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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20040621APPROVED 10105/2004 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISISONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION AGENDA June 21, 2004 Continuation of June 17, 2004 Budget Work Session 6:OOpm and June 21St Budget Work Session 7:30pm The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Work Session on Monday, June 21, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. as a continuation meeting of the June 17, 2004 Budget Work Session at the Southern Human Services Center, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Board convened the regular Work Session at 7:50 pm. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon, and Stephen Halkiotis COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers 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. Continuation of June 17, 2001 Board of County Commissioners Budget Work Session- 6:OOpm 1. Chair Review of Schedule and Topics Chair Jacobs made reference to the handouts at their places and asked the Manager to review the timeframes for addressing them. John Link suggested starting with the Annual Operating Budget. The working document is the aqua-colored sheet, which has the major decision points for the operating budget. There are some attachments the staff would refer to as part of the operating budget. The yellow sheet responds to the question about the fees for reserving picnic shelters. Paul Laughton researched this issue and found that there was a discussion about these fees during the work sessions, but it is unclear whether there was a decision. The Manager is recommending deleting any reference to fees for picnic shelters in the fee schedule. The Board will address this issue in early fall. Jahn Link pointed out additional attachments. Countv Annual Operating Budget Decisions/Approval of Resolution of Intent to Adopt the 2Q04-05 Countv Annual Operating Budget Chair Jacobs said that he will go through each position and the BOCC can let him know if there are any concerns: Operating Budget Decision Paint 1: New Positions for 2Q04-05 Cooperative Extension: • Community Health Aide (Breastfeeding program} One of these positions disappeared from the County and is now part of the WIC program through Piedmont Health. YES • 2 program assistants for EFNEP YES Emergency Management Positions: • Paramedic Chair Jacobs would like to wait until the County gets a new EMS Director before pursuing this position so that the Director can make recommendations to the structure of the department. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed with this. He asked for the timeline in filling the Director's position and John Link said that they hope to have it filled by the end of the calendar year. John Link asked if some reasonable amount of money could be reserved for the position, in case the new Director still sees a need for it. Chair Jacobs said to wait to see what the Director thinks. 'Not at this time` Health Department: • Billing Accountant Technician 1 Commissioner Brown asked who was paying for this and Donna Dean said that it is paying for itself through a collections piece and a re-billing of Medicaid for next year. YES • Dental Assistant Chair Jacobs said this is also partially paid for by increased patient visits. YES Information Systems: • Web Application Developer Commissioner Halkiotis asked to hold off on this position and Chair Jacobs agreed. Chair Jacobs said that they could revisit it at the first of the year. He thinks that they could phase in Information Technology spending. 'Not at this time's Personnel Department: • Human Resources Technician Chair Jacobs said that it would pay for itself because of overtime. However, overtime is getting bigger and bigger and he is confused now. He is not sure if he should be looking at it as saving money to make a position that partially depends on reducing overtime funds. Jahn Link said that he would not look at it from the standpoint of overtime. His recommendation is that it is based entirely on the fact that the workload is tremendous for the Personnel Department and they need another position. Personnel Director Elaine Holmes said that this offsetting revenue is not tied to overtime, but comes from reductions in contract personnel services and from temporary personnel services. Chair Jacobs asked how much was in the Personnel Department budget for outside contracts and temporary personnel and Elaine Holmes said $7,500 for contract services. Discussion ensued regarding temporary staff. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the total amount for overtime and verified that it was over $300,000 this year. Most of it is from EMS and the Sheriff's Department. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for a breakdown of departments using overtime. He wants to know the issues that are prompting this. Overtime can become a crutch and that is a concern of his. John Link said that they would work with the Board on this. Commissioner Halkiotis said "funding needed if position not approved" is puzzling because it says that they will fall back on overtime if the position is not approved. Donna Dean said that it would be temporary wages and contract services. Commissioner Halkiotis said that this becomes a dangerous precedent. John Link asked Elaine Holmes to walk through this step by step. Elaine Holmes said that there is no overtime represented in the $19,000 -only contract services and temporary wages. This is money that has been in the Personnel budget for five years or more to address workload. This has not been a satisfactory solution because there is no knowledge and experience on an ongoing basis to be productive. She is proposing converting these funds to provide a permanent position. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if this was directly related to training and development and Elaine Holmes said that those funds are budgeted in individual operating departments for training and development. Commissioner Halkiotis asked what drives this increase in training and development. Donna Dean said that one of the major driving forces is that Human Rights and Relations has some mandated training. This training is totally offset by revenues. Commissioner Carey said that they need to have the discussion about overtime and how this is justified, but there has not been a new position in that department in 10 years. That means they either had more positions than they needed 10 years ago, or the workload has increased too much. He said that 10 years is a long time to wait to add a position with the growth in the work farce. Commissioner Halkiotis proposed holding this position in abeyance until they look at this further. He wants some adequate explanation of the additional initiatives. Commissioner Carey said that he does not want to short change employees and that this money should be put in escrow. Commissioner Brown said that she totally supports this position. John Link said that if the money were held in escrow, then they would not do anything until the staff has answered the Board's questions. Chair Jacobs asked the staff to explain to the Board what people have been doing for contracted services and the functions this position would have, and also the issue of overtime. *Not at this time* Public Works: • Custodian Chair Jacobs said that he would like to have a plan. He feels like this is in a vacuum. He knows that there is going to be growth and he would like to see a plan for custodial services. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed and asked for a list of what the current crew is doing and where they are cleaning. He said that in the real world, custodians have much more than 13,000 square feet to take care af. He wants to talk about cleaning at the Northern Human Services Center also. John Link said that they will respond to questions and, in particular, how to address the Northern Human Services Center. Commissioner Brown said that she does not see this as a position that they do not need, because they may need it next year and a plan is needed. She said that she thought Orange Enterprises was going to do something. Chair Jacobs said that there was only a discussion. Commissioner Carey said that Orange Enterprises should be incorporated into the plan. Commissioner Carey asked some clarifying questions regarding custodians, which were answered by Wayne Fenton. Wayne Fenton said that he was in favor of having a plan, but they have reached a point where they have added enough square footage to add a position. Commissioner Brown asked for more information about setting up and tearing down of meetings for the Board of County Commissioners. She does not understand the calculations and how it keeps increasing every year. Chair Jacobs suggested cross-training someone that will already be at the meetings so that someone from Public Works does not have to sit for four hours and wait until it is over {Clerk or Assistant to Manager). John Link suggested that the staff come back to quantitative questions about the reasonable amount of square footage, etc., and take a programmatic approach in order to predict the amount of custodial staff needed in the future. *Not at this time* Recreation and Parks • Parks Conservation Technician (Little River) Chair Jacobs said that this position is doable, but there also needs to be a strategic plan for parks. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed. YES • Parks Conservation Technician Commissioner Gordon said that she supports this second Parks Conservation Technician position, and she would be fine with delaying it until January 1St. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he could support January if there is a plan in place and the Board has discussed it. He wants to know exactly what is going on with the caretaker far the house at Little River. Chair Jacobs asked if it was reasonable to have a plan in place by January. Recreation and Parks Director Lori Taft said that it is reasonable to have a comprehensive plan based on what is known now. It becomes more difficult with things down the road 5-10 years. She could came back with a strategic plan in early fall. Chair Jacobs said that they have $20 million for Lands Legacy and he would like to see some projections regarding this. *YES - in January* Social Services • Income Maintenance Worker II YES • Income Maintenance Worker III YES • Social Worker YES Decision Point 2: Change in Existing Positions Aging: • Eldercare Manager Commissioner Halkiotis said that this is also one that says, "funding needed if position not approved - $19,781 ". He wants an explanation of this. John Link said that this is an existing position in OPT. It is proposed that the money be transferred to begin focusing an the caseloads of the frail and elderly to keep them out of rest homes and nursing homes as long as possible. Paul Laughton said that if this were not approved, they would hire temporary workers to carry the workload. Commissioner Halkiotis said that this is important and he just wants to know what other services are provided so that this is funded na matter what. He is totally supportive of the concept. John Link suggested coming back in late August with some more information on this, and treat it like the Personnel Technician. *Not at this time* Finance: • Accounting Technician II YES Health Department: • Social Worker III YES • Family Nurse Practitioner YES Chair Jacobs reviewed the decisions that were made. Two positions were tabled until October 1 St -Personnel Technician and Elder Care Manager. The second Parks Conservation Technician was tabled until January. The Paramedic, Web Application Director, and Custodian were not approved. Commissioner Gordon said that she understood it differently. She thought the second Parks Conservation Technician was to be hired in January. Discussion ensued on the disagreement. John Link said that they would not advertise for the positions until the strategic plans are in place. The second Parks Conservation Technician will be hired January 1, 2005 provided that the strategic plan is in place. Decision Point 3 -Abolish Positions Vacant More Than One year Whose Functions andlor Funding have ended: Five positions in Health Department: A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to abolish these positions. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Carey said that they should do this every year and if a position is not needed then it should be abolished. John Link said that there needs to be justification for a position to be open or vacant for more than six months. Operating Budget Decision Paint 4 -Organizational Initiatives: • Eight new full-time equivalent EMT Basic positions as final phase of service delivery of EMS transportation: Chair Jacobs asked how much money is involved in those eight positions and Donna Dean said $182,970 for this year. They are to begin October 1St Chair Jacobs asked about the effect of starting January 1St rather than October 1 St and John Link said that they would use temporary staff. The staff will bring the specific numbers back. Commissioner Gordon asked if they were paid a living wage and Rod Visser said yes. The living wage is now $9.11 an hour. These positions would be paid more than that. *Deferred until more information is received* • Revenue Technician -Authorize the creation of one new full-time equivalent Revenue Technician II as the 3R fee coordinator Commissioner Gordon said that the Board should decide what to do with the 3R fee before deciding about the position. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed. *Not at this time* • In-house Rural Curbside Program Rod Visser said that they are trying to bring this in house by April 1, 2005. If they did not bring it in house then they would save $102,000 in salaries and benefits from not adding the positions, but they would have to add back in $75,000 to have Waste Industries continue the contract. Commissioner Brown said that she did not see that there would ultimately be any savings and Rod Visser said that the idea is that over aten-year period, the estimated savings would be $8oa,aoa. The funding for the positions would come from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. YES Decision Point 5 -Funding Reserves far Organizational Initiatives • Animal Services Director Commissioner Brown said that she is not sure what this means because there is no funding involved. John Link said that the assumption is that the Board confirmed the structure of Animal Control and the Animal Shelter in one department, supervised by the County Manager. He cannot envision creating an Animal Services Department. They are still focusing on achieving a smooth transition of assuming responsibility of the shelter by July 1St. The staff is recommending eight ar nine months of salary for the Animal Services Director at this time. There will be a recommendation on the structure of the department at the August 31 St work session. Commissioner Gordon agreed with Commissioner Brown in that she would like to decide first what they are going to do. Jahn Link recommended reserving six months' salary far this position and the Board agreed. • Staff Attorney Commissioner Brown said as long as this does not tie them up into a decision, she is fine with it. Chair Jacobs would like to leave the money out this year and Commissioner Halkiotis agreed. The Board agreed. Donna Dean said that the amount of savings to move the EMS Basic from October 1St to January 1St is about $60,000. Chair Jacobs proposed saving the money and start January 1 St for the EMS (8} positions. John Link said that the savings would be $17,000 to delay the Animal Services Director to January. Decision Point 6 -School Current Expense: Commissioner Gordon made a two part proposal to address school funding equity. First, she proposed, in the interest of giving the Orange County School System more funding, increasing the County tax rate by one cent, which would give them $387,719 more and decreasing the Chapel Hill-Carrboro District tax rate by .6, which would give them $170,541 more. Second, she proposed, instructing County staff to prepare a recommendation for a November 2004 vote on the Countywide Supplemental Tax which would be used to address school funding equity. Chair Jacobs proposed that the OCS spend $900,000 of their $2.8 million fund balance, which would give them 96°l° of what they requested of the County. He does not see a need far a tax rate increase. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the numbers far fund balances on both school systems. He is puzzled how every year the school systems are sitting on "golden eggs" with their fund balances. He would like a better tracking mechanism to keep up with the two school systems during the year. Finance Director Ken Chavious said that trying to project what the year-end fund balance will be is very difficult. There are too many things that can happen that will affect the fund balance. Chair Jacobs asked Ken Chavious if the school systems would be safe and secure if they cut their fund balances and Ken Chavious said that the OCS would be, but a lot depends on the start-up costs, which are a couple of years out. Commissioner Carey said that the County Commissioners need to know what the school systems are spending their fund balances on, because if they are spending it on recurring capital, the County will be hit next year with the costs. He would like to revisit the discussion of the fund balance goal for both school systems. Commissioner Gordon pointed out that raising taxes by one cent this year to start equalizing funding between the two school systems is not a lot compared to the countywide tax increase of 20 or 21 cents that would be necessary to completely equalize funding, as would be required if the two school systems were to be merged. Chair Jacobs made reference to the Orange County Schools' request of six Spanish teachers, four Social Workers, and five Teacher Assistants, which is $656,000. This would leave $2.1 million in their fund balance. He said that they could do this for several more years before they came close to the recommended minimum fund balance. Commissioner Carey said that if the County Commissioners encourage the school system to take money out of fund balance this year, they would take more out next year. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed and said that he also finds Commissioner Cordon's proposal intriguing. He does support a countywide tax and letting people vote on it. Chair Jacobs suggested taking the first part of Commissioner Gardon's proposal as a motion and dealing with the issue of the countywide supplemental tax as a separate discussion. There was no second to the motion, A motion was made by Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to add enough to the per pupil to cover the Blue Ribbon Mentoring program, which was $30,000 in the CHCCS. Commissioner Halkiotis asked how they could make sure that this money gets spent for the Blue Ribbon Mentoring Program and Chair Jacobs said that they would just express their opinion and the school system could just accept it or not. Discussion ensued on how to get the school system to spend the money on this program. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there should be some kind of hook attached to it because there are a lot of other programs he would like to give money to, especially childcare assistance. Commissioner Brown said that this sets an incredible precedent. She does not feel comfortable with this. Commissioner Carey agreed with allocating $30,000, but not specify what to use it for. Chair Jacobs said that the motion is about money and they do not have to transmit an intention. His motion is to add to the per pupil an amount that equates to $30,000 to the CHCCS and the proportional amount to the OCS. Rod Visser said that this would come in at just under $3.00 per pupil. They always round the per pupil amount up. This would generate $32,958 for CHCCS and $20,496 far OCS. It would take the per pupil from the recommended $2,620 to $2,623. VOTE: UNANIMOUS A motion was made by Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Brown to leave the CHCCS district tax at the Manager's recommendation of 20 cents. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Jacobs said that, speaking for himself, he would hope that the CHCCS would fully fund the Blue Ribbon Mentoring program and that the OCS would appropriate na less than $650,000 of their fund balance for some of the needs that parents have stated regarding Spanish teachers, Teacher Assistants, and Social VIlorkers. 3. Adjourn A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to adjourn the June 17t" continuation meeting at 7:50 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Convene the June 21, 2004 Board of County Commissioners Budget Work Session - 7:50pm Chair Jacobs convened the work session at 7:50 pm Decision Point 6-School Current Expense- continued Chair Jacobs asked how much it would be to confirm the Board's intent to allocate $2,623 per pupil of the current total expense appropriation for schools. John Link said that it would be $46,736,614. The appropriation to CHCCS would be $28,816,278 and to OCS would be $17,920,336. Chair Jacobs asked the Board to ratify this package. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to allocate $2,623 per pupil of the current total expense appropriation for schools. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Decision Point 7: Employee Compensation - 2.0°I° cost of living increase effective October 11t" and reinstatement of 2.5% in-range salary increase Commissioner Halkiotis said that the County could afford to do the COLA, but not the in-range salary increase. Commissioner Gordon asked for the numbers and John Link said that the COLA at 2.0% effective October 11t" is $500,510, and the in-range effective with the performance review of at least proficient would be $342,400. The total of the two is $842,910. Commissioner Carey asked about the three-year plan that the Board committed to regarding the compression problem. John Link said that they have gone through the three phases of the Pay and Classification Plan. The third phase, which was effective in April, did address the compression problem. Chair Jacobs asked about the savings if the COLA were started January 3rd and Elaine Holmes said $158,000. Discussion ensued about which option would be better to cut. John Link said that at some paint they need to address in-range because compression will be an issue again soon. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve a 2.0°~ COLA effective October 11, 2004, and that the County cannot afford to reinstate the in- range salary increase this year. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Decision Point 8: Fee Schedule Changes Recreation and Parks Commissioner Brown said that she thought they had agreed an putting the park fees on hold until a work session. Chair Jacobs said that they agreed to leave fees in place except for the picnic table and shelter fees, which was suspended until a future work session. A motion was made Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Brown to maintain the existing fee structure with the exception of the picnic table/shelter fees, which will be addressed at a future work session. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Planning Department Inspections and Dental Health A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Carey to establish the proposed fees for Inspections and Dental Health. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Jacobs said that they did respond aggressively and quickly to the public's concerns about the slowness of inspections. Four new staff was hired. This is why they are moving toward a more aggressive fee schedule. 3R Fee Chair Jacobs made reference to the green sheet from June 17t", titled, "Yawn of Chapel Hill Concerns re: 3R Fee and Solid Waste Management Plan." John Link said that one alternative is to keep the basic service fee of $36.00, which would generate $2 million. Then $500,000 would be taken out of the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund and $500,000 would be taken out of the fund balance of the Enterprise Fund. The $1 million taken out of the Enterprise Fund would have to be paid back. Chair Jacobs made reference to the comments about the equity of fees versus taxes and the comments from Chapel Hill's elected officials of wanting to have a more specific plan for reducing waste. He is convinced that we can look at this fee as an interim step and try to get a fee in place that covers the basic service for one year, with the understanding that in subsequent years, there will be a more sophisticated system that is related to level of service received. This is a minimal amount of money. Maybe in future years, the basic service should be part of the property tax, but after there is sufficient education. Commissioner Gordon said that she would go back to the Solid Waste Advisory Board, who recommended this. She is not of the opinion that this is high compared with other counties. She thinks the County should charge whatever it feels is fair and then provide the services that are commensurate. She would rather not go into the capital or enterprise funds. She is worried that the County has already subsidized this, and taking from the funds would be digging deeper hole. Commissioner Carey is not comfortable with taking money out of the enterprise fund. He thinks it would be shortsighted to continue the subsidy and then have to increase the fee substantially later. He suggested figuring out a way to reduce the basic fee to half, and then figure out a way to came up with $1 million. Half could be put on the general tax rate and the other half could come from the enterprise fund. Commissioner Halkiotis asked to see a variation on what Commissioner Carey described. This is another unfunded issue. He said that the majority of people do not knave how much it costs to recycle. He is supportive of starting with a half schedule or a three quarter schedule just to get the ball rolling. He thinks the education should be put on a flier with the tax bills. Commissioner Brown said that recycling is a strong ethic in Grange County. She has a piece of property in Chatham and she pays $120 just to have access to the recycling center. The county fee is considerably less, with mare services. She asked how Chair Jacobs' proposal would play out financially. Rod Visser said that the $36 fee would generate $2 million. There would have to be an additional $1 million. A portion of this could came from the fund balance of the enterprise fund and the other portion could come from delaying certain capital expenses. All of it would shave up as an appropriation from fund balance, and certain monies allocated for projects would not be transferred. Commissioner Gordon would like to go ahead and implement what the SWAB proposed, except add a piece to allow for a subsidy far very low-income households. Commissioner Brawn said that she would not vote for any fee that does not include a reimbursement piece for law-income households. Staff verified that this was included. Commissioner Carey said that a flat fee for everyone would generate perceptions about subsidy by one group or another. If there were a differential fee, it would reinforce the fact that it costs to have more services. He supports the differentiated fee. His proposal is far an $1$ fee for basic service, $57 for urban curbside, $36 for rural curbside, and $32 for multi-family. This keeps the differential in place. The other million will come out of the general fund and the enterprise fund. Commissioner Halkiotis endorsed this concept. Commissioner Brawn said that she would prefer it all to be a fee. Commissioner Gordon said that she would be opposed to putting anything on the general property tax rate. She would rather use money from the enterprise fund. Commissioner Brown said that to take it out of the general fund would affect the County's bond rating and would go against the underlying principles of the interlocal agreement. Chair Jacobs said there seems to be three basic issues: whether it should all be a fee, whether there should be full recovery of the $3 million this year, and whether there should be a fee and full recovery with the various levels of service. The Board voted on whether to have a fee or have it as part of the property tax. Fee: Ayes, 4; No, 1 {Commissioner Carey) - It will be a fee. Full recovery this year: Ayes- 2 (Commissioner Brown and Commissioner Gordon); Nays-3(Commissioner Carey, Commissioner Halkiotis, and Chair Jacobs} Will not necessarily be recovered this year Different levels of service this year: UNANIMOUS Generate at least $2 million from the fees: UNANIMOUS Generate $2.5 million from the fees: Ayes, 4; 1 Nay {Commissioner Carey ) The 3R fee will generate $2.5 million, and the remainder will come from the reserves of the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. Decision Point 9: Additional mark up/mark down items for the County's annual operating budget -Changes in social safety net or funding for outside agencies: Social Safety Net: Chair Jacobs said that the Social Safety Net, under the proposal, has $250,000 in it based on carryover, plus an additional $100,000. Commissioner Carey said that the Manager suggested that the County Commissioners should look to this fund if they want to address the daycare subsidy issue. He thinks the Board should address this, but not in the way the advocates proposed by targeting specific groups, because this would be disastrous. He would like to provide a way for additional funds to go into this pool. Commissioner Brawn said that at the Social Services Board this afternoon, the board unanimously said that they would support the Social Services Board taking the responsibility to look at the daycare subsidies, and whatever the Board of County Commissioners directed them to do to figure out how to fund it, the Social Services Board would take on the responsibility as soon as possible. They were responding to the proposal to fund the daycare teachers' children. The board had a lot of ideas and possibilities on how to create a special fund to do this. They would be willing to help come up with something. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed with having the Social Services Board look into this. John Link said that, to this point, the Board has reduced the budget by $601,000, or right at .6 cents on the tax rate. One option is to reduce the tax rate from 4.5 cents to 4 cents, and setting aside another $100,000 to address either daycare or some other issues. It could be added to the social safety net or set it aside separately in a reserve. Commissioner Carey said to put it aside in a reserve, because if it is in the general safety net, something else might came up. Commissioner Brown pointed out that there is $8 billion sitting in the Congress far daycare subsidies and it has been sitting there. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Carey to designate $100,000 for daycare after the Social Services Board comes up with recommendations on how to spend it. Chair Jacobs said that he was going to vote against this because he thinks it should be taken out of the social safety net. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there is $250,000 in the social safety net and another $100,000 is not needed. He does not think the entire request can be fully funded. Commissioner Gordon asked what the tax rate increase would be without adding the $100,000 and it was answered 88.4 cents. This would be an increase of 3.9 cents. VOTE: Ayes, 2; Nays, 3 {Chair Jacobs, Commissioner Halkiotis, Commissioner Gordan} The motion failed. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Carey to take $100,000 from the social safety net and designate it for childcare subsidies. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Outside Agency Funding: Chair Jacobs made reference to the Director of the ArtsCenter, who was in attendance, and said that the Arts Director needs to meet with the Arts Commission and the staff to talk through some of the issues about how the County should participate more fully in the activities of the ArtsCenter. It would be good to have a vision. A motion was made Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Carey to accept the Manager's recommendation on outside agency funding. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Decision Point -10: Fire District Tax Rates A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve the Fire District tax rates as recommended by the Manager. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Concluding Discussion on the Operating Budget Rod Visser made reference to the 3R fee and said that if you adjust each figure down by $9.00, which would be $27 for the basic fee, $41 total for multi-family, $43 total for rural curbside, and $66 total for urban curbside; this would generate a little over $2.5 million. This is with the understanding that there will be a subsidy based on the Homestead Exemption. The staff will report back on haw the subsidy has affected the revenue. Chair Jacobs said that this is with the understanding that the Board is making a commitment to look more fully over the next fiscal year into additional improvements and changes in the solid waste system that would achieve greater reductions and would also share with the public a better understanding of why the County is imposing fees. Rod Visser asked about the permanent position in reference to the 3R fee that was deferred at the last meeting. This is the Revenue Technician II. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve the Revenue Technician II full-time equivalent position, as recommended by the Manager. VOTE: UNANIMOUS At this point, the Commissioners concluded their discussion of the key decision points remaining to be addressed in the Resolution of Intent. The staff will complete the "Resolution of Intent to Adopt the 2004-05 County Annual Operating Budget" based on these decisions and will bring it back for inclusion in the June 23rd agenda materials. 3. Review and Approve CauntV 2004-14 Capital Investment Plan Jahn Link made reference to the memo dated June 1$t" (green sheet} and said that the Board is being asked to adopt a Capital Improvement Plan, with an emphasis on "plan". He said that the Board could adopt the entire CIP and still indicate reservations about any particular project that they would like to discuss further after the budget is adapted. Budget Director Donna Dean made a PawerPoint presentation (blue handout). 2004-14 Capital Investment Plan Recommended County Pay-As-You-Go Projects for Fiscal Year 2004-05: - Equipment Replacement o Funds to install a video surveillance camera system for the Jail o Need identified during a recent Jail inspection ^ Recommended FY 2004-05 Funding: $50,000 - Information Technology Funding to purchase information technology related items such as PC and printer replacements, security software, items to support GIS technology and eGoverment o Attachment 6 (lime green sheet) of the packet delivered to the Board last Friday provides detailed information for this project in FY 2004-05 ^ Recommended FY 2004-05 Funding: $300,000 Commissioner Brawn said that network support hours and technical staff were part of the budget. Todd Jones said that when they contract out they will have some cross training; that is why it is considered all in that one item. The training is with the network support itself, like implementing and upgrading firewalls and putting in new network switching equipment, and responding to virus intrusion issues. Chair Jacobs asked why this is in capital. Todd Janes said that this is a historical basis and they have done a lot of contracting on a regular basis to try and share up some of the capital equipment. Rod Visser said that his understanding is that they are trying to do things that are for network support. This recommendation is for $300,000 and most other years it has been $600,000. - Sportsplex o Funding to continue contractual obligation ^ Recommended FY 2004-05 Funding: $400,000 Rod Visser said that their initial ten-year agreement expires next spring, so this funding would get the County through the agreement. He said that they have been working an options and a proposal relates to an approach of having Eaton Vance, who owns the Sportsplex, being bought out of the picture {either the County or a partnership}. The proposed partnership would include an organization known as Linked Economic Development, An Affordable Housing Foundation. Approximately $1.5 million in bond money that the County has earmarked for a senior center would be rolled into this and they would find a way to carve out space and complete an addition onto the Sportsplex to create the 15,000+ square feet that was foreseen in the Master Aging Plan. John Link said that the staff is just asking for the Board's approval to continue this proposal and to come fonrvard with a more formal business plan. Chair Jacobs said that he and Commissioner Halkiotis have met with staff and this group of people and they are impressed enough to ask staff to talk to the seniors to see if they are interested. Commissioner Gordon said that the idea of putting a senior center with the sportsplex is a good idea, but needs mare Board discussion about parameters. She said that Eaton Vance had sold high-risk bonds to pay for the Sportsplex and the County should not have to pay anything to cover their losses. She would much rather have the Board discuss this a lot mare to consider the use and the cost before sending this to staff. She is very uncomfortable about this. Chair Jacobs said that there has been enough delay and he does not think that there should be any mare delay. The seniors are excited about this. One center has already been sited. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to ask staff to move forward on this issue. Commissioner Brown said that she has never heard about this and she has no idea where this proposal came from. Chair Jacobs said this relates to the ongoing expenditure for the Sportsplex and the staff will come back with a more formal proposal of an alternative way of spending the money that is appropriated in the CIP. Commissioner Brawn asked why it was not brought to the Commissioners last week and Commissioner Gordon agreed. John Link said that they did not have the time to firm up the proposal until last week and tonight's intent was to just give the Board the information and the motion is only to explore this more. Commissioner Carey said that he just heard about this also and he is committed to moving forward with a senior center on this end of the County. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he was asked to come in by the Chair, and this is the last year of their contractual arrangement. This was just a conceptual plan and he remembers that a few years ago Commissioner Gordon suggested siting a senior center at the Sportsplex. This is a quality of life issue for people in northern and central Orange County. Chair Jacobs said that the motion was to empower staff to explore this over the summer and bring back a more fleshed out proposal. It gives staff the opportunity to involve the seniors. Commissioner Gordon said that she would vote far this because she is in favor of the senior center, but she does not like the way it was handled. Chair Jacobs restated the motion, "To empower staff to continue to explore this and to come back with a report at the end of the Board's summer break." VOTE: UNANIMOUS Jahn Link made reference to pages 2 and 3 of the blue hand out and the two-thirds net debt projects of $4.2 million. They are asking that the Board adopt the $4.2 million, but some of the projects can be discussed further after the break. Donna Dean painted out the yellow sheet that has been updated regarding the parks operations base at the public works facility. This project has been increased to allow far the parks operations base that the Board will be deciding on at the last meeting. Commissioner Gordon said that awhile back, she asked to look at the graphs about the County's Annual Debt Service Projections. She said that the graphs show that in 2006-07, the County is hitting its debt capacity. She is concerned about this. Donna Dean said that they would not go over their debt capacity. This would be the peak debt service year for the 2001 bonds. Commissioner Gordon said that debt sales would be piled on in 2006-06, which leads the debt service projections to ga up in 2006-07. She realizes that this is not past the debt service capacity, but it is at capacity, so there is not much flexibility far unanticipated needs. Chair Jacobs asked and Ken Chavious explained that there were two bond orders far two purposes - $3.9 million for County facilities and $300,000 for land. The County Commissioners can change the amount for a project or eliminate the project altogether. John Link clarified that adopting the two-thirds net debt in no way commits the Board to the amount of the project or the project itself long term. Commissioner Halkiotis said that Board needs to move on these items. He is embarrassed about the state of the courthouse. This should be repaired immediately. There are no schools in the County in this kind of condition. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to endorse the two-thirds net debt of $4.2 million for fiscal year 2004-05. VOTE: UNANIMOUS (but Commissioner Gordan had concerns about the debt service capacity) 4. Review and Approve Schools 2004-14 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) The total pay-as-you-go projects far Orange County Schools for fiscal year 2004-05 is a little over $1 million. This includes the alternative school, Orange High School renovations and technology projects. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve the Orange County Schools pay-as-you-go projects for fiscal year 2004-05. VOTE: UNANIMOUS The total pay-as-you-go projects far Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools for fiscal year 2004-05 is $250,000. This includes compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act; abatement projects; doors, hardware, and canopies; and fire, safety, and security systems. The rest of the pay-as- you-go money is dedicated to High School #3, which is addressed separately. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools for fiscal year 2004-05. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 5. County and School Projects Approved by the BOCC for Debt Financing: This is for the Debt Issuance Schedule endorsed by the Board on May 5, 2004 {attachment 5). A motion was made by Cammissianer Gordan, seconded by Cammissianer Brown to approve the Debt Issuance Schedule as included. Chair Jacobs asked about same of the items that are not going to be completed until a lot later. Far example, the aquatic center will not be completed until 2006. He asked if the debt issuance was needed this year for those projects, or whether they could be delayed. Southern Community Park is another example. Donna Dean said that they consulted with Chapel Hill and this was based on the information from Chapel Hill according to their cash flow needs. Rod Visser said that the County is not paying the Town of Chapel Hill. The Town will front the money, and the County will reimburse them as it is spent. Rod Visser said that Ken Chavious has done extensive review with the Local Government Commission and with the bond council about cash flows and they do not let the County sell bands too far in advance. Chair Jacobs asked that the staff just check the timelines on these projects, including the greenways. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 6. Approval of the 2004-05 Capital Investment Plans John Link said that the Board has addressed all issues of immediate concern and that relate directly to the Capital Improvement Plans for the schools and the County for the next year. The Board should adopt the Capital Investment Plans for the County and the schools as a planning document. The staff encourages the Board to qualify any communication that should be made to the school systems about it being a planning document. The Board discussed approving this in principle. There will be further discussion on the specifics in the coming months. John Link encouraged the Board to adopt this as a "plan." This is only a placeholder. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve the Capital Investment Plan for fiscal year 2004-05. Chair Jacobs suggested that on June 23rd that the staff suggest which work session they will address these CIP issues in detail. Rod Visser said that by the Board approving this, it would satisfy the SAPFO requirements. UOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Jacobs said that this includes the County's and the schools' CIPs. Commissioner Halkiotis said that this year has been a challenging year and there is too much paper. He would like to help with an in-house assessment. He said that the volume of material is almost out of control. 7. Conclusion of the Budget Discussions Chair Jacobs said that the County should look at its own continuation budget, just like the schools are, with a lot more rigor. He is not sure this can be done from the inside. He said that he felt uncomfortable about adapting the budget this year and Cammissianer Gardon agreed, because of the lack of time. Chair Jacobs apologized about the proposal with the Sportsplex. He said that they had urged staff to bring it back before the summer break. He said that it was his fault and that is why it came the way it did. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to adjourn the meeting at 10:OQ p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna 5. Baker Clerk to the Board