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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 03-04-2010 Work Session APPROVED 4/6/2010 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION March 4, 2010 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a budget work session on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee, and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Mike Nelson, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) 1. Adoption of an Amendment to the Bond Resolution for the Approved Issuance of General Obligation Bonds to Refinance County Bonds Issued in 2001 and 2003 A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Hemminger to adopt the resolution, which is incorporated by reference, regarding the amendment to the December 15, 2009 Bond Resolution to extend the maturities of the bond sale to refinance the County's 2001 and 2003 bonds to December 31, 2022; and authorize and direct staff to take the actions contemplated in such proceedings to complete the closing of the refunding bond issue. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 2. Retirement Incentive Program Frank Clifton introduced the County staff that was present. Human Resources Director Michael McGinnis said that he is here to discuss another early retirement incentive program. As part of balancing the budget for 2009-2010, there was a retirement incentive program and there were 150 eligible employees and they predicted that about 37 people, or 25%, would apply for the incentive. Based on that, the savings were predicted at $375,000. The Manager actually approved 46 positions for retirement and there has been a savings of $800,000. This number is based on the positions that will remain frozen and may be deleted. Because of the retirements, a number of departments had to look at the services they provided and the need for the services. Several departments had to do some reorganization. He made reference to Attachment (2010 Orange County Retirement Incentive Program description) and said that this year they are looking at another retirement incentive program that will be similar to last year's, but more restrictive. Employees have to have a minimum of ten years with the County to be eligible and they would need to retire by June 30, 2010. There are about 18 people eligible with a potential for$375,000 of savings. Another change would be to allow the Manager to exempt certain positions from being offered this incentive because some positions could not be frozen for a long period of time. This would allow the Manager to review the critical functions of the 91 eligible participants. Commissioner Gordon said that it has been mentioned to have longer times for not filling positions. In terms of County operations, it did have an impact last year on County operations. She said that, although it saves money, there could be some adverse affects on County operations. Frank Clifton said that this will have an impact on County services but he wants to bring a balanced budget. He said that some services he brings back will be reduced or deleted. As they reduce staffing, when the Board of County Commissioners gives the staff items to do at a Board meeting, the list will get longer, but it will take longer to do this. He wants to mitigate as much as possible the affects to County services. Commissioner Jacobs said that he does not want to take away jobs from people that work for the County. He said that he would hope that the Manager will help the County Commissioners provide a good level of service. 3. Budget Related Staffing Discussion Frank Clifton spoke about the functions of County government. He said that in the departments there is some duplication of services. Roughly half of the budget goes to education and the only place to substantially reduce County operations is through personnel costs. He made reference to the attachment with the vacancy report. Approximately 90+ vacant positions equate to about $3.3 million. He said that there is going to be a push for Emergency Services employees. He said that the reality is that there will have to be a reduction in about 80-100 positions. He said that if the Board of County Commissioners is committed to bringing a balanced budget without a tax increase, then he will shoot for 100+ vacant positions to be deleted. There will be some moving around of administrative staff to fill some of the vacant positions without changing the salaries. If someone does not want to move, then they will have to leave. He said that all departments will be involved. He said that Orange County is not having as tough a time as some other counties. Commissioner Yuhasz said that the $5 million has to come out of the County side of the budget and he does not like this. He wants to look at both the County side and the education side. Frank Clifton said that he based this on the County side because he does not see the County's total budget changing, but a shift in expenses. The reality is, unless there is an agreement reached between the school boards, the total County budget will not change, except where the money is spent and how it is spent. Chair Foushee said that yesterday there was a school collaboration meeting and the revenues will be the same this year as last year. If there are more students, then there is already a reduction. She said that there should be an understanding that this will stretch across the entire County. Commissioner Yuhasz said that this is a reduction of services to the public and no one entity should bear it all. Commissioner Nelson said that he is supportive of this item and the previous item, but he is concerned about the loss of institutional memory. However, with the reorganizations, there have been more efficiencies. He is still supportive of no tax increase. Commissioner Pelissier echoed Commissioner Nelson's comments. She appreciates the approach of the Manager because she was afraid that they were going to have to lay off staff. She likes the team approach to this situation. Frank Clifton said that it is also his intent in the budget process to create an opportunity to set aside some money and give a one-time incentive payment to employees if certain goals are achieved to show appreciation. 4. Boards and Commissions - Next Steps Chair Foushee said that the Board directed Commissioner Pelissier and her to meet with the Clerk about these next steps and it was difficult but there are still some outstanding questions. She said that they came up with some questions for the Board of County Commissioners, and to move through the issue of boards and commissions will involve a process. The process is one that would require the County Commissioners to make some decisions. Commissioner Pelissier said that in December the Board decided not to make any more appointments to boards, but many of the boards are handicapped from doing business and so they would like to make appointments for statutory boards now and leave the others open. One of the questions is whether or not the County Commissioners want to have a liaison to the advisory boards. Other places do this through a reporting mechanism such as a work plan by the boards and commissions. She asked what kind of reporting mechanism the Board wanted and what kind of appointment process there would be for the County Commissioner liaisons. Chair Foushee said that the Board needs to decide whether or not to allow the Clerk to put the appointments up for the statutory boards. A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Nelson to make appointments to the statutory boards. Commissioner Yuhasz asked how many statutory boards there were. It was answered that it was a small amount and not all of them have vacant positions. He said that he has concerns about the application process because the applicants are not always clear. He said that he is not interested in appointing for all of the statutory boards because each application should have specific questions related to the boards. Commissioner Gordon said that the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee and the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee are both listed as statutory boards. She asked about the statutory boards and which ones are in fact statutory. VOTE: UNANIMOUS (Commissioner Nelson was not in the room) 6-0 Chair Foushee said that she and Commissioner Pelissier decided in principle to have one person to represent the Board of County Commissioners on any board or commission. Regarding the reporting mechanism, Chair Foushee said that there has to be a way of recording what is actually happening at the meetings. This mechanism needs to be determined. Frank Clifton said that as the County reduces staff, the numerous boards and commissions will have reduced staff support. He said that it may be best to have a board member to record the board actions other than support staff. The other suggestion would be to have these boards move to quarterly meetings rather than monthly meetings. In the end, these are advisory boards and they have to keep records of their meetings. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he would prefer to see fewer County Commissioner liaisons on the boards and better reporting. This would allow the boards to make decisions without the undue influence of a County Commissioner in the room. Commissioner Pelissier agreed with Commissioner Yuhasz. She would like to have a joint meeting with several advisory boards throughout the year. She agrees with not having as many County Commissioner liaisons and having a better reporting mechanism. Commissioner Hemminger said that the quick reports are good as opposed to minutes. She said that for one board that she served on before becoming a County Commissioner, a Councilmember was the liaison but did not attend meetings and they were to be called if the board needed anything. She said that the board would come once a year to Council to report. She also agrees with not having a County Commissioner liaison. She said that having a County Commissioner on a board/commission changed the dynamics of what the board discussed and how they discussed it. Chair Foushee said that when County Commissioners attend board or commission meetings, her thought has always been that if she is not a voting member, then her role is a resource role only. Commissioner Gordon said that if a Board of County Commissioners' member is there, then the implication from this discussion is that it was a bad influence. She suggested just getting rid of County Commissioner liaisons for the advisory boards that are totally advisory in nature. Chair Foushee said that she learned a lot about county government from being a liaison to the boards and commissions. She does not know that she wants to give up being the Commissioner that gets an opportunity to sit in meetings and hear what is going on and provide insight and learn. She is not ready to say that they should not have liaisons for boards and commissions. Commissioner Jacobs said that all Commissioners have made good points. His concern is similar to Chair Foushee's because of the learning aspect and developing relationships with people that are interested in particular issues. He said that he has seen and heard that Board members will dominate a meeting and in that respect, there are problems with how things are set up. He said that he also knows of boards that go out and do surveys without the County Commissioners knowing about it. He wants to be considerate in how the County Commissioners communicate, whatever change is made. Commissioner Hemminger said that since there are different types of boards, it is hard to come to a consensus. There are different guidelines for each board and commission. She thinks that there could be different sets of goals or guidelines for each grouping. Frank Clifton suggested not having anyone appointed as liaisons so that anyone could attend these meetings. The County Commissioners could rotate attending the board meetings each month and could pick which ones to attend. Commissioner Yuhasz agreed with this, if the rotation could give an educational component. Commissioner Pelissier said that it is a huge workload to attend so many board meetings. If the total amount of boards that each person has to go to is decreased, then the community would be served a lot better. She said that she liked the idea of not having a liaison and rotating, but that may cause some board members to only go to the ones they like. Chair Foushee said that it seems that there is consensus to have a reporting mechanism template for each board and commission and this standard format can be determined at a later time. This is for the internal boards and commissions and not the statutory or external boards. Chair Foushee asked that the Board talk about the issue of having a County Commissioner liaison for these internal boards. Commissioner Hemminger said that there would have to be a schedule where there would not be a quorum of the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner Gordon suggested letting the Clerk know who was going to attend the meetings and if four people show up, then the last one that showed up would leave. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz that the Board of County Commissioners not assign a particular liaison to the internal boards and commissions and that the County Commissioners will attend as they wish and make sure that there are not four County Commissioners at any one meeting. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Donna Baker said that she would use the subcommittee to help with the attendance process. A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to ask the internal advisory boards to come up with a work plan every year, and then at the end of the year, to tell the Board of County Commissioners what has been accomplished with a summary. Commissioner Jacobs amended the motion that the work plan should be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he is concerned about heading off some good ideas from advisory boards. Commissioner Jacobs said that "consistent with" is not the same as "parroting". Frank Clifton said that all advisory boards need to understand that they are advisory boards and the Board of County Commissioners is seeking input. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Foushee made reference to page 12 (Advisory Board actions for consideration-at the top), which was the list of advisory boards with potential changes. Frank Clifton reiterated that these are "potential" changes. Commissioner Gordon asked if the public would be involved in this process. Chair Foushee said that the subcommittee found it difficult to move forward because there was not a process. She said that none of this should be done without public input. Frank Clifton said that some of his recommendations may take a year or more. He said that where the boards have been created by resolution, they would have to be changed by resolution. Commissioner Yuhasz that some of these boards were discussed at the last retreat. He said that before the County Commissioners make any decisions, they need to allow the advisory boards to make some recommendations back as to their charge and if it is worthwhile to continue with each board/commission. Commissioner Pelissier said that she does not want to ask every board what they think their function is, but she would like to flag the ones that could be merged together. She wants to know the pros and cons of the potential changes. Commissioner Jacobs said that there is an argument that the Visitor's Bureau could be spun off as a separate entity, but he wants to know the pros and cons. He made reference to an email from the Commission for Women about the cons of having a non-profit take over the role of operating the Commission for Women. He said that this was very useful. Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau: Commissioner Jacobs said that the County Commissioners should pose to the bureau the question of whether it is not time for the Visitors Bureau to consider being an autonomous entity and the pros and cons of that. Frank Clifton said that he made this recommendation because there are two separate hotel/motel taxes authorized and collected in Orange County. One goes to promote hotel/motel tourism and the other one goes to support recreational services. He suggested partnering with the other entity that has a hotel/motel tax (Chapel Hill) and equally sharing the costs of promotion. Commissioner Nelson said that this issue of Chapel Hill keeping part of these taxes for other purposes is pretty significant. He suggested sending a letter to the Town Council asking them to designate 100% of those funds for tourism. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Visitor's Bureau is one of the most successful economic engines that the County has and it is a very engaged group. A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to ask the Chair to send a letter to the Chapel Hill Town Council regarding the hotel/motel tax allocation. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Hemminger asked about Carrboro and Commissioner Nelson said that it has enabling legislation for a hotel/motel tax. She suggested talking to the Mayors about this. Commissioner Jacobs said to send a letter within the context of this discussion. Chair Foushee suggested waiting until Carrboro has a hotel before approaching the Mayor about the allocation of taxes. Frank Clifton explained how the taxes are collected for hotels and motels. Commissioner Gordon said that the letter should be phrased within the context of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitor's Bureau discussion and the pros and cons of this allocation procedure. Frank Clifton said that Orange County is using all of the Visitor Bureau's tax to promote Chapel Hill/Orange County/Carrboro/Hillsborough tourism. The Town of Chapel Hill is collecting roughly the same amount as Orange County and is providing significantly less to promotion. If it is a governmental function, then Orange County should take advantage of that and maybe use some of it for other functions such as recreational facilities. Chair Foushee said that she would craft a letter for review by the Board of County Commissioners members. It can be amended if it does not capture what should be said. Basically, the County puts forward about $900,000 as opposed to $250,000 that Chapel Hill contributes of the same tax collection. This is the issue. Commissioner Nelson said that Chapel Hill is aware of this because the Visitors Bureau talks about it every budget year. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Hemminger, to solicit from the Visitors Bureau a response to the County's inclination to spin off as an independent entity and to tell the pros and cons. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Orange County Arts Commission: Frank Clifton said that this is a unique situation because it is a department with one staff person. This was created because there is some State grant money that comes in each year and there has to be a designated body to approve the distribution of those funds. The County also provides a match for this function. His recommendation is to put money in for this function, but there is some overlap within the County and he cannot justify this full-time position. Commissioner Yuhasz said that it is not clear to him what the alternatives are and he would like more information on this. Commissioner Nelson said that he has some strong feelings that the arts play a significant role in economic development and he is not convinced that the arrangement is currently working with economic development and the arts in Orange County. He wants to think about this. Lots of governments use the arts as an economic development engine. He is not interested in disbanding the department, but he would like to look at alternatives. The Visitors Bureau could nurture the arts and this is an alternative worth looking at. Chair Foushee said that this was going to be her suggestion too regarding the Visitors Bureau. She agrees that the arts do affect economic development. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Visitors Bureau has discussed this with interest; but to turn the Arts Commission loose as a non-profit would be difficult. The Board of County Commissioners formed this department so it would not have to rely on non-profits. Staff will communicate this to the Arts Commission and the Visitors Bureau. Commission for Women: Commissioner Gordon said that she is not ready to disband the Commission for Women as long as women make something like 70% of what men make and have other disadvantages. She wants to continue this as a function. There can be better ways of doing things, but she does not want to disband it. Commissioner Hemminger asked if it could be folded into the Human Rights and Relations function. Commissioner Nelson said that he has been liaison to both of these groups and they like that idea better than going with a non-profit. He thinks that it could be a good fit. Commissioner Pelissier said that the County Commissioners should explore from both boards and see how they could merge and complement each other. Frank Clifton said that when boards are merging then people should forget the titles and pay more attention to the people that are appointed. The big issue is not focusing on one segment of society and looking at a broader segment of society. Commissioner Pelissier said that she is concerned about advisory boards that render services and that this sets a precedent. She was speaking about "Girl Talk." Commissioner Nelson said that the Commission for Women should hear this question. He said that the whole vision is to get something started and then to spin it off. They are doing a couple of pilot programs in some schools. He said that the kids love it and the response from parents is good. The hope is for the schools to take it over. There has not been much activity lately in the Commission for Women, but now they are turning it around. Commissioner Gordon said that, if there were a merger, then the title should change to symbolize that it is a new group and that the Commission for Women was not sunset. Commissioner Hemminger asked that the current members of the Commission for Women would be allowed to fulfill their terms on the new commission. The Board agreed to explore a possible merger of this with HRC after hearing the pros and cons of it. Economic Development Commission: Frank Clifton said that there are several functions like this in the County that talk but do not collaborate. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he is concerned that without a strong County presence, there will not be economic development in the County. He would hope that the Orange County Economic Development Commission would not be subsumed by Chapel Hill or Carrboro. Frank Clifton said that there needs to be a stronger partnership with the other entities. Commissioner Jacobs said that this is another one of those areas where the County is self-defeating. There are four economic development groups in Orange County. He said that the first step is to bring all the parties together to discuss why it is not a functional system because he does not know if Orange County's EDC even knows what its role is. He suggested bringing in UNC also. Chair Foushee said that basically this is about further study as to how to make what Orange County has more viable and to bring together all parties together to establish the roles. She said that an annual work plan could address a lot of these issues. She said that Durham Tech is a great resource. Frank Clifton said that they have had these discussions and people recognize that Orange County has weaknesses. Commissioner Yuhasz asked who would start this process and Commissioner Jacobs said that it could be brought up at an Assembly of Governments meeting. Also, the Managers could be directed to discuss it. Another option would be to suggest a steering committee to develop a plan. The Orange County Economic Development Director would make that suggestion. Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee and the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee: Chair Foushee asked if this was something that could be done — merging these two committees — and Frank Clifton said that he would have to research this. Commissioner Hemminger said to ask the same questions about the pros and cons. Information Technology Advisory Committee: Commissioner Yuhasz said that he had the ITAC discuss the possibility of the sunset of this committee and the focus has been to a large degree on technical things. He thinks that there should be a broader viewpoint on what information technology is and what it can bring to the County. He thinks that the committee recognizes that it needs to provide advice along those lines. There is a need for information technology advice. He said that the members do not really know their charge or the history of the committee. Commissioner Gordon said that the County created this committee to help provide expertise in information technology because, back when the committee was created a number of years ago, the County had not yet hired staff with all the necessary expertise. Commissioner Jacobs said that he strongly agrees with Commissioner Yuhasz and that this committee should focus on emerging technologies. He also thinks that there should be some association with the Economic Development function — either a subcommittee or joint meetings periodically with the EDC. Commissioner Yuhasz said that this committee is interested in continuing, but it needs more focus. Commissioner Gordon spoke in support of the emerging technologies focus. Commissioner Pelissier said that the question is where this group belongs since the IT Director is focused on internal technology functions. She suggested that it might belong more under Economic Development. Personnel Hearing Board: Commissioner Gordon asked what this does and Frank Clifton said that it reviews personnel decisions that the Manager makes and then advise the Manager. Human Resources Director Michael McGinnis said that this board has met once in the last ten years. It is in the Personnel Ordinance and it is the last step in a grievance process. Chair Foushee said that she would feel uncomfortable if there was not a Personnel Hearing Board. Commissioner Yuhasz asked if it could be appointed as needed and Frank Clifton said that there is a timing issue. Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Chair Foushee. Frank Clifton said that employees still have a process through the courts. Chair Foushee said that this is not about the Manager, but about due process. Commissioner Hemminger said that the County Commissioners could be the Personnel Hearing Board. Commissioner Nelson said that it would not be appropriate for the County Commissioners to be the Personnel Hearing Board. Frank Clifton agreed. Commissioner Pelissier said that she does not see how this board can help someone in a grievance process since it is only an advisory board. Frank Clifton said that there is due process for grievances. Commissioner Jacobs suggested asking the board if it still needs to exist and the pros and cons. A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to adjourn the meeting at 10:04 PM. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Valerie Foushee, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board