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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20030612APPROVED 9/2/2003 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION June 12, 2003 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Work Session on Thursday, June 12, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. in the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon, and Barry Jacobs COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Commissioner Halkiotis COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (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. Chair Review of Schedule and Topics 2. County 2003-04 Operating Budget Matters a. Manager's review of budget John Link said that staff is here to answer questions from the Board of Commissioners. After he brings up the operational items, then his recommendation is for the Board of County Commissioners to flag items that they may want to address this evening or a later evening. He said that the Health Department has already had some important programs or projects that have had some cuts, either through Smart Start or State funding, and the staff suggests that these be funded through the Human Services Safety Net. b. Commissioners "flag" individual departmental budgets about which they have budgetary, operational, or policy questions {for later review under item 2f} Jahn Link said he would like to flag same first. He made reference to the Purchasing and Central Services Budget that increased by $500,000. This relates to worker's compensation and liability insurance. There is also $20,000 far the communication tower study and $70,000 for the unified development ordinance consultant. There is also $100,000 for the Public Safety Communications Study Phase II and three nurses have been added to the school systems. Commissioner Carey asked about worker's compensation and what is going on with this. Pam Jones said that the insurance industry has gone up since 9111. Also, Orange County has claims within the last three years that have affected the rates. All of the $500,000 is worker's compensation. Commissioner Jacobs would like to see the claims that Pam Jones mentioned. Governing and Management: Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the Governing and Management Function {under the Board of Commissioners Department}, page 3-item 2, and asked about the contingency fund. Budget Director Donna Dean said that money has been spent but there is a zero estimate because once the budget ordinance is done, it comes out of the contingency and goes into the departments. Commissioner Jacobs wanted to know about how much money has been spent out of the Commissioners' contingency. Budget Office: Commissioner Jacobs asked about the fee study for both Mental Health and Recreation and Parks. He asked about the Recreation and Parks fee study in particular. John Link said that this study is focused on whether payment-in-lieu is adequate. Rents and Insurance: Commissioner Jacobs asked for the square footage of each rental and how much rent is being paid at each place. Personnel: Commissioner Jacobs asked Personnel Director Elaine Holmes about the Personnel position that was not funded last year and if she asked for this again this year. Elaine Holmes said that she did not ask for it again this year. She said that they were continuing to try to address this workload without the position. General Services: Commissioner Jacobs asked for an explanation of EMS fees and accounts because he is confused. Assistant County Manager Rod Visser said that EMS revenues are budgeted as service and delivery, but Tax Collector Jo Roberson and staff are working with EMS for billing collections. Human Services: Commissioner Gordon asked how it is going with revising the policy for payment-in-lieu funds. Planning Director Craig Benedict said that his department had hired a consultant to review payment-in-lieu fees. The County's level of service in terms of active play fields, etc. is at a minimum. The bond program can be added up to indicate the level of service that the County is reaching for. Then, after all the fields and parks have been identified, the total will show the new level of services. The consultant will then come in again and examine the fees at this level to see if they are at a sufficient level. Commissioner Jacobs said that part of the CIP is to adopt funding to develop parks and asked if this would be counted and Craig Benedict said yes. Health Department-Animal Control Commissioner Jacobs asked about the $428,818 for the APS and why it was for one year and not a period of time because of the possibility of reorganization or transfer. The report in September from APS mayor may not indicate a different structure. John Link said that they are recommending that the Board extend the present contract for six months since it will be almost three months before the report is received, but the money is still needed. Commissioner Jacobs said that this reads that there is a year long commitment. The wording should probably be changed. Skills Development Center: Chair Brawn asked what constituted the cost increase. Social Services Director Nancy Coston said that the Horizon program lost its funding and this helped pay for the cost. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the partial roof repair. Public Works Director Wilbert McAdoo said that they repaired the roof previously and had not gotten to it before in the budget. Cooperative Extension: Chair Brown asked about the $40,000 increase and if this was just salaries and Donna Dean said yes. Chair Brown made reference to page 5-55 and asked about the number of youth enrolled in 4-H activities and how they come up with that number. She said that it seems to be a specific number. John Link said that they would respond at a later time. There was no one representing Cooperative Extension. Housing and Community Development: Commissioner Jacobs said that he had a hard time finding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund appearing in the back. He asked that this be located in a better place. He also asked if this was indicated that the $118,600 for urgent home repairs is coming out of the affordable housing fund. Donna Dean said that she would need clarification from Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes. Commissioner Jacobs would like a short history on the affordable housing fund and how it is spent. Human Relations: Chair Brawn asked what constituted the big jump here. Donna Dean said that this is County costs and there is a decrease in the revenues. Chair Brown asked about the travel expenditure. Human Rights and Relations Director Annette Moore said that HUD gives them $25,000 for travel because they are required to do some things for HUD. Cultural and Recreation: Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the Carrboro Library and said that he thinks that the situation at McDougle is a mess because of the non-partner like approach of some people to collaboration. He said that before we invest in a cybrary or anything additional at McDougle Library, there should be some kind of meeting with Carrboro elected officials, Friends of the Carrboro Library, representatives from the schools, the County library, and the County Commissioners. He thinks we should hold the money until a decision is made about the library and if it will remain at McDougle. He asked to flag this. Commissioner Carey agreed with Commissioner Jacobs and said that the school board needs to be involved in these discussions. This needs to be resolved before any more money is allocated. Chair Brown asked about the Town of Carrboro. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Mayor of Carrboro would be glad to meet with a group to discuss this. Commissioner Gordon asked about the Chapel Hill Library. The department requested and the Manager recommends the same amount, but the board came to the public hearing and asked for an increase. She asked for explanation of this. John Link said that contributions to other governing bodies is something he would like to speak on. He said that historically cities in North Carolina began library services before counties did and established a level of service according the expectations of the citizens. Typically, counties may contribute to the municipal libraries, but generally the municipalities do not ask for the County Commissioners to be involved in making decisions as to the level of service. He is willing to provide additional funding to the Chapel Hill Library. He said that they are planning to expand the library significantly by using bond money. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like an explanation of why the person who put in the request for the Chapel Hill Library did not ask for mare money but the Library Board did. Community and the Environment: Commissioner Jacobs asked about assistance with setting up a TDR program. Craig Benedict said that the unified development ordinance would be the next step in the comprehensive plan. The unified development ordinance could include, as an offshoot, a section for TDR. Education: Commissioner Jacobs said that we should have responded to the superintendent dumping in the County Commissioners' laps that we better act quickly because otherwise we will hold up the third CHCCS high school. Chair Brawn made reference to a document regarding how we plan schools together and it was amazing that none of what the document referred to was ever done for this third high school. Chair Brawn said that her understanding is that the CHCCS board does not consider this document something that they want to work with anymore and that they did not want to collaborate. Commissioner Gordon said that her perception is that they were participating and they did what they thought the Board of County Commissioners wanted them to do. January 30th is when she got involved and she does not perceive that they said they would not participate in the document. She also did not perceive them as being uncooperative and they were forthcoming in sending her materials, starting January 30. Chair Margaret Brown said that she read reports from the past and questioned whether Commissioner Gordon had received the appropriate materials and was involved in the process. Commissioner Gordon said that the CHCCS Board Chair, Valerie Foushee, thought the school system was sending the materials to Commissioner Gordon, but she was getting them off the Internet or getting them herself. After January 30, that was corrected and Commissioner Gordon began receiving materials and was involved in the site selection process. That process included meeting with the Chair and Vice Chair of the CHCCS School Board and reporting back to the commissioners. Chair Brawn said that there seems to be a problem about all the things that have been agreed upon. Commissioner Jacobs suggested putting it on the agenda in the fall with the new Orange County School Superintendent. Commissioner Jacobs asked the staff to define mandates and bring it to the joint meeting with the school boards in September. Commissioner Carey said that they should not have to define what a mandate is every year. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the fund balance percentage of the school boards. He asked about the importance of having a target fund balance and having the school system not maintain it. John Link said that the fund balance is useful for the school boards to help them fund things that the State does not. The school systems need the fund balance because they do not want to run the risk of the Board of County Commissioners not funding a particular program. He made reference to mandates and said that they (County and school boards) could agree on pay increases for teachers and insurance and others like that. Beyond that, he would caution the Board of County Commissioners that these other issues of mandates could be problematic. Chair Brown asked far all interlocal agreements with the school boards to be put an the agenda in September at the joint meeting with the school boards. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the accounting firm that the County asked the school boards to hire and what was found. Finance Director Ken Chaviaus said that there was not a lot of history and they found some change. Commissioner Jacobs said that he wanted to see what was found. Commissioner Jacobs asked Ken Chavious about the fund balance. Ken Chavious said that the levels were set years ago and it is time to look at this again. The reason for the difference in the two levels is that far the CHCCS, part of the fund balance is cash flaw and for the OCS, there is a lower amount because there is no district tax. Commissioner Carey apologized for missing the last meeting about school budgets and asked about the discussion of the district tax. Commissioner Gordon said that the OCS mentioned that they were looking far revenue enhancements. Commissioner Gordon asked if they were looking at a district tax and Interim Superintendent Mike Williams said no. The CHCCS is asking for the district tax to be raised by two cents. She said that the interesting thing about the meeting was what was not said. Commissioner Carey would like to reduce the district tax and he will ask the Board of County Commissioners to consider this. Commissioner Gordon said that she would be interested in the Orange County Schools taking on the issue of a district tax as opposed to an increased countywide tax. Chair Brown asked about the passible decreases in funding from other sources for the schools. John Link said that the school systems did not ask the County to replace losses from the State. John Link pointed out that in the packet for Monday night the 16t", there are scenarios for comparison in building the third CHCCS high school. Chair Brown said that she never understood at the last meeting the explanation far why the elementary school start up costs were $1.5 million. Rod Visser said that they went back and looked at requests far Scroggs start up costs for 1999 and it was $918,000. The increase is due to inflation and other issues. The school system also wants to make sure that they open each school with the same amenities. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Manager is recommending $45 million for recurring expenses and he would like to work with school boards to review the premise that they build their current expense budgets on. He feels like someone should review the specific programs and business practices of the school systems. Chair Brawn asked for another copy of the comparison of high schools built in the State. Non-Departmental: Commissioner Jacobs asked about what happened with EI Puebla moving. Gwen Harvey said that this was provided in the Manager's memo earlier in the spring. He asked to see this again. Commissioner Jacobs asked about community hospice and if it is awned by Duke. He asked why the County would be supporting Duke. Jahn Link said that he thinks they have changed owners. Commissioner Jacobs asked the staff to check this. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to "Miscellaneous" and that he heard that we were going to be asked for monies for the wildlife rehab center and he asked if this was in here. Chair Brown said that it shaves up in the non-funded area. John Link said that if the Board chooses to address the wildlife rehab center with funding, the Human Services Safety Net could be used. Chair Brown asked about the Disabilities Awareness Council and the increase of $2,000. She asked far an explanation far this. Rad Visser said that the materials for Monday night, June 16t", include this. Solid Waste and Landfill Operations: Commissioner Gordon asked about the fee that will be levied in March 2004. Rad Visser said that you will not see any revenue in this because it will not balance the budget. John Link said that this budget is a status qua budget. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the contribution for the Greene Tract and where it is shown in the Solid Waste budget. Rod Visser said that it is included as part of the revenue stream. Staff answered several clarifying questions of the County Commissioners c. Review new staffing recommendations Information Technology: Chief Information Officer Todd Jones said that there is a grouping of positions. The Help Desk Analyst has historically been addressed by temporary employees and there have been cycles of efficiency while the temporary employees have been on board. It has been difficult to meet needs when someone new comes in. The other two positions are related to complete redesign of the Orange County website. The positions are a Business Analyst and a Web Application Developer. Commissioner Carey asked if everything would be in Spanish and English and Todd Jones said no. It is a very complicated process. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the Help Desk Analyst and the casts. Rod Visser said that it is offsetting monies. Commissioner Jacobs said that many positions pay for themselves and this is not communicated to the public and it is important to show this. Commissioner Jacobs asked about staggering the positions. Todd Jones said that it would be important to bring the Business Analyst on first and then the Web Application Developer. Commissioner Gordon asked about the Webmaster. Todd Jones said that the concept of a Webmaster is suited more to a smaller website. He is proposing to have content ownership in the various departments and each department can update its own information. The web publishing aspect would be done separately. Chair Brawn said that she heard all about the proposal for the website and it is wonderful. Parks and Recreation: Parks and Recreation Director Lori Taft said that they have proposed four positions. She said that only two of the positions are for Orange County parks and the others are for Little River Park, which is a partnership with Durham County. The County would only pay for one of the positions at Little River Park. These positions would be at Little River and the caretaker resident would not be a County employee. Chair Brawn asked which position would be chosen first - Technician I or Technician Supervisor. Lori Taft said the Supervisor would be chosen first. In answer to a question about how many positions Durham County would pay for, Lori Taft said that the Manager of Durham County has recommended 1.5 positions to their board. She does not know the decision that was made yet. The two boards and the Managers will have to get together in the end and negotiate. The dollar amounts have to match in the end according to the interlocal agreement. Commissioner Jacobs said that he does not buy this about why we cannot have employees as caretakers. He called Ed Kerwin of OWASA because they have two wardens and they are paid for their utilities and they have 2417 responsibilities. He would like to encourage having a meeting with OWASA to see how they do this and whether it is successful. Chair Brown suggested getting information back from OWASA in August. The caretakers will be approved, but there will not be a blanket policy as of yet. Social Services: Social Services Director Nancy Coston explained the Income Maintenance Caseworker II position. This is related to increased demands. There has been an increase in 1,300 cases over the last two years. They have tried to use the resources they have and the demand keeps going up. They get 50°l° federal funding for the positions. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the statement that "this is not directly related to a Board goal" and said that he would like to add this as a goal. Planning: Planning Director Craig Benedict explained the Plans Reviewer. The primary purpose of this position is to fully review plans in residential and non-residential. This would free up more time for the inspection staff to do more thorough work in the field. The fee schedule includes same planning examination fees, which provided funding for this position. They are looking at 80°~ recovery for plan review fees. Library: Library Services Director Brenda Stephens said that this request is in response to the task force report recommendation that library services be brought to the northern end of the County. This position is a Branch Manager for the Cedar Grave Branch Library, which would be housed in the Northern Human Services Center. This position would be 31 hours a week. Chair Brown said that there has been discussion that this person might also somewhat manage what is going on in the building. The 31 hours includes six days {Monday through Saturday}. EMS: EMS Director Nick Waters said that the Wireless Communications Coordinator will assist EMS in pinpointing where a wireless phone call is coming from. This position is recommended to be paid far out of phone fees and is offsetting revenues. Commissioner Carey asked if we could use fees for personnel. Nick Waters said not for telecommunicatorwoges, but it can be used to build databases. Health Department: Health Director Rorie Summers said that the budget cuts came after they submitted their budget to the County. Many of them are only partial reductions. The largest one is the Community Health Awareness project that was not funded by Smart Start this year. They appealed this decision and the appeal was denied. This program is the only one in the Health Department that is dedicated to outreach to the HispaniclLatino population. For the dental screening program, they have adjusted the project and used private dentists. For Healthy Carolinians, they received funding for the Coordinator's salary. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the Community Health Awareness program and said that there should be grants available. Rorie Summers said that there are some grants, but it would be a long time before they would know about getting anything. Commissioner Jacobs would like to get EI Centro Latino involved in requesting grant funds. Chair Brown distributed a handout of a proposal for aPre-K facility to go on the CIP. This would relieve the strain of using the existing elementary classroom space. There could be one in the north and south, or just one. Commissioner Jacobs said that there is a more critical need in the south. Rod Visser said that they would follow-up and get more information on the space that is being used. A motion was made by Chair Brown to put the Pre-K facility an the unfunded CIP list. Commissioner Jacobs would like to talk about it mare first. He does not have a problem with it in theory. He wants to make sure it would be used for Pre-K and not classrooms. The Board discussed when this issue would be addressed at a later date. The staff will follow up on the up to date information. Chair Brown said that Michele Rivest probably has this information. Commissioner Gordon asked who would run the facilities. She said that this needs to be shown to the school systems. Rod Visser said that he would fax this proposal to both superintendents tomorrow morning. d. Transition in service delivery of EMS transportation component Rod Visser pointed out that the proposal is to add eight new EMT basic positions and one office assistant. Other staff would be added in phases. The increase in expenditures is relatively small mainly because of the increase in Medicare reimbursements in North Carolina. In 2004-2005, there will be higher costs as more permanent positions are added. Commissioner Carey verified that this would maintain the service levels. Rod Visser said that they have met with the transition squad and the County is ready to take over as of June 30, 2003. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the vacation leave and Personnel Director Elaine Holmes said the squad would pay out any accumulated vacation that the employees want to be paid out. The maximum amount paid out would be $10,000. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to appendix c-27 and the fee structure. He asked if a sliding scale was considered. Rod Visser said that they have considered it but they may create a proxy scale and if someone meets a certain poverty level, then the County would cover the cast. Commissioner Jacobs asked that when the fees are listed that it also be listed that there is a program to help people who need it. e. Health DepartmentlSmart Start grant fund projectslprograms f. Review "flagged" departmental budget matters 3. County 2003-2013 Capital Investment Plan {CIP) Matters Begin discussion of aspects of CIP important to Commissioners: o® November 2001 voter approved bonds and alternative financing plan o® Unfunded Caunty projects o® Other projects as the Baard identifies A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Margaret Brown, Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board