Don Willhoit. ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill. . STAFF PRESENT: Interim County Manager Albert Kittrell, Assistant County Manager William T. Laws, Interim Assistant County Manager/Personnel Director Beverly Whitehead, Interim Management Analyst Pamela Jones, Recreation and Parks Director Mary Anne Black, Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe, Interim Finance Director Ken Chavious, Economic Development Director Sylvia Price, and Director of Social Services Marti Pryor-Cook. Ralph Mitchell served as the mediator and began the session with some background information about his work experience. He explained the difference between leaders and managers and stated that management must be able to see the vision set forth by the leaders. He reviewed the eight phases of creative leadership. He explained that the purpose of setting goals is to give the staff a vision to reach the goals. The goals as discussed by the Board are listed below along with ~~ comments made: FINANCE BOND ISSUE - Commissioner Willhoit stressed the importance of establishing a committee to achieve a community consensus for support of a bond issue and stated the biggest hurdle is the ratio between the school projects and County projects. A decision must be made on whether or not the funding must be equal for the two school systems and if the County projects should also be included. The most important items seem to be the elementary school for Orange County Schools, the High School renovations for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools and the Southern Human Service Building for the County. Commissioner Marshall suggested maybe starting with the minimum - nine million for Chapel Hi11--Carrboro .schools, six million for Orange County Schools and five million for Orange County government. Commissioner Willhoit questioned how the other needs would be met if only a minimum bond issue was approved and if a minimum bond issue would then allow the county to meet the remainder of the needs on a pay-as-you-- go basis. SCHEDULE FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Commissioner Hartwell stated that if the CIP is really a plan it must not only include the items but also the source of revenue. Commissioner Willhoit indicated disagreement with the dates as they are now set. Chair Marshall pointed out the importance of not only talking about those items that need to be funded by a bond issue but of talking about those items that will be needed after this five year period. WATER ISSUES - Commissioner Hartwell explained in detail the recommendation of the Reservoir Site Committee to enlarge Corporatior~327Z,ake instead of building a new Reservoir on a different site. He stressed the importance of knowing the topography of the area around Corporation Lake and it was decided by the Board to approve a budget amendment at the next regular Baard meeting to allow Corporation Lake to be flown and topographic maps made. It was agreed that the funda,ng for Phase II of the Hazen and Sawyer proposal would be included in the ].988-89 budget. Commissioner Willhoit asked if Orange Alaniance and the Town of Hillsborough had been requested to share in thecost of expanding Corporation Lake and if the County could levy a surtax on water transfers. He stated his desire to have a funding mechanism in place before approving Phase II. Chair Marshall requested that the Administration write a statement for the Capacity Use public hearing for review by the Board. The Board set as a goal to establish a Water Resources Board. Commissioner Willhoit suggested meeting with OWASA and the Town of Hillsborough on the issue of water and to consider a surcharge. BUDGET - The Board set a goal of adopting a concise and program oriented budget by June 30. They discussed the need to have an accurate prediction of the revenues and expenses in a timely manner. The fund balance was discussed. Commissioner Carey suggested holding enough fund balance to be able to deal with unexpected contingencies. There was a consensus of the Board that a fund balance in the range of ten percent would be desired. Discussion ensued on the possible advantages in not setting up reserve accounts but putting everything into the general fund. The Board expressed the need for more precise figures of what we think we may have on June 30. Commissioner Willhoit suggested waiting until a manager is selected before deciding on guidelines for budget preparation. Discussion ensued on a process for the schools to include (].) basic expenses and (2) enhancements. There needs to be some agreement between the schools and the County Manager on continuation monies. Commissioner Willhoit suggested taking the current level of funding and adding an automatic amount for an increase. Chair Marshall stated that in order to move toward equal funding, the current continuation budget must be reviewed. Commissioner Willhoit noted that equal funding cannot be a goal and that improved funding for the schools should be considered. There is a different level of public support in the two school systems. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed that there are a lot of differences in the two school systems which accounts for the difference in funding. The main point is that both school districts are doing things better than the other and suggested that maybe it should be put to the vote of the people. Chair Marshall stated that if the district tax was frozen, it would be less of a percentage of the total as the years go by. Discussion ensued on moving toward parity without increasing the district tax. The adminis- tration was requested to find an educational financial consultant to advise the Board on what should be done to establish equal funding if mandated to merge and that after looking at such a report, would consider taking the same method and stretching it out over a longer period. WATERSHED PROTECTION - Chair Marshall stated she feels the County is moving in the direction of watershed protection through the water and sewer policy. Commissioner Hartwell indicated the most important thing in the Reservoir Site Committees selection of a site was its integration with the life of the community and compatibility with the Land Use Plan. The University Lake Study data will be specific to that reservoir and not applicable to other watersheds. Other items mentioned as possible goals 32R were (1) the extension of the Rural Buffer standards, (2) Joint Planning for Hillsborough, (3) a decision about drawing water from the Jordan, and (4) update of the Comprehensive Plan. Chair Marshall agreed the County needs to talk with Hillsborough but first needs to know their procedures for how they view different aspects of planning. She questioned how to ,~ preserve the integrity of the sewer and water policy and talk with Hillsborough on the level they want to talk on because Hillsborough does: not want to talk about the water and sewer policy as a planning item or related to planning. Commissioner Willhoit suggested having a joint meeting with Hillsborough on various items. HUMAN SERVICES -The Board agreed we should emphasize teen programs. Commissioner Halkiotis asked that the HSAC plan and implement a one day program bringing all teen providers together for information and planning: It was pointed out that one intent of the HSAC was to provide coordination of programs. The Board discussed calling the HSAC a "Planning Commission" but decided to leave it as is for the time being. Albert Kittrell asked about the relationship with non-profit agencies and if the County should have a contractual, grantor relationship, should the County fund all that is requested or do we evaluate their services and cut the funding .accordingly. Commissioner Carey noted the County wants to have a contractual relationship and needs to establish some criteria of how much their budget should be and then go back to zero-based funding. Chair Marshall emphasized the County has an obligation to continue to fund the agencies that support the Sheriff's Department and the Court system but that for any new agencies or for any expansion of programs, a criteria for evaluation needs to be developed. She asked that the administration give the Board some recommendations on this issue. Chair Marshall asked that the administration report to the Board what ~>. obligation it had to provide facilities for OPC, Cedar Grove Day Care and for the Community School for People Under Six. There may already be a'.:; policy on providing such facilities. Commissioner Willhoit asked that Albert Kittrell propose a policy for providing facilities for the three agencies and let the Soard of Commissioners respond to the proposal. Chair Marshall questioned the property at Northside and asking how it got into the public and what the land may be used for if a new facility is built. DAY CARE - Chair Marshall stated that while she wants to do everything to support day care it conflicts with the Board's obligation to e but to keep open the option of providing additional help and facilities. The Board agreed to refer to the DSS Hoard the question of funding day care and asked that they specifically suggest some programs that would treat each citizen who needs the service equitably. LOW/MODERATE HOUSING - Beverly Whitehead reported that there are several task force committees who are in the process of developing a recommendation to be brought back to the Board. RECYCLED PAPER - Commissioner Willhoit noted the need for more effective programs and suggested an in-house program with the local government using recycled paper. Another landfill will be needed either for ash or for something else. Even if the ash is sent some place else, a landfill will be necessary. Commissioner Willhoit asked for a map showing the location of all the green boxes in the County. Bill Laws reported the County has 61 sites with an anticipation of cutting this number to 29 or 30 with each one being within four (4) miles of an area. LITERACY -Commissioner Carey suggested allocating a small amoun~ of money to support the Literacy Council in this area in an effort to help those people who are out of school and unable to read. Chair Marshall asked that the Administration contact the Literacy Council and see what they propose to do with $2,000. Commissioner Halkiotis suggested this may be an opportunity for a collaborative effort by schools, recreation, DSS and the churches to get involved. HUMAN COMMUNICATION - The Board pointed out the need for all public servants to improve public communication. COMPUTERIZATION ~ The Board asked that it be provided a schedule for PC distribution and that the Board be included in the PC training classes. Discussion ensued on Data Processing and Albert Kittrell indicated that the workload is such that additional staff is needed in that department. AIRPORT - The Board decided to request the Economic Development Commission to review the Airport Task Force Report and to suggest location sites and the type of facility needed to promote economic development activities in the county. Commissioner Carey noted that the EDC is now having a study done and that the Board may want to wait on the resuxts of that study before making any decisions that would affect Economic Development. ADJOURNMENT With no further items to discuss, Chair Marshall adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting will be held on December 17, 1987 at 7:30 p.m. in the Courtroom of the old Post Office, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Shirley E. Marshall, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk