Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19990426APPROVED 1217199 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION April 26, 1999 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Monday, April 26, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the Board Room at the Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Alice M. Gordon and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Stephen H. Halkiotis and Barry Jacobs COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Albert Kittrell, and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (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. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. Chair Gordon summarized the agenda for this evening. 1. New Staff Resources Recommended for 1999-2000 and Requested Changes for Existing Orange County Positions John Link indicated that the new positions are being discussed this evening in preparation for the final budget recommendations. He asked that the County Commissioners give him feedback to the requests they will receive this evening. There are three categories of positions they will discuss: ? Departments with Recommended New Positions Only ? Departments with Recommended New Positions and Requested Changes in Existing Positions ? Departments with Requested Changes in Existing Positions Only A. Departments with Recommended New Positions Only Aging/OPT 1. New OPT Receptionist - (page 2) John Link spoke to the outcomes and what would be achieved as indicated on page 3. Commissioner Brown asked about the Hillsborough facility manager and who is on the Monitor Committee. Jerry Passmore said that the Monitor Committee comes from TJCOG. Commissioner Brown asked about the senior activities and whether this is something that they have not been able to do previously. Jerry Passmore said that service has been limited because of the increase in calls. As the County becomes more public focused, the calls increase. Commissioner Brown asked how Jerry Passmore expands the routes to those who are disabled and not on the regular routes. Jerry Passmore said that position would give his department the capability to expand and take other kinds of request that would deviate from the normal routine. They will also have better organization of their resources. This is a Work First position, an entry-level job. Commissioner Jacobs commented that he would still like to discuss the strategy the County has for hiring Work First participants. John Link said that they are working on a strategy. In answer to a question from Chair Gordon about the grant fund, Jerry Passmore said that it is a Triangle J block grant and is continual. Commissioner Brown asked how the Department on Aging is doing. Jerry Passmore said that this has been an exciting year. The routes have increased as well as the number of riders. They have early morning routes that are being used. As far as Aging, the most exciting thing is that they have a Central Senior Center Group working to develop senior activities in the central and northern part of the County. They have tried to keep up with technology with the senior net classes. RSVP has grown and tax filing has increased to serving over 1,000 people. Public Works 1. New Custodian for Skill Development Center - (page 18) John Link gave background information for this position. This person will take care of the custodian needs for the Skills Development Center. The amount of overtime will be reduced with the addition of this position. Commissioner Halkiotis asked how large this building is and Wilbert McAdoo said 13,000 square feet. Wilbert McAdoo said that the formula he used is 21,000 square feet per custodian. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if any of the agencies using this building have been approached to share in this cost and John Link said no. Albert Kittrell said that he did discuss with Durham Tech about assisting with this cost. Durham Tech does pay half of the costs of the Administrative Assistant position. Commissioner Halkiotis asked that the focus be on a specific group that would be willing to close this building. He would like something creative to be done with this position. Wilbert McAdoo will recruit to get a Work First participant. Commissioner Halkiotis feels that a custodian could work a regular schedule and that other agencies located in the facility could close up the building. Commissioner Jacobs asked about offsetting revenue, how this is tracked to be sure it happens. Donna Dean said that they keep track of offsetting revenues. John Link said that they could give the Board of County Commissioners progress reports of what is committed to and the outcomes. Commissioner Jacobs feels it is important to track the costs, especially when offsetting costs are projected. Commissioner Brown asked if Durham Tech is committed to a certain amount of money. Albert Kittrell said that Durham Tech has only committed to one half-time position. B. Departments with Recommended New Positions and Requested Changes in Existing Positions EMS 1. Three new EMT - Paramedics - (page 4) John Link said that this is a criterion for a level of service. As indicated, because of the number of growth in the calls received, there are a number of positions that require a lot of overtime. He focused on the outcomes. The net cost would be $95,000. This does relate to the EMS Strategic Plan. Commissioner Brown asked why John Link did not break out the three positions and present each one separately. Nick Waters explained that during the hours of 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. they need five paramedics instead of four because this is their peak time. Commissioner Carey asked if the long response time of 32-40 minutes was due to the lack of paramedics and Nick Waters said yes. Commissioner Carey clarified that the average overtime for a paramedic is 330 hours a year. He asked for the rate of increase in emergency calls over the past year. Nick Waters said the increase in emergency calls over the past year was 10°x. He said they have stopped responding to traffic accidents where they cannot confirm that someone was injured, and have stopped responding to calls from Chatham County. Nick Waters stressed that it is important that a paramedic be on each call to make a determination as to whether or not to transport the injured to the hospital. Commissioner Halkiotis clarified that on each shift there are four paramedics and one supervisor. In answer to a question from Commissioner Halkiotis about what fees have been collected, Rod Visser said last year a little over $500,000 was collected. Commissioner Halkiotis feels this needs to be viewed as a revenue source. Commissioner Jacobs asked if these were the positions requested last year. Nick Waters said two of these positions are ones that he requested last year. He said that not getting the positions last year led to a lot of overtime and denial of vacation. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the vehicles. Nick Waters said that if they can get two cars turned in by the Sheriff and get 40,000 to 50,000 more miles, this would save them money in the short-term. These will then be added for new vehicle replacement. Commissioner Jacobs feels the long-term cost of these vehicles needs to be factored into the equation. Commissioner Carey made reference to Commissioner Halkiotis' comments that the revenue is important, but only in terms of reducing the County's risk and increasing public satisfaction. He feels these are stressful positions and the County Commissioners should be sure that the number of personnel is close to the national standards if not exceeding them. Also, it helps with retention of good employees because it would lower the stress level. Chair Gordon asked for the incremental effect of each position which will be provided in writing. 2. Existing Two Time-Limited Telecom m u nicators - (page 27) John Link made reference to the material on pages 27 and 28. Commissioner Halkiotis asked what the lapse salary is for this year. Donna Dean will provide that information. Commissioner Carey asked about turnover rate. Nick Waters said that the turnover rate is constant. He hopes to see this decrease with the training program they now have in place. Some of the turnover is caused by the complexity of the training they must successfully take. Commissioner Carey asked if Nick Waters feels he will not have enough lapse salary to fund these positions in the future. Nick Waters explained the advantages of not having these positions classified as time- limited. Commissioner Halkiotis feels that with lapse salary there is a permanency. John Link said that they would talk with the Board later in the budget process about the pros and cons of time-limited positions. Chair Gordon asked if Nick Waters could break out emergency and non-emergency calls. Commissioner Brown asked for overtime figures. Nick Waters will provide a breakdown of emergency and non-emergency calls and overtime figures. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for overtime figures for all County positions. Health 1. New Environmental Health Specialist - (page 7) Commissioner Brown asked if the Health Board looked at their fee schedule to see if it could be adjusted to pay for any part of this position. Rosemary Summers said that the Health Department increased fees last year. Environmental Health generates about 65% to pay for this department. They will gain a better citizen response time with the addition of this position. Commissioner Brown asked for a copy of the fee schedule and information on the amount of revenue that is received. Commissioner Jacobs asked if these complaints are from developers. John Link said that it is usually from individual citizens. Rosemary Summers said that complaints are received from both developers and citizens. They keep a log of complaint calls. Commissioner Jacobs said that compared to all the positions, he is somewhat skeptical of this one. Commissioner Carey feels it is important for the County Commissioners to set standards on how they want to serve the citizens, what the expectations are, and how that compares to what the public wants. He would like to review the survey that was done in 1988. He feels the Board needs to have this discussion out of the context of the budget discussions. Commissioner Brown asked about overtime. Rosemary Summers said that overtime is quite limited since this type of work must be done in the daylight hours. They do not have overtime right now. 2. New Healthy Carolinians Coordinator and Health Education Project Manager - (page 9) John Link made reference to the outcomes and noted that the objective of the Healthy Carolinians program is prevention. He went over the creative financing for this position. Commissioner Halkiotis feels the goals are admirable but a grant-funded position does not have an impact on the budget and should be listed in another group. John Link said that they do this because grant positions may eventually be funded from County funds. There are positions that are funded fully or partially by a grant, and positions that are funded by revenues. Chair Gordon made reference to page 63 and asked how these two positions fit into the organizational outline. Rosemary Summers said that they fit in under the Health Education Supervisor. Chair Gordon said that she wants to know whenever there is a new section of a department. She has asked for this in the past. Commissioner Carey asked Chair Gordon to clarify. Chair Gordon said that she feels that if a new section is added in a department, then the County Commissioners should be consulted. She has requested this information in the past. If a new section of a department is going to be created, rationale for that new section needs to be provided. Commissioner Carey feels that the County Commissioners need to discuss that. He said that the Healthy Carolinians was something that the Board asked the Health Department to do last year. This is important to him and many people in the County. He said that he wants to know when the Manager is asked to provide information of this kind. John Link recalls the discussion about if there is a new function or area created. His interpretation is that Rosemary Summers changed the reporting procedure for this position. Commissioner Carey said that once the Board decides on the budget and goals for each department, they should not get involved in telling the departments how to carry them out, this i; up to the manager and the departments. Getting the job done with existing resources is an administrative function. Chair Gordon said that she agrees. Commissioner Jacobs said that maybe there could be a courtesy review of changes in organization. John Link said that he would keep the County Commissioners informed of administrative changes or any change that creates a new function. Commissioner Brown asked about the Kellogg positions. Rosemary Summers explained that these positions are separate, although there are elements that will serve minority populations. Chair Gordon asked Rosemary Summers to break out the positions and the outcomes for each. Commissioner Brown asked if Rosemary Summers could show how these positions tie in with other services in the County, and how they coordinate or collaborate with other departments. Commissioner Halkiotis feels that the work the Health Department does with the two school systems goes unheralded. 3. Existing Office Assistant I (Increase in hours) - (page 34) John Link said that the request is to increase the hours from 30 to 40. These hours will be used to serve as a receptionist and to complete health records. These extra hours will help the professional staff focus on what they need to be doing. 4. Existing Public Health Nurse/School Nurse (Increase in hours) - (page 36) John Link said that specifically these extra hours will enable the nurse to provide health care to Orange High School and Frank Porter Graham. Also, this position will work with the children in Charter schools. Rosemary Summers said that this position will oversee the entire Hepatitis B program. In answer to a question from Barry Jacobs, she said that there are a total of 5-1/2 nurses for Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools employed by the school system, and there are five nurses for Orange County schools. Orange County has 2 full-time nurses. Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools' ratio is one nurse for 1,500 students, and Orange County Schools' ratio is one nurse for 1,200 students. Rosemary Summers said that there are no school nurses in the charter schools, so a school nurse does not support the person who goes to the charter schools. 5. Existing Time Limited Intensive Home Visiting Grant Positions - (page 38) Commissioner Carey noted that the home-visiting program for children who are very young has surfaced as a national issue. The first three years of a child's life affect the development of a child the most. Human Rights and Relations 1. New Civil Rights Specialist - page 13 John Link said that this position is another example of a service level question in terms of how responsive the County wants to be as they address the cases and complaints they receive. He said it now takes 273 days to process cases the Human Rights and Relations Department receives. The proposal is that a position be added to reduce this time down to 180 days. In addition, this proposal goes beyond just adding a position to address the caseload; it is to pursue a different method of operation in the department. Annette Moore would like each of the Civil Rights Specialists to go out into the community and work with community groups, conduct training sessions, address interested agencies and organizations, and help to train business groups in human rights and relations. Annette Moore hopes that there would be less burnout in these positions as a result of this different method of operation. John Link said that in terms of revenue, they would be paid on a case-by-case basis by EEOC and HUD. Commissioner Brown asked about the reimbursement amount. Annette Moore said that HUD pays $1,700 per case. EEOC pays $500 per case. Commissioner Brown asked about the actual cost of the position after reimbursements from the different agencies. Annette Moore said that this would depend on the number of cases that are closed. She said the figures from this year are from the cases that will be closed by the end of the federal fiscal year. Commissioner Brown asked about the outcomes and asked which outreach functions are already being done. Annette Moore said they are doing very little outreach functions at this time. The outreach that is being done is by volunteers. They are required to do education outreach by HUD and they are not able to do so. Commissioner Jacobs asked why, with the addition of one new staff person, would the resolution time decrease and continue to decrease in future years. Annette Moore said that as they get more staff, investigators would become more efficient in handling their cases. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the space concerns and where the additional staff will be placed. Annette Moore said that they would replace their intern with this position. Commissioner Jacobs asked about education and outreach in the schools. Annette Moore said that they have not done any education and outreach in the schools. They would like to do that but they do not have the staff to do outreach and education in the community. She said they would like to go into the schools and have a series of multicultural dialogues with the school systems. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to page 14 and asked Annette Moore to explain the 35 under Complaints Closed by Staff. Annette Moore said that that figure was at the time this report was written. That number will be higher by the end of the year. Commissioner Halkiotis asked how many of her staff speak Spanish. Annette Moore said that they have an ESL position in the office, and that person is proficient, but not bilingual. They plan to expand and improve in this area. Commissioner Carey agreed with Commissioner Halkiotis on having someone in the office who can speak Spanish. He followed upon the response to Commissioner Jacob's question about space. He asked if the space issue would be solved because the intern would no longer be needed. Annette Moore said that this would not solve their space problem, but the new staff person would be placed where the intern is now. Commissioner Carey made reference to increased education, and said that one of the original objectives of this department was to work closely with the business community so the number of discrimination claims could be reduced. He said that increased education of people does not necessarily reduce the number of complaints because people become more aware of their rights. He said that in all probability, when the amount of education is increased, the awareness and the number of complaints is going to increase as well. He appreciates Annette Moore's enthusiasm for efficiency, but he feels that this issue needs to be researched closely. Annette Moore said that she would generally agree with Commissioner Carey. She said that one of the things that they were hoping to do was to provide technical assistance to the business community. As they become more efficient in processing cases, she feels there will be a decrease in the number of cases. Commissioner Brown asked about the breakdown of HUD and EEOC cases. Annette Moore said that at the present time they have approximately 15 HUD cases, 11 public accommodation cases, and the rest are EEOC cases. Commissioner Brown asked about space and if they could coordinate with the other users of the building. She suggested looking at space to see if rooms can be utilized which are not being used all the time. Chair Gordon said that it sounds like what Annette Moore is doing is reorganizing her staff. She asked for a list of what each person does and how each position fits into the overall department, including the ESL coordinator. She also asked for the outcomes of each proposed activity because this is needed for educational and coordination programs. 2. Existing Administrative Assistant II (Increase in hours) - (page 40) John Link said that this request is to increase the hours from 30 to 40 per week. The reason for the increase in hours is so they have the extra ten hours in the office to address office duties such as filing, preparing cases, telephone coverage, tracking complaints, and taking care of minutes. Commissioner Carey asked if the ordinance that was adopted gives 100 days to close a case. Annette Moore said yes. Commissioner Carey made reference to the number of these requests that relate to the Board's goals, and the fact that the agenda material says these requests are not related to the Board's goals. He said that the Board has adopted an ordinance that is stronger than a Board goal that is adopted each year. He asked her to change that to say that these requests are addressing the ordinance that the Board adopted and should be pursued. 3. Existing Time-Limited Civil Rights Specialist - (page 43) John Link said that the request is to revert this existing full-time time-limited position to permanent status. This person has a full caseload. By making this position permanent, it will help in recruitment. Commissioner Halkiotis said that whether the title says time-limited or permanent, it would not have an impact on the budget. Commissioner Jacobs said that he has some concerns about tracking and asked how many time-limited positions have become permanent and how many positions have been reduced. He would like an historical perspective for the last few years. Commissioner Brown asked about the number of positions. Annette Moore explained the positions she now has in the budget. 3. Planning 1. GIS Technician - (page 16) John Link said there is currently a backlog of updating subdivision addresses in the County system and the databases are not current in terms of supporting the information needs of Planning, Environmental Health, Land Records, etc. This position would address the need to update the database which is needed in order to carry out some of the County Commissioners' goals that are outlined on page 17. Craig Benedict gave some examples of what this person would be doing. He feels that the most important function would be to provide a current database so he could analyze and develop different planning scenarios for the County. He feels that there are workload deficiencies that are not being addressed in the department. Chair Gordon said that it seems like this position will not be only a GIS position but also addressing the backlog of entering data, etc. Craig Benedict said that the first stage is to get rid of the backlog. Land Records, Tax Appraisals, and Environmental Health will use the information in this database. Chair Gordon asked about the new things that the Planning Department is doing. She asked Craig Benedict to explain how the new position would specifically handle the new functions, how things would be shifted around, etc. Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like to know how the GIS position in the new department is doing and how much overlap there may be. 2. Existing Time Limited Planner I (from Shaping Orange County's Future) - (page 29) John Link said that the proposal is that this position be transferred from the function of Shaping Orange County's Future to the Planning Department and provide follow-up work on development plans. Commissioner Brown asked for clarification on the financial impact. Craig Benedict said this position is 43% funded by Chapel Hill and Carrboro and 57% funded by the County. That funding will continue into the fiscal year for a few months at which time the County would fund the position 100%. This position is time-limited. In answer to a question from Commissioner Carey on how many positions are doing this kind of enforcement work at this time, Craig Benedict said that no other positions are addressing enforcement issues of this nature. Commissioner Jacobs asked for a report on enforcement which John Link indicated will be provided. C. Departments with Requested Changes in Existing Positions Only Economic Development -Arts Commission 1. Existing Art Coordinator (Increase in hours)- (page 23) John Link said that they are requesting that the present position be increased from 20 hours to 30 hours. The outcomes are that they would develop the brochures, the newsletter, and information pieces that the Arts Commission has been asking the staff to produce. In order to carry out these activities it would require more staff hours. This position includes activities related to the Board goal of Increasing Assistance to Minority and Female-Owned Businesses, because they specifically identify all of the professional artists, many of whom are women. There were no questions from the Board. Child Support 1. Existing Time-Limited Child Support Officer - (page 25) John Link said this position was established in 1997, and the rationale for it being time- limited was to determine if its need would continue beyond a certain period of time. This is the position that actually tracks down absent parents through technology, specifically the internet and other means. With the continuation of this position, another $97,000 would be generated in child support collections. He said it is important that locating the absent parents is continually addressed because those who are receiving welfare have a time limit on those payments, and child support becomes especially important. There were no questions from the Board. Environment and Resource Conservation 1. Existing Time-Limited Planning Technician (water resources) - (page 32) John Link said that this position would continue as a permanent part-time position of 20 hours. This position is to carry out the work that is fully in progress in terms of addressing the Board's Water Resource Quantity and Quality goal and to continue addressing the creation of the Water Resource GIS database. There were no questions from the Board. Sheriff 1. Existing Three Grant Funded COPSFAST Positions - (page 45) John Link said these are positions that the Sheriff progressively pursued in terms of grant funds three years ago. These positions have ongoing and active patrol responsibilities. Given the understanding that these positions would become paid for by the County at some point in the future, they are recommending that the positions become permanent at this time. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the continued security for the courthouse as a direct result of the incident a few months ago. He said that he was hoping that this security would be continued into next year. The Sheriff indicated that he plans to continue the security at the courthouse using overtime funds, lapse salaries, and retired deputies. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the State House passing a bill about reimbursing the County for the trips the Sheriff makes for the involuntary commitments. The Sheriff said that it went through the House of Representatives and he hopes that it will pass the Senate and be ratified. Commissioner Jacobs asked how much the reimbursement would be. The Sheriff said it would provide approximately $75-80,000 a year. 2. Existing 2.5 grant funded Domestic Violence/Crisis positions - (page 46) John Link said that these were grant-funded positions and they have ongoing caseloads. Their responsibilities include assisting domestic violence victims and working with families that have incurred domestic violence. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is totally in support of these 2.5 positions. He would like to see the book that shows the number of employees per county. Commissioner Brown asked about the Governor's Crime Control Grant. The Sheriff said the grant was supposed to not allow the County to go beyond three years, but they were able to carry it out for six years. After the last grant they were told that it was absolutely the final grant. He said they have already received 4,000 calls over what they had last year at this time. Social Services 1. Existing Time Limited Child Protective Services Social Workers- (page 48) The County Commissioners had no questions. 2. Existing Social Worker I (Increase in hours)- (page 50) The County Commissioners had no questions. II. Discussion of the Remaining Proposed Goals The discussion of the remaining goals listed below was postponed. The County Commissioners were asked to provide comments to the County Manager by May 4"' on any of the remaining goals. A. Resource Protection and Development 1. Historic Preservation 2. Natural Resources 3. Water Resource Quantity and Quality 4. Watershed Protection 5. Wastewater Treatment Management Program (on site) B. Solid Waste Solid Waste Management Organization, Facilities, and Services C. Water and Sewer System Development Expansion of the Efland Sewer System Note: The goals will be presented for Board approval at their work session on May 11. III. Potential Resources Required For Two Initiatives A. Expanded Wastewater Treatment Program (page 51) Note: See also the proposed BOCC goal on "Wastewater Treatment Management Program (on site)" B. Innovation and Efficiency (page 51) ADJOURNMENT Chair Gordon adjourned the meeting at 10:30 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for May 4, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in the new County Courthouse in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Alice M. Gordon, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk