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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20061207APPROVED 21612007 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION December 7, 2006 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session an Thursday, December 7, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Barry Jacobs, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geof Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) 7:35:48 PM NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETINGS ARE KEPT FOR FIVE YEARS. Chair Carey said that the Board will prepare for the retreat in January at this meeting. Andy Sachs will be the facilitator of the retreat, and he was also in attendance to facilitate this discussion. Andy Sachs pointed out desired outcomes: Desired Outcomes • A common vocabulary for relevant terms (issue, goal, objective, priority, retreat) • A process for setting the Board's priority goals and objectives for Fiscal Year 2007-08 • A process for addressing the Board's organizational issues, such as liaison appointments and input from advisory boards. • Knowledge of FY 2007-08 fiscal outlook and expected budget drivers Commissioner Nelson said that he would rather spend more time on the fiscal outlook than talking about the definition of terms. Chair Carey said that he asked staff to put the Board liaison appointments on this agenda. He now recognizes that the County Commissioners did not come prepared to make decisions on this. He asked for help in making decisions about this because he does not want to wait until April ar May to decide about making appointment decisions. Fiscal Outlook and Budget Drivers far FY 2007-0$ Budget Director Donna Coffey made this presentation. Donna Coffey referred to the tri-colored packet. She stressed that these numbers were very preliminary. The current tax rate is 90.3 cents per one hundred dollar valuation. One penny brings in just over $1.2 million. The estimate for next year is $1,243,000, and for the following year, $1,280,000. The percentage increase is about 3%. Over the next few years, the County will probably experience $2.6 to $2.7 million natural growth in the revenue. This does not assume any tax rate increases. The pink sheet was a table of historical general fund information. Donna Coffey went through this table. The dark green sheet provided a few examples of budget drivers, including increased debt service; increasing student membership for both school systems; operational, maintenance, and staffing of new school and County facilities coming on-line; Governor's initiatives related to school funding; full implementation of County Capital Funding Policy {exclusive of accounting for Lottery Proceeds); outcome of Board commissioned studies; and Medicaid. Other possible budget drivers include eliminating the 120-day hiring delay for vacant County positions, Greene Tract payback, elevating per capita funding for Library Services, addressing tang-term temporary employees, and Health Department strategic plan. She said that in January the staff will bring back a more detailed list of budget drivers and the costs. Commissioner Nelson made reference to the green sheet and the student projections. He said that the 10-day membership was almost double the student projections. He asked how the State got it sa wrong. Commissioner Foushee said that the State has been wrong for years and it continues to do this. The County has to act on the State's projections. Donna Coffey said that the State projected that OCS would lase 22 students this year and instead and there was an increase of over 100 students. Commissioner Jacobs said that it is in the legislative agenda to have this changed sa that the funding is not based on the projections from DPI. Commissioner Gordon said that the State calculates the projections in the spring and there is no provision if there is an undercount. The County has its awn methodology for projections. Commissioner Nelson made reference to the first page and the investment earnings and asked about the kinds of investments that the County has. Finance Director Ken Chavious said that statutes define the investments. Most of the investments now are short-term and the County's fund balance is not sufficient enough to venture out into riskier type investments. Chair Carey asked what was saved this year because of the cap on County Medicaid shares and Donna Coffey said probably around $400,000, but she will double check. Chair Carey said that he heard today that one of the legislative committees has recommended continuing the cap on Medicaid. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the unexpected savings and Donna Coffey said that there was about $300,000 in savings for health insurance and the Board requested that this be put back towards employee benefits. The staff will look into this further. Commissioner Jacobs asked if there was enough money budgeted far the necessary renovations associated with moving departments when the new facilities are built for the Justice Facilities expansion. Donna Coffey said that this is included in the CIP in the spring and there is a placeholder in the 2007-2008 budget. Commissioner Gordon asked Donna Coffey to comment on the capital and a general fiscal forecast. Donna Coffey said that the main piece is the capital funding policy and updating the policy to include the lottery proceeds and the CIP. She does not know what the drivers will be for the CIP. She said that the North Carolina Local Budget Conference is going an now, and she hopes to have information from the economists. Commissioner Gordon said that Donna Coffey was going to fill in the maintenance piece and Donna Coffey said that she is working with Jeff Thompson to calculate same ca- efficiencies. She expects this to be part of the CIP that is brought back in the spring. Commissioner Jacobs said that last year there were budget drivers far 11 cents and Donna Coffey said that these drivers are probably in the same neighborhood as last year. Relevant Terms • Review handout with definitions (see attached). • Proposed definitions of important terms-on back of agenda sheet. Andy Sachs said that the retreat is not for operational discussions, but to talk about issues and the goals for the coming fiscal year. Goal - a general description of the change for a particular issue (i.e., increase the number of affordable housing units in Orange County). Issue - a topic of interest, such as "affordable housing" or "child abuse prevention." Objective - a specific description of the change that we seek, in that it includes the size of the change and a timeframe for the change to happen. For example, "increase the number of affordable housing units in Orange County by 300 before June 30, 2008." Priority -the quality or state of coming earlier. The issues we want to deal with before other issues are "priority issues." The goals we want to achieve before other goals are our "priority goals." Retreat -the time during which the Board and its senior staff identify priority issues and goals, as opposed to work sessions and other meetings when lower-order organizational business is conducted. Commissioner Jacobs suggested having these definitions displayed during the retreat, so that the County Commissioners do not get last. Chair Carey said that he agrees in general with the definitions of each of these words. He said that the problem is that when the Board camas up with a new priority, it is difficult to figure out where it fits in the context of all of the other things that staff is being asked to da. There is a level of service that the staff has to maintain. He would like to get a better handle on this issue. He said that the Board likes to pile things an the staff and that needs to be addressed. Laura Blackmon said that the mast important definition is setting priorities. There are so many things on the table right now that it is difficult for staff to figure out which things to do first. She said that priority is the key. She said that she hopes that the Board will not come up with new issues. She said that staff needs direction an the issues on the table now. Commissioner Jacobs said that, as Commissioners, they are all aggressive in trying to deal with as many problems and areas of improvement as possible, and they encourage staff to be as aggressive and creative as possible also. He said that one priority or goal is to have a zero tax increase. He said that same of the budget drivers are unavoidable, and there should be some sense going into the budget of how much taxes should be raised. He said that the process has not lent itself to discipline. Commissioner Gordon suggested at same point during the retreat talking about process issues, such as the issue brought up by Commissioner Foushee of moving the Board comments to another paint of the County Commissioners' meetings. She said that the Board could talk about how it operates during the retreat. Andy Sachs said that an alternative would be to identify process issues such as the agenda as a priority and then the Board could figure out beyond the retreat how it will be organized. Commissioner Nelson agreed about setting time aside at the retreat to talk about organizational issues. He said that, when he was in Carrboro, they set aside an hour to talk about these process or organizational issues at the retreat. He asked if it would be bad as a Board to not add any more to the priority list and not to spend any more money. Chair Carey said that it would not be a bad thing to say that there will be no new priarities, but he recognizes that the County Commissioners are responsible far addressing the public's needs and there may be something that comes up that the Caunty will be forced to address. Andy Sachs said that he is hearing commitment to attempt to identify priorities and also to discuss some internal issues such as working together. Process for Setting Priority Goals and Objectives for FY 2447-08 • Review proposed process (ta be distributed at the Work session) • Discussion to clarify and revise the proposed process, as necessary. • Decision on a process for setting priority goals and objectives. Andy Sachs said that he would like to meet with each of the Caunty Commissioners prior to the retreat to talk about individual goals and priorities for the next year. The purpose would be to be able to present the Board with a menu of issues and goals so that time is not spent at the retreat generating a list. He reviewed the information on the back of the proposed retreat agenda, as shown below: Following the December 7 Work Session, in preparation for the January 19 retreat: • The facilitator will interview each Board member to identify individual issue priarities and goal priorities for FY 2007-08. • The facilitator will also explore with each Board member their ideas for how the Board can maintain a focus on its priorities, whatever those priorities might be. • Following the interviews, the Manager and facilitator will synthesize the interview data into a draft menu of priority issues and priority goals, and distribute the synthesis for Board member feedback in advance of the retreat. • Based on the feedback from Board members, the Manager and facilitator will then finalize a presentation of priority issue and goal options for Board consideration at the retreat. At the January 19 retreat: • The Board will go through an exercise allowing it to discuss, negotiate for consensus, and if necessary vote to identify a set of issue priorities and goal priorities for FY 2007-08. The Board and Manager will set shared expectations for how they will identify resources, monitor and report on progress, and achieve the Board's priorities. See attached draft meeting plan for the retreat. Laura Blackmon said that looking at priorities would entail the County Commissioners analyzing themselves about what a priority is, but could be delayed in place of other issues. She said that there might be some housekeeping issues that need to be addressed to prepare everyone for things that they want but are not quite ready for. Commissioner Faushee asked if there was an assumption that the priorities shared during the interviews have been based on priorities that have been established. Her fear is that a discussion with each Board member separately will generate a number of priorities that are not predicated on previous discussions. She can see that the list will be really long. She said that the Board decided to work on 5-6 priorities about three months ago and the Board should decide if these are still priorities. Laura Blackman said that she has seen these six priorities and she agreed that the Board is entitled to know the status of those priorities. She said that staff feels like they never accomplish anything because things keep getting added to the list. Rod Visser said that some of those six priorities had longer horizons, such as the County campus, comprehensive plan, and Justice Facilities. He said that the point in having the priorities listed was, in his view, that if they were not listed as priorities then, they would not get done. He said that Commissioner Foushee is right in terms of the importance of knowing the status of these priorities and whether they are still priorities. Chair Carey said that staff can let the Board know about the six priorities and their timelines. These were Board priorities. He said that there is a difference between Board priorities and individual Commissioner priorities. He asked what type of product the Board wants coming out of the January 19th retreat. Andy Sachs said that if those six priorities are still important to individual Commissioners, they need to let him know during the interview. Laura Blackman said that some are short range and some are tang range. Commissioner Jacobs said that those six priorities were adopted as priorities on a short- term basis, because the Board wanted to give direction to staff since there were so many priorities. He said that the Board never decided that these were the top six priorities for all time. For example, environmental responsibility is not one of the six priorities, but it is one of hrs top priorities. Laura Blackmon said that staff needs to come back to the Board with a report an what they are already working on that fits into the priorities. Commissioner Gordon said that she understood that these were six priorities to work on while Rod Visser was Interim Manager. Her personal preference is to be informed about the history and be disciplined, but be free to tell Andy Sachs what she thinks are her top priorities. She thinks that Commissioner Nelson should feel free to say what he wants to say about priorities. Commissioner Nelson said that there is a sense that this is a lot on the table. If the Board agrees to not add any other priorities, he may be restricted because he is the new Commissioner. He said there needs to be some housecleaning this year, and he would be fine with that. Commissioner Foushee said that she understands that the Board has done an exercise similar to this before. She is cautioning the Board not to travel down this road again. She said that, when the individual priorities come forward, they should be in keeping with something that has already been established. Andy Sachs made reference to Chair Corey's question about the product of the retreat and said that he is striving for a set of goals or statements that identify the direction of changes far numerous issues, with same shared expectations of staff and the Board an how to make those happen. Chair Carey said that years ago, when the Board adopted goals, decisions were made in January and staff would bring back expected costs and timelines later. He said that this gives staff guidance. He would like to get back to this. Commissioner Gordon asked about the status report on other things that the staff is doing. Andy Sachs said that after he meets with individual Commissioners, he will meet with Laura Blackmon and they can narrow this information down and present it at the retreat. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like the shared information and the agenda to be given to all well ahead of time. Commissioner Nelson asked about a list of priorities from last year's retreat and Rad Visser said that there is a list of priorities that were discussed, but there was never any definition about the order of the priorities. Andy Sachs said that there will be time to discuss at the retreat, but he will push the Board to make same choices. Commissioner Nelson said that, once the goals are adopted, he wants to see a quarterly report from staff as to the status. Chair Carey said that if the Board establishes something as a goal or priority, then he expects staff to come back in March to report on what it will take to make progress on each project. He wants to know the projects that are already set in motion and what it will take to keep them moving before other projects are added. Commissioner Gordon asked what kind of staff resources would be needed at the upper level versus a lower level to implement the priorities. Laura Blackmon said that there are organizational services that staff is going to provide without Board priorities. If there were no priorities, the staff would have a lot of work to do. The Board would be setting a path for the staff to move the County along. Commissioner Gordan said that she is concerned that the top level of the county staff is being overburdened. Commissioner Nelson made reference to goals and said that it sounds as if the County Commissioners will be creating new goals, but there are existing goals. He said that it would be helpful to have these goals at the retreat and discuss how these priorities fit into the goals, and if steps are being taken to reach the goals. Andy Sachs said that he would like far the County Commissioners to look at these goals ahead of time and when he interviews them, he would like feedback on these individually. He is trying to create a fresh menu at the retreat, and he wants the County Commissioners to filter out the goals. Commissioner Foushee agreed that this is something that should be done individually before the interviews. Commissioner Nelson said that he has done several goal-setting retreats before, and he has never prioritized goals. He said that the projects, objectives, ar the strategies to achieve the goals are prioritized. Chair Carey said that maybe the goals do not need to be prioritized, but the activities to achieve the goals. Andy Sachs clarified that there are many issues, but the trick is to identify the direction to go with respect to the issues. Process for addressing Board organizational issues • DiscussionlDecision ^ Liaison Appointments ^ Input from advisory boards ^ Other issues Chair Carey said that he added this an to see if the Board wanted to da this, but if the Board is not prepared to do this tonight, then he would like to talk about when to make the determinations and the process to do that. He does not want to wait until March or April to do this. Commissioner Jacobs suggested doing this at the January 30t" work session. He suggested asking the Clerk to separate the committees that are limited duration from the permanent ones. He also asked that the sunset dates of the short-term boards and commissions be identified. Chair Carey said that the boards the County Commissioners serve on that the Board of County Commissioners does not appoint to should not be listed. Commissioner Jacobs said that there are some listed for him that the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners serves on. These should be listed as "Chair" designation and not individuals. Donna Baker said that the revised list could be sent out ahead of time. Chair Carey said that the Board needs to decide how to make future appointments. The Board previously picked three each, and then rotated in a round robin. Commissioner Gordon suggested having the ability to trade. She did not like the round robin process. Commissioner Jacobs suggested protecting the boards where County Commissioners are officers, and if two Commissioners want a board, they can both be on it. Chair Carey clarified that the boards where County Commissioners are officers and the short-term sunset board are being taken off. He suggested that each Commissioner pick two boards, and then start with the least senior member of the Board and round robin. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like for Commissioner Nelson to get what he wants and needs, but she has put a lot of time and expertise into same boards. She said that there is no reason, if someone is interested, to cut someone out if they are really interested. Andy Sachs asked about the dawn side of having multiple Commissioners an a board. Geof Gledhill said that if the majority of the Board starts attending an advisory board, it becomes a Board of County Commissioners' meeting. Commissioner Jacobs said that his goal was to get the newer members to try things that other people have done for years. Also, he thinks that if there are too many Commissioners an an advisory board, then it is not an advisory board anymore. Chair Carey agreed. Chair Carey said that each Commissioner could pick two and then go round robin, and this should be enough to preserve the boards and commissions that each member feels mast strongly about. Commissioner Nelson said that if Commissioners could indicate which of their committees they are interested in keeping, this would help him make decisions for himself. Commissioner Jacobs suggested indicating the number of years that the Commissioners have served on a board ar commission. Commissioner Gordon said that there is a whole different category of task forces that did not invite anyone else besides the staff and the County Commissioners. Far example, the Space Needs Study only involved two Commissioners and it is something that could have been handled by all of the Commissioners. She thinks that if there is something that a lot of the Commissioners are interested in, and it is only between staff and Commissioners, then it should be a Board topic. Commissioner Jacobs said that the reason the County went to task forces was to become more efficient and not have to schedule meetings that work for the County Commissioners, because if three are going, then the other two are left out of the decision making. This way, nothing gets done because everyone has to come to the meeting. Chair Carey agreed and said that this was a decision that the Board made in order to do things mare efficiently. He said that the Board did consciously decide that it wanted to mane in this direction. He still thinks this is appropriate, and if more than two Commissioners volunteer for a board, then only two will have to be selected. Commissioner Gordon said that there is no process for the appointments on task farces. Sometimes two people are chosen just in Board comments. She said that it is usually ad hoc, and she would like these to be regularized. Chair Carey said that it is reasonable, as the task forces arise, that the Board can decide which two Commissioners would serve on them. This could be done through Board consensus or volunteering. Commissioner Gordon said that she thinks it has been a little ad hoc at times. She thinks that it should be regularized and put on the agenda with a charge and timeline of reporting. Geof Gledhill said that one of the reasons why it is not more regularized is because it becomes a public meeting, requires public notice, minutes, etc. He said that many of these work groups do not rise to that level. If the Board decides to appoint people and give charges, then it is creating a public body and it is going to be subject to the Open Meetings Law. Andy Sachs said that on January 30t" this information will be provided and he asked if the Board wanted the lowest seniority to go first. The Board agreed to have the Board members with the least seniority go first. Commissioner Gordon would rather choose three boards outside the protected boards and commissions. Chair Carey would like to only choose two. Commissioner Jacobs, Commissioner Foushee, and Chair Carey would like to choose two boards. Commissioner Nelson said to ga with the majority. The boards and commissions that are off the table are those task farces of limited duration {i.e., Highway 57 Work Group), ex-officio boards and commissions, and non-Orange County boards with officer status {i.e., TTA}. Each Commissioner will choose two boards in reverse order of seniority. The Board discussed including the organizational issues at the retreat. It was agreed to include discussion about this issue for 45 minutes at the retreat. A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board