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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20080417 APPROVED 8/19/2008 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION April 17, 2008 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Work Session on Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses Carey, Jr., Valerie P. Foushee, Alice Gordon, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon and Assistant County Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker. All other staff members will be identified appropriately below). Chair Jacobs asked about the educational information for the Land Transfer tax and Laura Blackmon said that the website should be up and running tomorrow. Chair Jacobs asked about a press release when the website is up and Laura Blackmon said that this could be done. 1. Discussion of Fiscal Year 2008-09 Capital Budget Laura Blackmon said that the hope was to have this done in December but it was not ready. She said that it is at a point now that the staff needs the Board's direction on the CIP and any changes that may need to be made. The school boards would like this information as early as possible. This will be on the May 1st agenda for ordinance adoption. Commissioner Gordon said that she looked through the budget notebook and there are additional items compared to those that are in the pay-as-you-go budget. She would like to have the Board approve the County Capital Budget and not just the pay-as-you-go revenue, including items 49, 50, and 55. She would also like to see the debt issuance schedule. Donna Coffey said that these are debt-funded projects that debt has not been issued for. The capital project ordinances for these projects are not done until after the debt is issued. The debt funded projects will be brought back as a separate item when the debt is issued. Chair Jacobs asked for clarification on the ten-year plan. Laura Blackmon said that the ten-year plan is the actual plan of what the Board wants to do in the coming years, but because the debt has not yet been issued, the staff is asking the Board to approve the pay-as-you-go projects that will be in next year's budget. Commissioner Foushee clarified that it is an excerpt from a ten-year plan for one year, using pay-as-you-go funding. Commissioner Gordon would like to see what the debt issuance is going to be. Donna Coffey said that she could include a list of projects that need debt financing in the next debt issuance when she brings it back on May 1st. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Animal Services facility at $8 million and that it is not on this list. She asked about the conclusion of the funding for Elementary School #11. She wants to settle whether or not the school board will take advantage of the lease purchase program, which will allow a longer timeframe for funding. Regarding the Land Transfer Tax, Commissioner Gordon said that it would be helpful to indicate that the money would be used for Elementary#11, and if it does not pass, then it will have to be added to the Ad Valorem tax. She said that if SAPFO kicks in and Elementary#11 is not built, then CAPS will not be issued. She wants to be more specific with the public. Laura Blackmon said that in a previous work session the staff provided the Board the projects that would be funded with the transfer tax and she can bring that back again. Commissioner Gordon said that the Board has done a lot of work on the CIP and she does not want it lost, so she would like staff to go back and get the excerpts from the minutes and what was flagged, so that when the Commissioners come back in the fall, they will not have to start over again. She remembers clearly spending an entire meeting flagging issues and otherwise discussing specific items in the CIP. The Board agreed. Chair Jacobs asked that it be done deliberately and not just put in a packet somewhere. Commissioner Gordon said that the first step is the excerpt from the minutes, and the second step is a summary of events. Commissioner Foushee said to date the sheets. Chair Jacobs suggested that Commissioner Foushee look at the information before it comes to Board of County Commissioners since she has expertise in this area. Commissioner Carey said that he is okay with the lists on colored sheets, but the totals are different from the ones they received before and Donna Coffey said that is because both school boards have just given the most recent updated information. Chair Jacobs pointed out that there is only $5,000 for public art, which is a pity. He would like to put in at least $10,000. Commissioner Nelson said that this came up briefly in another work session but the staff was not specifically directed to set an agenda item to talk about this. He would like to discuss this further. Laura Blackmon said that she would like to bring back information about art and how it is purchased. Art could be purchased or there could be an art rotation program. Chair Jacobs said that in the next fiscal year the Board will be talking about a lot of new buildings coming online, and there is a tremendous opportunity for art. Commissioner Gordon asked if there was any capital item in the budget for the old Wal- Mart facility for DSS. Donna Coffey said that there is $500,000 for the DSS space, which would offset some of the renovation costs. The total amount is not yet known. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the reserves and said that those are not in this list either. She said that the library reserve has $2.7 million for the Carrboro Library and it was discussed to put in an extra $300,000. Also, she has a note about Information Technology and that there needs to be a plan. She asked about the status of this. There also needs to be a plan for the Link Center renovations. Laura Blackmon said that the architect has only done preliminary discussions with the Information Technology Department for technological needs and some structural requirements. There have not been any meetings about space needs yet. Commissioner Gordon said that the items that the she had flagged were#5, #8, #11, and #14 on the orange sheet, "FY 2008-09 County Capital Budget." Chair Jacobs asked about the Information Technology budget and Laura Blackmon said that this is a strategic list and Information Technology does what the funds allow them to do up to the limit. She said that staff could develop a strategic plan but there are still things to be pushed out if the County cannot afford them. The County does not spend that much money on technology. Chair Jacobs asked Laura Blackmon to bring the budget back next time for IT. Commissioner Carey said that this is why a plan for Information Technology would be helpful so that the Board knows what is being deferred. Commissioner Carey asked about the status of the ruggedized laptops that other departments can use. Laura Blackmon said that this has continued, and positions and departments are being added into that system. The other side is that, every time something is added, staff has to be added to service it. Chair Jacobs said that this discussion pre-dates Laura Blackmon's arrival and the Board found that there were 2.5 positions in one department that were responsible for just transcribing data. One of the thrusts of using the laptops was to try and save in terms of efficiency and in terms of positions. He thinks that the Board tried to set some priorities for efficiency, and the Board would like to have a better picture of what is going on. Commissioner Gordon said that she does not have a clear idea of the schools' needs. Laura Blackmon said that this year, the staff is providing information in a different sequence than last year. She said that the staff meets regularly with the schools to talk about updated numbers. Commissioner Foushee said that since these are the most recent figures supplied by the schools, then both school boards should bring the reasons for the new figures when all three boards meet next week. The Board agreed. Donna Coffey said that the staff would ask the schools to bring this with them to the meeting since the agendas are going out tomorrow. Commissioner Foushee said that it just needs to be a brief summary. 2. Human Services Advisory Commission (HSAC) Recommended Outside Agency Emily Adams, Chair of the HSAC, introduced Vice Chair Vivette Jeffries-Logan, Michael Owen, and Jerry Passmore. She thanked County Commissioner liaison Valerie Foushee and various staff. She said that the HSAC brought in Margaret Henderson from the School of Government, who is a specialist in working with non-profit funding and non-profit government relations, to help with this process. She said that the Board of County Commissioners has received the recommendations and the process was different this year. The HSAC did an in- depth review of all applications and weighted the outcomes. There were 52 applications. The HSAC also worked with the Triangle United Way to help train board members, etc. Not all applications were human services related. She was impressed with the quality of proposals. Commissioner Nelson said that a few proposals that caught his attention were the Historic Hillsborough Commission, Piedmont Wildlife, and others that are not really human service needs. He does not understand how things will be different next year. He would hate to see money that is supposed to be set aside for human services going to things that are not human services, even though these are really worthy causes. Laura Blackmon said that, in the future, the staff needs to see the amount of money the Board of County Commissioners wants to provide for non-profits and categorize them. Chair Jacobs said that he would defer to Commissioner Gordon and Commissioner Carey, but he remembers that the funding was not earmarked for only human services, but was under the umbrella of all non-profits that were requesting monies from the County. It was just funneled through human services. He noticed that the only three organizations that got less money than requested did not fit under human services, except for Orange Enterprises. He wants the Board to think about whether it should separate some of these entities. He does not think that the Board has had this conversation yet. Commissioner Carey agreed and said that the category is called Outside Agencies, which is general. Commissioner Foushee said that some of the outside agencies are beginning to request that their requests be considered outside of this process because there is concern that they will be left out since they do not fit under human services. Commissioner Gordon agreed that this was all under Outside Agencies, but the problem was that the category was increasing a lot, and the Board decided to have a targeted dollar amount. She appreciates the work of the HSAC and that it was so thorough. Chair Jacobs said that part of the problem is that if people perceive that they do not want to be in the human services category, then the Board needs to think about how to categorize. Laura Blackmon said that the County needs to make sure that what agencies ask for is used for what they want to achieve. Emily Adams said that the HSAC recognized this as the first phase in a process. The goal is to refine the criteria. Chair Jacobs said that the HSAC did a good job of noting the pitfalls of the current process, which is a valuable contribution. Laura Blackmon asked for feedback from the Board on the recommendations. Chair Jacobs said that he would like to fully fund the requests of HYAA, Orange Enterprises, and Piedmont Wildlife. He would also like to see an explanation when there is a recommendation not to fully fund. Commissioner Foushee agreed. • Emily Adams said that Orange Enterprises asked for$10,000 less this year because it asked for an additional $10,000 last year to cover a specific cost. Regarding Piedmont Wildlife, the service area included areas outside of Orange County. Although they value this organization, there was discussion about getting other county agencies, specifically Durham County, to support their portion of the services. Regarding Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association, there was a concern that this organization was not reaching the entire community. Chair Jacobs asked if there was any communication with the non-profits regarding the preliminary conclusions. Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said that they sent a notice to agencies today with a link to the web with this recommendation information. Chair Jacobs said that if there were only two that were being cut, then it would be easy for staff to contact them. He said that all of the County Commissioners got an email from HYAA about their efforts to try and recruit more minority participants. He said that it might be helpful to have this communication to the non-profits that got cut before this comes back to the Board. Laura Blackmon said that the Board of County Commissioners could make a decision that it will fund them in full, but send a letter to let them know about the problems associated with funding them in full in the future. Commissioner Carey said that he likes this approach about funding and then informing the agencies of the issues of concern next year. Emily Adams said that the HSAC would be willing to work with HYAA on the recruiting efforts. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the UNC-CH Department of Psychiatry and said that it was not exactly an outside agency. Usually, this funding would be on a contract basis. She would like a justification for the $100,000 recommendation. Emily Adams said that this funding is for the STEP Clinic, which works with schizophrenics in the community and it is specifically for Orange County residents. She said that the HSAC asked the OPC-LME to review the mental health applications. Commissioner Gordon asked staff to look at this question as a precedent. Commissioner Carey asked that OPC be involved in the process of designing the performance standards for the mental health requests. Gwen Harvey said that there is one outside application from Club Nova for outsourcing their database and client management system. This request is not to be confused with the previous request for service subsidy funds. The Board agreed to fund all and then communicate with HYAA and Piedmont Wildlife about the deficiencies and indicate that could mean they would not be funded for next year. Staff will come back with information on the UNC-CH Department of Psychiatry. 3. Proposed Fiscal Year 2008-09 County Fee and Occupancy Tax Changes Laura Blackmon said that last year the County Commissioners ended up making some changes to the fee schedule the last meeting in June. This creates a problem from a budgeting perspective because there needs to be time to inform the public. This will be on the May 1st agenda for approval. Commissioner Gordon made reference to items in Personal Health Fees, "drainage of skin abscesses," and asked for clarification about the ones that have the same description but charge different fees. Health Director Rosemary Summers clarified that these were two different procedures. Commissioner Gordon asked that there be a notation to tell the difference between the two. 4. Update Fiscal Year 2008-09 Employee Pay and Compensation Plan Human Resources Director Michael McGinnis made a Power Point presentation. He introduced Benefits Manager Diane Shepherd and Pay and Classification Manager Korena McArdle. He said that this presentation was designed to give discussion points for the Board that will help the staff prepare the budget recommendations. Pay and Benefits Planning for FY 08-09 BOCC Work Session 4/17/08 Topics for Discussion mHistory of Pay Plan E Status of Current Classification, Pay and Benefits Study EBudget Considerations for FY 08-09 Pay Plan E History of Benefits EBudget Considerations for Employee Benefits Plan E Budget Considerations for New Employee Retiree Benefits Plan History of Pay 2003 Classification and Pay Study E Phase 1-implemented April 14, 2003 —implemented new Classification Plan and Salary Schedule —Moved salaries below new minimum to new minimum and increased all salaries by 2.5% mPhase 2-implemented December 8, 2003 —Increased salaries by 2.5% if 4 or more years of service sPhase 3-implemented April 26, 2004 —Increased salaries by 2.5% if 7 or more years of service History of Pay Plan FY 04-05 through FY 07-08 Pay Element 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 COLA 2% Effective None 4% 3% 10/11/04 In-Range None 4% None 1-2% Increases Meritorious Discontinued Service Awards with implementation of previous classification and pay study. Status of Current Classification, Pay and Benefits Study ▪The Archer Company was approved 10/2007 to begin study E Questionnaires completed E Job Description DRAFTS returned to employees for editing MOnce all DRAFTS edited and returned to Archer, desk audits for positions of"concern" commence mIndividual positions and general classes will be analyzed, titles confirmed, and internal equity determined, with respect to gender and minority status mExternal survey comparison for internal and labor market comparability E Development of a valid and reliable pay plan which includes career ladders mPresentation of recommendations and a Final Report by The Archer Company Budget Considerations for FY 08-09 Pay Plan MCost of each 1% COLA effective July 1, 2008 is approximately $400,000 MCost of In-Range Salary Increase (2% for exceptional and 1% for proficient) effective with employees' anniversary date is approximately $220,000 MCost of each additional 1% In-Range Salary Increase is approximately $190,000 History of Benefits ▪Health Insurance Plan —Implemented $250 deductible —January 2006 —Increased office visit co-pays—January 2008 $10/$20 to $15/$30 (primary/specialist) M401(k) Plan —Increased County contribution from $20.00 per pay period to $25.00 per pay period — July 2005 —Increased County contribution from $25.00 per pay period to $27.50 per pay period — July 2007 Status of Current Health Care Plan IsEmployee Monthly Health Care Plan Plan Design HMO PPO Total Participation 764 (94%) 48 (6%) 812 (100%) County Cost $434,401 $25,989 $460,390 N Retiree Monthly Health Care Plan Plan Design HMO PPO Medicare Total Supplement Participation 76 (42%) 12 (7%) • 92 (51%) 180 (100%) County Cost $39,741 $6,445 $19,342 $65,528 Budget Considerations for FY 08-09 Health Care Plan IsContinue Current Health Care Plan —11-13% premium increase An 11% annual increase is expected if current trends remain the same ($607,716 County; $725,856 Total) mOptions to Minimize Increase in County Costs —Increase prescription co-pays and/or deductible —Implement employee contribution for employee-only coverage —Decrease County contribution for dependent coverage —Increase distinction between the two health care plans Budget Considerations for New Employee Retiree Benefits Plan mContinue Current Retiree Health Care Plans for New Employees mEnd Health Care and Medicare Supplement Coverage mlncrease the Requirements for Retiree Health Care Eligibility EDiscontinue the Retiree Dependent Coverage E Set Up Health Savings Account (HSA) Commissioner Nelson asked about the philosophy behind doing COLA one year and in- range increases the next. Laura Blackmon said that it was for a number of reasons (cheaper, budget crunch, etc.). She said that when the staff brings forth the Archer study, implementing it over a three-year phase-in plan as well as going back and forth creates problems with compression and competitive market salaries. The biggest problem is compression. Commissioner Foushee said that in 2005-06, the 4% in-range was given because of compression. Laura Blackmon said that the staff may need to guesstimate the amount needed for the equalization of the pay plan for the competitive market since the final information will not be available before the summer break. The goal is for a January 1st implementation of this plan. The significance of this is that if this plan is not implemented on July 1st, then the Board may want to consider a COLA at this time. Continuation of presentation. Laura Blackmon asked for feedback from the Board on these various options and she said that there need to be changes in the health care costs of employees and retirees. Commissioner Foushee said that she would like to consider benefits for people that worked 20, 25, or 30 years instead of at 10 years. Commissioner Carey said that he has a hard time with re-trenching on retirement and he would like to look at other ways to save money. Laura Blackmon said that there are changes that would be made for current employees and changes that would be made for new employees. Commissioner Foushee agreed that any changes should apply to new employees. She thinks that for any information that comes back, the Board should know how it is affected by GASB 34, because there are financial implications. Commissioner Gordon agreed with not retrenching for existing employees and retirees. She would like to keep the benefits for the current employees as much as possible. She would not want to increase the distinction between the two health care plans any more than they are now, but she wants to see how this affects our employees. Mike McGinnis said that the health care needs of the employees are so different, yet the County pays the same for them all. He said that he is not looking at decreasing the value, but increasing the options available. Commissioner Nelson said that it is hard to give feedback because he needs more information from staff. He said that last year the Board discussed the general issue of the 401k. He asked staff to expound on this. Diane Shepherd said that the County contributes $715 to the fund per year for full-time employees. Most other counties pay 5% of salary to 401k. Paying a percentage of salary to 401k would help with employee retention. This has been a complaint of exiting employees. Laura Blackmon said that there are options and Commissioner Nelson said that he would like to know more about the options. Chair Jacobs said that his reaction to all of this is that this is not in context of the pay plan and the full range of benefits. He thinks that Orange County's health plan may be one of the greatest attractions to work for Orange County, so before he feels comfortable pulling things or choosing other things, he wants to put it in the overall context of the total benefits plan. He would also like to see the $4.1 million figure in the list of budget drivers. Commissioner Carey and Commissioner Gordon agreed about this not being in context. Commissioner Gordon pointed out that Orange County also has two personal leave days per year that employees can take anytime they want. Commissioner Nelson said that the last presentation that was given to the Board was given verbally and he did not retain it. These are complicated issues, and when this comes back, he would like the narrative to be woven together. Mike McGinnis said that any changes in the health plan would not take effect until January. Commissioner Gordon asked that this information about any changes be in written form and ahead of time in agenda packages. Chair Jacobs made reference to the wellness program and said that there are at least two Commissioners that want it. Laura Blackmon said that the staff will bring a program back, but it will not be in time for the budget. Chair Jacobs asked the Manager to keep reporting back to the Board. 5. Transition of Long Term Temporary Funding to Meet Permanent County Staff Needs Chair Jacobs said that he wanted to make it clear that these are not new positions, but the County's attempt to stop exploiting people who are temporary employees who do not get benefits even though they are working full-time for the benefit of Orange County citizens. Laura Blackmon said that these are employees that are getting paid out of a temporary staffing line, which the County funds. There has been discussion about making these positions permanent. She reviewed the background on this issue. The blue sheet is a list of requested positions to be moved to permanent status. There will continue to be some temporary employees, categorized as follows: - Seasonal Employees - Student Intern - Temporary Employees - Time Limited Part-Time Employees Commissioner Gordon asked about the cost impact and if that was completely due to benefits. Donna Coffey said that it is mainly for benefits and staff will bring back the cost projections in May. Commissioner Nelson asked about the Construction Manager position because he has always perceived this as not a permanent position. Laura Blackmon said that right now there are so many projects in the foreseeable future that this position would be more permanent versus a contractual position. Commissioner Nelson asked if other counties have construction managers and Laura Blackmon said yes. Commissioner Foushee said that this position should be reconsidered to be re-titled as a Value Engineer or some slash title. She said that the County will always need someone to manage construction projects. Laura Blackmon said that this position is really a project manager. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like this information to be clarified. The Board agreed to consider these positions becoming permanent positions. Chair Jacobs said that he would like to see the net change in the temporary budget. 6. Requested New Staff Resources Fiscal Year 2008-09 Laura Blackmon said that she wanted the Board to see what the departments are asking for. The County will not be able to fund all of these positions and thus, there may have to be a reduction of the level of service. Some of these positions are tied to the opening of new facilities. Chair Jacobs asked that the County Commissioners just flag positions for now. Commissioner Foushee said that it would be helpful to know which positions were requested last year and not funded. Commissioner Gordon agreed that the County cannot afford to fund all of these. She made reference to Category 2, under Planning and Inspections, and asked about the .475 position. She flagged this item. Also, under Category 3, Emergency Services, she asked how many Assistant Fire Marshals there are currently. She also suggested that department heads be asked to reassign certain positions and determine what does not get done if these positions are not filled. Chair Jacobs said that at some point Laura Blackmon will need to pinpoint those positions that are unavoidable because of actions the Board of County Commissioners has made. The meeting was adjourned at 9:57 pm. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board