HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 06-18-19 Item 8-a - Minutes1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: June 18, 2019
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-a
SUBJECT: MINUTES
DEPARTMENT: Board of County
Commissioners
ATTACHMENT(S):
Draft Minutes
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board
(919) 245-2130
PURPOSE: To correct and/or approve the minutes as submitted by the Clerk to the Board as
listed below.
BACKGROUND: In accordance with 153A-42 of the General Statutes, the Governing Board has
the legal duty to approve all minutes that are entered into the official journal of the Board’s
proceedings.
May 21, 2019 BOCC Regular Meeting
May 23, 2019 BOCC Budget Work Session
May 30, 2019 BOCC Budget Work Session
FINANCIAL IMPACT: NONE
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: NONE
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve minutes as presented
or as amended.
1
Attachment 1 1
2
DRAFT MINUTES 3
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 4
REGULAR MEETING 5
May 21, 2019 6
7:00 p.m. 7
8
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 9
at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. 10
11
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Penny Rich and Commissioners Jamezetta 12
Bedford, Mark Dorosin, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, Mark Marcoplos, and Renee Price 13
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None 14
COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 15
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager 16
Travis Myren and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified 17
appropriately below) 18
19
Chair Rich called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. 20
21
1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 22
23
A motion was made by Commissioner Greene, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin to 24
add a closed session at the end of the meeting for the following purposes: 25
26
"To consult with an attorney retained by the Board in order to preserve the attorney-client 27
privilege between the attorney and the Board.” “N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(3) 28
29
“To discuss matters related to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the 30
area served by the public body, including agreement on a tentative list of economic 31
development incentives that may be offered by the public body in negotiations,” NCGS § 143-32
318.11(a)(4).) 33
34
“To consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of 35
appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or 36
prospective public officer or employee” NCGS § 143-318.11(a) (6). 37
38
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 39
40
Chair Rich noted the following items at the Commissioners’ places: 41
- White sheet: proposed petition from Commissioner Price 42
- Revised chart for Item 5-a 43
- PowerPoint for Item 6-b 44
45
PUBLIC CHARGE 46
Chair Rich acknowledged the public charge. 47
48
Arts Moment 49
Arts Commission Director, Katie Murray, introduced Molly Weybright: 50
2
Molly Weybright graduated from the UNC School of Media and Journalism in 2018 with a 1
degree in Reporting and creative writing. Her fiction has been published in UNC’s official literary 2
magazine “The Cellar Door” and her journalism has been published on multiple news outlets 3
including the outer banks voice and WRAL. She is currently the intern for The Orange County 4
Arts Commission, where she writes two short feature pieces per month focusing on the arts 5
community of Orange County. 6
Molly Weybright read an excerpt from the “A Niente”. 7
8
Commissioner McKee arrived at 7:05 p.m. 9
10
2. Public Comments 11
12
a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 13
Dr. Joshua Humphreys said he lives in Bingham Township, and his community has 14
learned that the County exercised an option to purchase land that cuts through the community. 15
He said this option was part of a larger real estate deal: 13 acres of a 70-acre tract. He said an 16
individual named Eric Knight is going to build a commercial brewery, and would double the use 17
of water in their neighborhood. He said his community, the Oaks, is historically significant, and 18
no one was informed about this. He said no one in their community was notified about the dual 19
development of this land: the County using part for the Mountains to Sea trail, as well as a 20
manufacturing facility, which will also serve as a major event venue. He said this neighborhood 21
is a very quiet, rural one. 22
Dr. Carl Hoffman said he also lives in the Oaks Community, and has done so for 44 23
years. He said his property abuts the property in question. He said he and his wife have 24
worked to preserve this area for people to enjoy, and they have no commercial development 25
because they want this to stay in its natural state. He said he wonders why a brewery would be 26
built in their neighborhood, and not in Saxapahaw. He said he is surprised that there is no 27
zoning that prevents this. He said he is suspicious of the deal, and he would like to know the 28
timeline of events, and the intent and motivation of all parties involved. 29
Commissioner Bedford arrived at 7:15 p.m. 30
Mark Kleinschmidt, Clerk of Court, said one of his first objectives as the new clerk, was 31
to assess the facilities, and to work with County staff to meet the needs of the courthouse. He 32
said the County improved the HVAC system this past year, which will hopefully reduce the 33
humidity in the building. He thanked the Manager for her CIP, in order to ensure the safety and 34
security of the records in the courthouse. He said improvements within the estate division, 35
where he serves as Probate Judge, and improvements to the security of the public counter are 36
critical. He said he is so pleased and expressed his gratitude for the Board of County 37
Commissioners’ (BOCC) assistance, and the work of the staff and their day-to-day 38
responsiveness to their needs. He said he hopes to provide an annual update to the BOCC on 39
the condition of the facility, and invited the BOCC to take a tour. 40
Delores Bailey, EmPowerment Director, read a letter from Karen Reid, who lives on 41
Rogers Road: 42
43
To Whom It May Concern: 44
As a longtime member (38years) of the Historic Rogers Road Community and 45
participant in the development of the 2016 Rogers Road: Mapping Our Community’s Future, I 46
am writing in support of rezoning and plans for the Greene Tract as stated in the 2016 Rogers 47
Road: Mapping Our Community’s Future. For many years, the wishes and concerns of 48
members of the Historic Rogers Road Community were not heard or represented in decisions 49
3
that directly affected our way and quality of life, so this plan was developed out of our desire to 1
be proactive in the inevitable. 2
We expected that once the contaminated wells were replaced with city water, old 3
septic tanks replaced with city sewer, the stench, vultures, wild dogs, rodents, noise of big 4
trucks and blasting from the landfill becomes no longer an issue, we knew that having an 5
infrastructure in place would attract all kinds of interests in the Greene Tract, as well as in our 6
properties. As we made plans for the future of our community, high on our list of priorities was 7
to permanently preserve and protect the most sensitive areas of the Greene Tract, as well as 8
reserve a portion of the land for developing mixed income housing. As you may already know, 9
this community existed in the 1700’s and many families served as slaves to the plantation 10
owners. Even with this dark era of history in mind, the Greene Tract is still near and dear to so 11
many generations of Historic Rogers Road Community Members, both of African and Native 12
American decent. We believe that it is our responsibility to permanently preserve a portion of a 13
place that holds memories of harvesting fruit, nature walks, playing, etc., as well as to take this 14
very unique opportunity to reserve a portion of the land in order to develop mixed use housing 15
to accommodate people who are employed here, but cannot afford to live here. This would 16
provide an excellent opportunity for organizations such as Empowerment, Habitat for Humanity, 17
Community Home Trust, etc. to partner with Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County in 18
providing mixed income housing. 19
Believe it or not, two times each weekday, seven Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School 20
Buses (bus numbers 95, 79, 151, 37, 247, 28 and 43) successfully drive through our narrow 21
streets, not to mention the occasional activity or field trip bus. We currently have access to city 22
bus services, with the exception of adjusted schedules “to accommodate the University of 23
Chapel Hill’s breaks” (summer, winter and spring). Ridership of the residents would greatly 24
increase, if they could depend on the city buses keeping a consistent schedule throughout the 25
year. Although the nearest grocery store is located miles away, members of the Historic Rogers 26
Road Community, as well as members of the one hundred fifty Habitat households surrounding 27
our community manage to find ways to get to and from grocery stores, appointments, and 28
errands. 29
Concerns of building mixed use housing next to a “landfill” was mentioned at one Chapel 30
Hill Town Meeting, but for many years Historic Rogers Road Community Members and 31
community supporters fought to have the landfill as we knew it closed! Due to years of 32
determination and perseverance, it is now closed and serves as a transfer station. So, the 33
proposed development of mixed income housing would not be built next to an active “landfill,” 34
but next to a piece of land that the landfill uses to provide cover dirt and at some point, it too will 35
cease to be used as cover material. 36
37
Thank you in advance for your consideration. 38
39
Sincerely, 40
Karen Reid 41
42
b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 43
44
3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 45
Commissioner Bedford said she attended the first meeting of the Orange County 46
Behavioral Health Task Force, which was created to develop a transportation plan for those 47
who are involuntarily committed. 48
Commissioner Dorosin said the County is in the midst of its 2019 Community Health 49
Assessment, where residents are surveyed on health issues, which drives the Health 50
4
Department’s priorities. He said volunteers are needed to help communicate the survey to 1
communities. 2
Commissioner Dorosin said there is a lot of talk about the flag ordinance, which 3
regulates the size and height of flags. He said this issue is not unique to Orange County, and 4
the City of Statesville just filed a lawsuit against an American flag that is 3200 square feet. He 5
said as Orange County begins to deal with non-compliance issues, it is important to note that 6
other communities are dealing with this issue as well. 7
Commissioner McKee had no comments. 8
Commissioner Price referred to the paper at the Commissioners’ places, and said she is 9
petitioning the Board to consider this Resolution Calling for Orange County Commissioners to 10
Endorse HR1384 IMPROVED MEDICARE FOR ALL at a future meeting. 11
Commissioner Price said the Veteran’s Memorial Day event will start at 7:45 a.m., and 12
will be followed by a motorcycle tour of the County. 13
Commissioner Price said she attended the Direct Care Service Workers Award event, 14
and offered congratulations to all that were nominated and recognized. 15
Commissioner Price said she attended the recognition program at the Chapel Hill-16
Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS), and there was one gentleman who has been employed since 17
1971. 18
Commissioner Price said she received a request from former Commissioner Barry 19
Jacobs about coal burning at UNC, and he asked if this could be looked into, along with UNC’s 20
previously made commitment to be coal-free by 2020. 21
Commissioner Price offered condolences to the Lindy Pendergrass family, upon his 22
passing. 23
Commissioner Marcoplos said the Durham-Chapel Hill-Orange W ork Group met, and 24
though the light rail is discontinued, the transit guidebook is still applicable. He said Durham is 25
still moving forward with Patterson Place development, and there was also a report on the 15-26
501 corridor study. 27
Commissioner Marcoplos said he attended the Triangle Mobility Action Partnership 28
(TriMap) meeting, and a gentleman from the Department of Transportation (DOT) mentioned 29
that through 2016 storm costs were averaging $60 million/year; but since 2016, it is has been 30
averaging $225 million/year. 31
Commissioner Marcoplos said he had lunch with Keith Cook, who came up with a great 32
idea: recognizing volunteers who come off boards/committees with a gift with their name on it. 33
Commissioner Marcoplos said the Town Council of Chapel Hill will be discussing the 34
Greene Tract at its meeting tomorrow night, and he would like to have an update report at the 35
BOCC June 4th meeting. He is interested in hearing what the meeting entails, as well as 36
learning what the Town wants to share with the County. He said it is important to maintain 37
communication, and is a rare opportunity to provide a large amount of affordable housing. 38
Commissioner Dorosin asked if Chapel Hill is voting on this issue tomorrow. 39
Commissioner Marcoplos and Chair Rich said the agenda appears to indicate that a 40
vote will occur. 41
Commissioner Greene said this past Saturday she attended a day of remembrance 42
ceremony at the Margaret Lane Cemetery, which was a moving event. She said this cemetery 43
began as a slave cemetery, and has very few marked graves. She said this ceremony was 44
funded by the Arts Commission, and supported by various organizations. She said it was 45
lovely. 46
Commissioner Greene said her final office hours will be held tomorrow evening, from 47
4:30-6:00 p.m. at the Cedar Grove Community Center. 48
5
Commissioner McKee said the entire Board has been discussing economic 1
development for several years, and he and Commissioner Marcoplos have been discussing this 2
issue around three points, which he listed these below: 3
4
1) Eno Economic Development District 5
6
a. There seems to be Board consensus that we should redefine (and publicize) our 7
approach to this EDD (Economic Development District). We’ve had discussions 8
confirming that this EDD has the least potential of the three EDD’s for economic 9
development and we could more fruitfully direct our efforts elsewhere. 10
b. Given that the staff reported that there was some interest in some small-scale 11
commercial projects there, we should continue to pursue those. 12
c. Additionally, we should also remain open to redevelopment in the eastern section 13
of the EDD between Hwy. 70 and I-85 where there are several under-utilized 14
parcels that may have development value. 15
16
2) Status of re-zoning to prevent residential development from occurring on prime 17
commercial development parcels in the Buckhorn EDD 18
19
a. Many of us believed this was getting done last year. We need an update, 20
notification of anything the staff needs from the BOCC on this, and a timeline for 21
when this will be finished. 22
23
3) Potential for development on the southern edge of the Buckhorn EDD at Hwy. 10 24
25
a. Steve Brantley has often remarked on the desirability of many of the tracts of 26
land on the south side of Hwy. 10 that have drawn interest from potential 27
businesses. 28
b. Hwy.10 in that location is the boundary of the Rural Buffer agreed to by Orange 29
County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and OWASA in the Water and 30
Sewer Management, Planning and Boundary Agreement and thus any changes 31
to this agreement would need to be endorsed by those entities. 32
c. We believe it is worthwhile to finally discuss whether moving the EDD/Rural 33
Buffer boundary line a modest distance to the south of Hwy. 10 would be 34
beneficial to the County. 35
36
Chair Rich said when something happens in Orange County, but it is within Chapel Hill’s 37
purview, they used to have a courtesy review. She asked if the County Manager would contact 38
the Town’s Manager to ask for a courtesy review prior to the Town voting. 39
Chair Rich said she attended Peace Officer’s day last week, and deputies were there in 40
force and she said thanked everyone for coming out. 41
Chair Rich asked Greg W ilder to work on proclamations for Lee Pavao and Lindy 42
Pendergrass, who both passed away this week. 43
44
4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations 45
46
a. Proclamation Recognizing Professor William (Bill) R. Ferris 47
The Board considered voting to approve a proclamation recognizing Professor William 48
(Bill) R. Ferris for his contributions to the local and worldwide arts and history community. 49
50
6
Chair Rich presented this item: 1
2
BACKGROUND: William (Bill) R. Ferris is the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History 3
Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Ferris is also a former 4
chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1997-2001), and has written or 5
edited ten books and created 15 documentary films. His work has included co-editing the 6
Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1989), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. 7
8
Professor Ferris’ books include: Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues 9
(2009) which was translated into French as Les Voix du Mississippi (2013); The Storied South: 10
Voices of Writers and Artists, and The South in Color: A Visual Journal (2016). Professor Ferris 11
also curated “I Am a Man”: Civil Rights Photographs in the American South – 1960-1970, which 12
opened in the Pavillon Populaire in Montpellier, France in October, 2018. 13
14
Professor Ferris’ most recent publication, Voices of Mississippi, is a 2018 box set published by 15
Dust to Digital containing three CDs of his recordings of blues, gospel and stories, a DVD of his 16
documentary films, and a book. In 2019, Voices of Mississippi received two Grammy Awards for 17
Best Liner Notes and Best Historical Album. 18
19
Professor Ferris’ honors include the Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities, the American 20
Library Association's Dartmouth Medal, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award, and 21
the W.C. Handy Blues Award. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine named him among the Top Ten 22
Professors in the United States. He is a Fellow of the American Folklore Society, and received 23
the B. L. C. Wailes Award, given to a Mississippian who has achieved national recognition in 24
the field of history by the Mississippi Historical Society. In 2017, Ferris received the Mississippi 25
Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. 26
27
Professor Ferris also co-founded the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis, Tennessee, 28
serving as its director from 1972 to 1984, and was the founding director of the Center for the 29
Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. 30
31
The William R. Ferris Collection is located in the Southern Folklife Collection of the Wilson 32
Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 33
34
Chair Rich read the proclamation: 35
36
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 37
PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING 38
PROFESSOR WILLIAM (BILL) R. FERRIS 39
40
WHEREAS, William (Bill) R. Ferris is the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History 41
Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and 42
43
WHEREAS, Professor Ferris is a former chairman of the National Endowment for the 44
Humanities (1997-2001), and has written or edited ten books and created 15 documentary 45
films; and 46
47
WHEREAS, his work has included co-editing the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1989), 48
which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; and 49
50
7
WHEREAS, Professor Ferris’ books include Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi 1
Blues (2009) which was translated into French as Les Voix du Mississippi (2013); The Storied 2
South: Voices of Writers and Artists, and The South in Color: A Visual Journal (2016); and 3
4
WHEREAS, Professor Ferris’ most recent publication, Voices of Mississippi received two 5
Grammy Awards in 2019 for Best Liner Notes and Best Historical Album; and 6
7
WHEREAS, Professor Ferris has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Charles 8
Frankel Prize in the Humanities, the American Library Association's Dartmouth Medal, the 9
Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award, the W.C. Handy Blues Award, the B. L. C. 10
Wailes Award, which is given to a Mississippian who has achieved national recognition in the 11
field of history by the Mississippi Historical Society, and the 2017 Mississippi Governor’s Arts 12
Award for Lifetime Achievement; and 13
14
WHEREAS, the William R. Ferris Collection is located in the Southern Folklife Collection of the 15
Wilson Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 16
17
NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby recognize 18
Professor William (Bill) R. Ferris for his contributions to the local and worldwide arts and history 19
community. 20
21
This the 21st day of May 2019. 22
23
Dr. Ferris said he has taught southern music all his life, and being here at UNC, 24
living in NC and in the great town of Chapel Hill is an honor due to the great history of 25
music. He said this community is a well spring of music, and he is deeply grateful for this 26
honor. 27
28
A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin 29
for the Board to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. 30
31
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 32
33
b. Proclamation Recognizing Nathaniel Davis, Sr. 34
The Board considered voting to approve a proclamation recognizing Nathaniel “Nate” 35
Davis, Sr. for his services to Orange County. 36
Commissioner Price presented this item. 37
38
BACKGROUND: Nate Davis has been a civil rights pioneer, record setting athlete and 39
respected leader throughout the Orange County community. 40
41
In December 2018, Nate Davis retired from employment with the Chapel Hill Department of 42
Parks and Recreation, having devoted 45 years to the children, teenagers and adults at the 43
Hargraves Community Center. 44
45
Nate Davis served on the Orange County Human Relations Commission as a member and 46
Commission Chair. During his tenure, he participated in the drafting of the Orange County Civil 47
Rights Ordinance. 48
49
Commissioner Price read the proclamation: 50
8
1
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 2
PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING 3
NATHANIEL DAVIS, SR. 4
5
WHEREAS, Nathaniel “Nate” Davis, Sr., has been a civil rights pioneer, record setting athlete 6
and respected leader throughout the Orange County community; and 7
8
WHEREAS, Nate Davis was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was one of the 9
first African-American students to integrate Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools in 10
1962; and 11
12
WHEREAS, after graduating, Nate Davis began working at the Hargraves Community Center 13
and eventually earned the position of Supervisor; and 14
15
WHEREAS, Nate Davis served on the Orange County Human Relations Commission as 16
member and chair, and during his tenure participated in the drafting of the 17
Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance; and 18
19
WHEREAS, Nate Davis served on the Steering Committee of the Orange County Misdemeanor 20
Diversion Program for 16 and 17 year old youth; and 21
22
WHEREAS , on December 31, 2018, Nate Davis retired from employment with the Chapel Hill 23
Department of Parks and Recreation, having devoted 45 years to the children, 24
teenagers and adults at the Hargraves Community Center; and 25
26
WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill bestowed Nate Davis with the 2011 W. Calvin Horton 27
Service Award during the 9th Annual Salute to Community Heroes gala presented 28
by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce; 29
30
NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby recognize 31
Nathaniel Davis, Sr. for his unwavering service to the people of Orange County, 32
and express heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for his numerous and invaluable 33
contributions to the improvement and well-being of the Orange County 34
community; and the Board wishes Nate Davis a most enjoyable new journey in 35
his life with Peggy, his wife, and his family. 36
37
This the 21st day of May 2019. 38
39
Mr. Davis thanked all of his family members, the residents of the Town of Chapel Hill 40
and the Board of County Commissioners for this recognition. 41
42
A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin 43
for the Board to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. 44
45
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 46
47
c. Proclamation Recognizing the Chapel Hill High School Women’s Fencing Team 48
for Winning the 2019 State Championship 49
9
The Board considered voting to approve a Proclamation Recognizing the Chapel Hill 1
High School Women’s Fencing Team for winning the 2019 State Championship. 2
Todd McGee, Community Relations Director presented this item. 3
4
BACKGROUND: The Chapel Hill High School Women’s Foil Team recently won the North 5
Carolina Fencing League state title under the direction of Coach Doug Guild, who has guided 6
the program to numerous state titles. 7
The team members introduced themselves: Erin Timmons, Kate Barrett, Jasmine Gee, 8
and Alesandra Gutierrez-Arnold. 9
10
Commissioner McKee read the proclamation: 11
12
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 13
PROCLAMATION OF RECOGNITION ON 14
CHAPEL HILL HIGH SCHOOL’S WOMEN’S FENCING TEAM 15
WINNING THE 2019 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 16
17
WHEREAS, the Chapel Hill High School’s Women’s Fencing Team captured the North Carolina 18
Fencing League’s State Fencing Championship; and 19
20
WHEREAS, under the guidance of Coach Doug Guild, the Chapel Hill High School’s Women’s 21
Foil Team has won numerous state titles; and 22
23
WHEREAS, through their hard work, dedication, teamwork and commitment, the team and 24
Coach Guild brought honor upon themselves, Chapel Hill High School, the Chapel 25
Hill/Carrboro City Schools District and Orange County; 26
27
NOW, THEREFORE, be it proclaimed that the Orange County Board of Commissioners 28
expresses its sincere appreciation and respect to the Chapel Hill High School 29
Fencing Team for their outstanding achievement and their inspiration to youth 30
across North Carolina through their dedication, teamwork and athletic prowess. 31
32
This the 21st day of May 2019. 33
34
Coach Doug Guild said it was an honor to coach this team, and 4 years ago the NC 35
fencing league split between men and women, and the Chapel Hill girls’ team has won 3 out of 36
4 years. 37
38
A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price for 39
the Board to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. 40
41
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 42
43
d. Proclamation Recognizing the Carrboro Clams Ultimate Frisbee Team for Winning 44
the 2019 North Carolina High School Boys Division I State Championship 45
The Board considered voting to approve a Proclamation Recognizing the Carrboro 46
Clams Ultimate Frisbee Team for winning the 2019 North Carolina High School Boys Division I 47
State Championship. 48
Todd McGee, Community Relations Director, presented this item. 49
50
10
BACKGROUND: The Carrboro Clams Ultimate Frisbee Team won the 2019 North Carolina 1
High School Boys Division I State Championship on May 5, 2019. 2
3
Commissioner Marcoplos read the proclamation: 4
5
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 6
PROCLAMATION OF RECOGNITION 7
ON THE CARRBORO CLAMS 8
WINNING THE 2019 ULTIMATE FRISBEE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 9
10
WHEREAS, the Carrboro Clams won the 2019 North Carolina Ultimate Frisbee High School 11
Boys Division I State Championship, besting a field of 12 teams; and 12
13
WHEREAS, under the guidance of Coaches Schuyler Kylstra, Marc Rovner and Chathan 14
Driehuys, the team won all four of its matches in the state tournament; and 15
16
WHEREAS, through hard work, dedication, teamwork and commitment of the team and 17
coaches, the Clams brought honor upon themselves and Orange County; 18
19
NOW, THEREFORE, be it proclaimed that the Orange County Board of Commissioners 20
expresses its sincere appreciation and respect to the Carrboro Clams for their 21
outstanding achievement and their inspiration to youth across North Carolina 22
through their dedication, teamwork and athletic prowess. 23
24
This the 21st day of May 2019. 25
26
Team members in attendance: Samuel Jarrett, Andrew Hoffman, Akshay Mankad, Gavin Blurr, 27
Josh Singleton; and two others, as well as Coach Schuyler. 28
29
A motion was made by Commissioner Marcoplos, seconded by Commissioner 30
McKee for the Board to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. 31
32
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 33
34
e. Resolution Supporting North Carolina’s Working People and Their Families 35
The Board considered voting to approve a Resolution Supporting North 36
Carolina’s Working People and Their Families. 37
38
Chair Rich presented this item. 39
40
BACKGROUND: Working people are currently struggling in an economy that does not work for 41
them. Public policy choices, not just market forces, dictate whether working people have access 42
to economic opportunities and benefit fairly from the work they perform. 43
44
The draft resolution expresses the Board of Commissioners position on several issues to 45
promote the well-being of North Carolina’s workers and their families. 46
47
Chair Rich read the proclamation: 48
49
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 50
11
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING 1
NORTH CAROLINA’S WORKING PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES 2
3
WHEREAS, North Carolina’s everyday working people are currently struggling in an economy 4
that does not work for them and stagnant wages, public service cuts, systemic discrimination 5
and a weakened social safety net are the norm in many communities; and 6
7
WHEREAS, public policy choices, not just market forces, dictate whether working people have 8
access to economic opportunities and benefit fairly from the work they perform; and 9
10
WHEREAS, Orange County Government provides strong support for its employees including a 11
minimum living wage of $15 per hour for full time permanent employees and $14.95 per hour 12
for temporary employees, with plans to be at or above $15 per hour for all employees by 2020; 13
and 14
15
WHEREAS, North Carolinians need access to safe, green, living wage jobs, free from 16
harassment, violence and discrimination; and 17
18
WHEREAS, worker organizing, union membership, and collective bargaining remain the most 19
effective tools for working people to exercise their power on the job and in the public sphere. 20
21
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, 22
do hereby urge our legislative delegation to promote the well-being of North Carolina’s workers 23
and their families by supporting: 24
• Legislation which provides paid family leave for workers in NC who want or need to take 25
parental leave, leave to care for sick family members, or to meet other critical family 26
needs; 27
• Legislation raising the minimum wage for all workers and a $15/hr minimum wage for all 28
state AND LOCAL employees; 29
• Legislation that expands Medicaid coverage; and 30
• Legislation that empowers public employees to negotiate wages and other conditions of 31
their employment, such as repealing so called “right to work” laws and extending the 32
right to collective bargaining to public sector employees. 33
34
This the 21st day of May 2019. 35
36
Commissioner Dorosin made a friendly amendment: all LOCAL Employees to be added 37
to bullet point; and that Orange County takes this progressive position 38
Chair Rich accepted the friendly amendment. 39
40
A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Marcoplos for 41
the Board to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation, and authorize the Clerk 42
to the Board to send the signed resolution to Orange County’s legislative delegation and other 43
99 counties. 44
45
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 46
47
5. Public Hearings 48
49
12
a. Orange County Consolidated Plan – Annual Action Plan Update and Proposed 1
Uses of the FY 2019-2020 HOME Funds 2
The Board received input from the public regarding the proposed Annual Action Plan 3
and update of the FY 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development 4
Programs in Orange County, as well as the proposed uses of FY 2019-2020 HOME funds. 5
Sherrill Hampton, Housing Director, presented this item: 6
7
BACKGROUND: In May 2015, a Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development 8
Programs in Orange County was developed and approved by the U.S. Department of Housing 9
and Urban Development (HUD). This document details the housing needs of very low income, 10
low income and moderate-income families and special population groups in addition to outlining 11
the strategies and plans for addressing those needs. FY2019-2020 will be the fifth year of the 12
5-year Plan. See Attachment 4 (revised at their places) for additional background materials. 13
14
Each year, local communities are required to re-assess the needs of the community. The public 15
hearing provides an opportunity for the public, public agencies and other interested parties to 16
provide input as it relates to the revised annual update of the Consolidated Plan and proposed 17
Annual Action Plan. In addition, the public is asked to comment on the revised proposed use of 18
FY 2019-2020 Program Year funds. The Orange County HOME Consortium, known as the 19
Orange County Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative, anticipates the following 20
Federal financial resources: 21
22
FY 2019 HOME Funds $350,320.00 23
HOME Program Income $ 13,306.00 24
HOME Match $ 78,818.00 25
Total $442,426.00 26
27
The above amounts are estimates only and may still be adjusted according to the exact 28
allocation received from HUD. 29
30
The HOME Consortium, known as the Orange County Local Government Affordable Housing 31
Collaborative, comprised of one (1) elected official and staff members from Orange County, the 32
Town of Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hill and Town of Hillsborough reviewed the applications 33
received and made recommendations regarding funding for consideration by local elected 34
officials in June 2019 as follows: 35
36
Empowerment, Inc. – Rental Acquisition $ 85,000.00* 37
Habitat for Humanity – Homeownership $181,392.00 38
Orange County – County-wide TBRA $141,004.00 39
Administration $ 35,030.00 40
Total $442,426.00 41
(* Includes Orange County HOME Consortium’s FY19-20 CHDO Set-Aside amount of $52,545. 42
EmPOWERment will also receive $60,201 of FY18-19 CHDO Set-Aside funds making their 43
total proposed award amount $145,201.) See Attachment 2 for a summary description of the 44
aforementioned projects and their geographic locations. 45
46
The requested amounts above may still be adjusted based on the exact allocation the HOME 47
Consortium receives from HUD. 48
49
13
The FY 2018-2019 Annual Action Plan will be submitted to HUD on or before June 25, 2019. 1
This Public Hearing is one of two (2) public hearings held as a part of Orange County’s 2
engagement of residents concerning local housing and community developments needs and 3
the HOME Program. A proposed revised timeline of the complete process is provided at 4
Attachment 3. 5
6
In order to inform the general public of this opportunity and encourage participation, notice of 7
the public hearing and locations at which the public can review a draft of the revised proposed 8
Annual Action Plan have been placed in The Herald-Sun, News of Orange and La Noticia, as 9
well as sent to public libraries, local non-profit agencies and placed on Orange County’s 10
website. 11
12
Sherrill Hampton said there has been a reduction in funds this year. 13
Sherrill Hampton said the full break out of numbers can be found in Attachment 4. 14
She said the same attachment includes a revised sheet, which provides some information on 15
the range of projects that were funded from 2015 through this period. She said the BOCC was 16
generous during this process last year, and Community Home Trust was awarded additional 17
funds for homeownership assistance, and this project has been completed and added to these 18
documents. 19
Sherrill Hampton said under 2016 monies, the BOCC awarded CASA $46,529, which 20
was the balance of unobligated Certified Housing Development Organization (CHDO) funds, 21
and this activity is imminent. She said it took longer than normal to do the environmental 22
assessment, but this has now been received and these activities should be starting within the 23
next week or so. 24
Sherrill Hampton said the BOCC has the recommended projects on page 2 in the 25
abstract, and in keeping with priority needs within the County’s 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan. 26
She said this includes rental acquisition, with EmPowerment utilizing $85,000, which includes 27
last year and this year’s CHDO funds. She said Habitat for Humanity will do home ownership 28
again, with 6 units, which is downsized from 8. She said Orange County received funding for its 29
TBRA, which will be used to leverage local voucher funds, as well as a rapid rehousing 30
program. 31
Sherrill Hampton said staff has provided a revised schedule, which is a little late, but it 32
will provide less confusion to the public via only 2 public hearings. She said the County has yet 33
to receive its letter from HUD, and so the timeframe has shifted, as noted in Attachment 3. 34
Commissioner Greene referred to attachment 4, and asked if there is a reason that 35
funds went up from 2017-18. 36
Sherrill Hampton said there was tremendous lobbying that year, and she is not sure if it 37
has new found monies. She said she does not know a specific reason. She said this year the 38
funds were reduced by about $51,000. 39
Commissioner Price said when she was in Washington, D.C. at the Economic 40
Development Steering Committee, there was a lot of lobbying and monies were put back into 41
the CDBG programs. 42
43
A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to 44
open the public hearing. 45
46
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 47
48
Public Comments: 49
14
Steve Drake said he is one of the Directors of Habitat for Humanity, who is requesting 1
HOME Funds. He said Habitat builds several homes annually in Orange County, and sells 2
them to eligible families at an affordable price. He said one of the reasons this work can be 3
done is due to the Orange County HOME funds. He said Habitat uses these funds as second 4
mortgage assistance, which reduces the overall price of the homes, making them more 5
affordable for the families. He said Habitat is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, and 6
looks forward to building its 300th home. 7
Regina Miller said she became a homeowner through Habitat five months ago. She 8
said she is a single mother of two, who moved here after a divorce and lived with family. She 9
said she had stable employment and salary, but her bank would only lend her a small amount. 10
She searched for many homes in her price range, and found one an hour away. She said she 11
was so defeated, but then found out about Habitat, applied for a home and was able to become 12
a homeowner. She said Habitat’s programming was incredibly helpful in building some 13
confidence to advocate for funds for Habitat, and for her future neighbors. 14
Anna Marie Pellett said she is currently employed by UNC Healthcare as a 15
housekeeper. She said she has lived in Chapel Hill for 12 years, and has endured rental price 16
gouging. She said she found a flyer at her job for senior housing through Habitat at what is 17
now Crescent Magnolia. She said her application was processed and approved in 2017, while 18
the property was still under construction. She said she had such faith in Habitat for Humanity to 19
bring this project to fruition, and her closing date is in September 2019. She said she is here to 20
speak on behalf of her future neighbors, and Habitat has stepped up the game for senior 21
housing for aging in place in Orange County. She said elderly citizens matter, and aging in 22
place is possible when affordable housing is available. She asked if the BOCC would continue 23
to support Habitat in its good and important work. She said she has received education, 24
resources, and dignity from this wonderful organization. 25
John Lyon said he and his wife will be closing on their home in the fall, as part of the 26
Crescent Magnolia community. He said by working with Orange County Aging Department and 27
support groups he found out about this community. He said if he could find a handicap 28
accessible home, the Department on Aging would bring in services to help him and his wife, 29
who has dementia. He said they attended Habitat owners’ classes and sweat equity classes, 30
and are able to have all their needs met through this new community. He thanked the BOCC 31
for its support of Habitat, and asked if it would continue to do so. 32
Doug Call said Habitat will be completing its 300th home this year, and he invited the 33
BOCC to the dedication of the first eight units at Crescent Magnolia scheduled for the second 34
weekend in July. He said he volunteers at Habitat and is on the Board of Directors and 35
Chairman of the Advocacy Committee. He said a safe and affordable home has untold value 36
and impact. 37
Corey Root said she is the Coordinator of the Partnership to End Homelessness 38
(PTEH), which is a partnership between entities and service providers. She thanked the BOCC 39
for providing rapid re-housing from the HOME funds last year. She said the PTEH conducts a 40
gap analysis of the homeless service system annually. She said rapid re-housing is a gap that 41
has increased since last year. She said rapid re-housing is short-term financial assistance, 42
support services, and housing identification. She said rapid re-housing is the number one gap, 43
and the PTEH has looked at its budget to look at a fully funded program, which would be 44
$1,074,150 to serve 90 households. She said there is a list of 99 households who are currently 45
connected with service providers, and 97 would be appropriate for rapid re-housing. She said 46
the system is ready to go, and a robust, best-practice model program is all that is needed. 47
Delores Bailey, Executive Director of EmPowerment, Inc., thanked the Board of County 48
Commissioners for suggesting funding for acquisitions for their rental program. She said 49
15
through the support of all local entities, as well as partner organizations, EmPowerment’s 1
affordable rental inventory will rise to at least 57 units by the end of the next fiscal cycle. 2
Commissioner Price referred to the list of community development priorities, and asked 3
if “clearance and revitalization” could be made a higher priority within this generally low priority 4
area. 5
Commissioner Price said in the homelessness category, she would like to stress the 6
importance of keeping families together whenever possible. 7
Sherrill Hampton said 2015 Consolidated Plan was completed before she worked for the 8
County, and the Housing Department will be working with the collaborative and making the RFP 9
in the fall, which can look at all of the information that came out of MAP and other data sources. 10
Commissioner Dorosin said he is the BOCC representative on the HOME committee, 11
and gave kudos to Sherrill Hampton. 12
Commissioner Dorosin called out EmPowerment as an exemplary service provider, and 13
said the Board set priorities, and one in particular was affordable rental housing. He said 14
Empowerment is the provider that has really been able to provide direction and resources for 15
rental housing. He said this is difficult and expensive, but crucial, work. He said EmPowerment 16
is becoming a Certified Housing Development Organization (CHDO), which is an intensive 17
process. He said EmPowerment is the only organization to take on this process, and it will 18
bring additional resources to this work. 19
Commissioner Dorosin said the TBRA program is targeted at rental housing, and the 20
rapid re-housing is a tremendous gap in addressing the issue of homelessness. He said there 21
is so much work yet to do, but he is thrilled to see the County focusing on the most critical 22
needs. 23
Commissioner Greene said Corey Root is a doing a tremendous job at the 24
homelessness program coordinator, and in these past two months there have been 9 people 25
moved from homelessness to housing. 26
Sherrill Hampton said the Board has allowed staff and their partners to be innovative, 27
and not many places have local vouchers like Orange County does. She said Orange County 28
has the cooperation and opportunities to enhance this creativity. 29
Chair Rich echoed the comments already made. She said the local voucher program 30
will be a great story to promote, as Orange County can be a leader in this realm. 31
32
A motion was made by Commissioner Greene, seconded by Commissioner Bedford to 33
close the Public Hearing. 34
35
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 36
37
6. Regular Agenda 38
a. 2020 Census Complete Count Committee 39
The Board considered establishing a 2020 Census Complete Count Committee 40
consisting of a group of community volunteers and local government elected officials and staff 41
dedicated to increasing awareness and motivating residents to respond to the 2020 Census. 42
Todd McGee, Community Relations Director, presented this item: 43
44
BACKGROUND: The United States Census is conducted every 10 years as directed by the 45
U.S. Constitution. With more than 300 million people in the United States, the U.S. Census 46
Bureau cannot conduct the census alone and encourages communities to create a local 47
Complete Count Committee (CCC). 48
49
16
The population totals from the census determine the number of seats each state receives in the 1
U.S. House of Representatives. States and local governments use the totals to redraw districts 2
for governing boards, including legislatures, school boards, municipal boards and county 3
commissions. More than $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to states and communities 4
each year based on census data. An accurate count will ensure that Orange County residents 5
receives fair and accurate representation at all levels of government and that the County 6
receives all entitled federal funds that support such initiatives as housing, public health and 7
education. 8
9
Attachment 1 includes proposed membership for an Orange County CCC. The proposed 10
members represent a broad spectrum of government and community leaders from business, 11
non-profits, faith-based organizations and other community members. 12
13
Two target groups: children to be included in the counts and non- English population. 14
15
The CCC will meet monthly beginning in summer 2019 to develop and implement a 2020 16
Census awareness campaign to encourage residents to respond. The CCC will focus on hard-17
to-reach communities to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 Census. Everyone counts in 18
Orange County. 19
20
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The CCC will create marketing materials such as posters, flyers, utility 21
bill inserts, etc., which will be shared with community partners. Funding totaling $1,500 is 22
included in the Manager’s 2019-20 Recommended Budget in the Community Relations 23
Department. 24
25
Commissioner Price said the proposed list is a starting point, and it is the hope that each 26
person will be able to reach out to others and have a domino effect. She said most of this 27
count is to be done online but they will be working with resources for Internet access. 28
Commissioner Greene suggested including Katie Murray, asking her to reach out to 29
schools or community centers and families and kids through arts and crafts projects about the 30
census. 31
Commissioner Dorosin said this is a great idea, and this list is the core community but 32
stressed the need to add to the core group more non-native language residents. He suggested 33
asking department heads to use their seat for the non-English speaking community. 34
Commissioner Price said there is a representative from El Centro. 35
Todd McGee said there are different departments with expertise in these special 36
communities (the Health Department, in particular), and staff will reach out to them for ideas 37
and input. 38
Commissioner Dorosin said he wants these people to actually be on the committee. He 39
said there is a suspicion of the government in general and, if a department as a native non-40
English speaker, their involvement could do a lot to build trust. He said Orange County is a 41
highly educated community, and those people will fill out the census. He said the County needs 42
to focus on reaching the unreached, which will be even more critical this year, as people are 43
fearful. 44
Commissioner Price said some of this is a matter of protocol, and each jurisdiction can 45
appoint whom it deems best. She said she hopes that each of these people on the list would 46
help the group to grow the list effectively. 47
Commissioner Dorosin said to tell all on the list that it is a high priority to have non-48
English representation. 49
17
Todd McGee said staff will utilize resources in the other governments, and ask them to 1
reach out to anyone who may have inroads with hard to reach communities. 2
Commissioner Dorosin said childcare service association should be added to the core 3
list. 4
Bonnie Hammersley said the County representatives from the various departments are 5
on there because they have list serves of faith-based communities, children, childcare, etc. 6
She said she is hearing that the Board would like to have someone else on the list from their 7
departments that have contacts in the minority communities. 8
Commissioner Marcoplos said he appreciated Commissioner Dorosin’s comments and 9
the Family Success Alliance would be a great start, and it may be a good idea to have a youth 10
or two on this core committee. 11
Commissioner Greene said the refugee community says “TBD,” and asked if clarification 12
could be provided. 13
Todd McGee said he has reached out, but has not heard back. He said this is an 14
important gap, and he will continue to pursue this. 15
Commissioner Price said the City of Chicago is putting forth millions of dollars into this 16
effort, but Orange County is only putting in $1500. She said she is hopeful that the other 17
municipalities will contribute. 18
Todd McGee said staff is thinking about a utility bill insert about the census. 19
Commissioner Bedford asked if the committee will keep the Board updated on the need 20
for more funding as its meetings get underway. 21
Chair Rich asked if Justice United should be included. She said one of the fastest 22
growing populations is the Asian American community, and suggested reaching out to Chapel 23
Hill Town Council member Hongbin Gu. She also said to reach out to the schools about 24
teaching a unit on the census. 25
26
A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Marcoplos 27
to approve the establishment of an Orange County Complete Count Committee–specifically 28
reaching out and recruiting non-native speaking residents to be on this core committee as 29
designees and two youth members and Katie Murray, and to be chaired by Vice Chair Renee 30
Price as recommended by Chair Penny Rich. 31
32
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 33
34
b. Comments on the Draft FY20 Work Plan for Orange County Transit Services and 35
Approval of Participation in a Commuter Rail Feasibility Study 36
The Board provided comments on the Draft FY20 Work Plan for Orange County Transit 37
Services and to consider participating in a feasibility study for commuter rail in the Triangle 38
region at a cost of $75,000. All projects in the Draft Work Plan are funded using Dedicated 39
Transit Revenues, and sufficient funding would be available to participate in the commuter rail 40
feasibility study using those funds. 41
42
Travis Myren made the following presentation: 43
44
BACKGROUND: Each year, the Staff Working Group for Orange County reviews projects 45
included in the Orange County Transit Plan and recommends a specific, annual work plan to 46
implement those projects. Like the Capital Investment Plan, the Transit Plan serves as the long 47
range framework for transit investments while the annual work plan identifies the specific 48
projects and amounts that will be budgeted for those projects in the coming fiscal year. 49
50
18
The Staff Working Group includes representatives of the County, the Durham-Chapel Hill-1
Carrboro Metropolitan Transportation Organization (DCHC MPO), and GoTriangle as 2
prescribed by the 2012 Interlocal Implementation Agreement for the Orange County Bus and 3
Rail Investment Plan. The recommended FY20 Work Plan was released for a 21-day public 4
comment period on May 9, 2019 by the DCHC MPO. The public comment period will end on 5
May 30, 2019. 6
7
Upon completion of the public comment period and subsequent Work Plan adjustments, the 8
Staff Working Group will make a recommendation to the GoTriangle Board of Trustees which 9
administers the Transit Tax District Funds and adopts the Work Plan as part of the GoTriangle 10
Annual Budget. 11
12
The draft FY20 Draft Work Plan is the first to be recommended following the discontinuation of 13
the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project. No funding is recommended in the FY20 Draft Work 14
Plan for this project. The Draft Work Plan contains several highlights that are intended to revise 15
the long term strategy for public transportation in Orange County and result in a revised Orange 16
County Transit Plan. Specific highlights include: 17
18
1. Funding to Develop a New Orange County Transit Plan 19
The Work Plan recommends an initial investment of $500,000 to facilitate the process of 20
creating a new Transit Plan. Using this framework, the County would provide funding to a third 21
party consultant to assist with the transportation planning elements of the plan and to 22
coordinate a public information process according to direction provided by Orange County. The 23
contracting process may flow through the DCHC MPO to provide regional context while a local 24
oversight group will guide and define local priorities. If this initial investment is approved, a more 25
detailed scope will be developed in cooperation with the County’s regional and local transit 26
stakeholders, and a more detailed cost estimate will be established. 27
28
2. Future Funding Flexibility 29
The FY20 Draft Work Plan does not spend all of the available estimated revenue. The Draft 30
Plan currently projects a surplus of $3.8 million for FY20. These funds will rollover to future 31
years and would be invested in the new transit priorities identified through the new Transit Plan. 32
33
3. Mobility on Demand 34
The recommendations for Orange County Public Transit include the initial investments to 35
advance a “mobility on demand” model to better and more efficiently serve the less densely 36
populated portions of the County. This model will also be leveraged to serve the commuting 37
population through the use of van pools and other smaller, more flexible modes of 38
transportation. 39
40
Proposed Participation in the Triangle Commuter Rail Feasibility Study 41
The Transit Plans adopted by Wake County and Durham County included initial investments in 42
a Commuter Rail Transit (CRT) project. Commuter Rail Transit uses existing railroad tracks to 43
provide passenger rail service focused on peak commuting times. The initial scope of this 44
project is envisioned to run thirty-seven (37) miles from Garner to downtown Raleigh, N.C. 45
State University, Cary, Morrisville and the Research Triangle Park continuing to Durham. The 46
longer term vision for this system would extend commuter rail service through Orange County 47
to Alamance County. 48
49
19
After the Draft Work Plan was developed, the GoTriangle Board of Trustees discussed 1
including Orange County in the initial feasibility study to extend commuter rail in the Triangle 2
region. 3
4
GoTriangle has requested $75,000 in dedicated transit revenues to expand the scope of the 5
feasibility study to include Orange County. As a feasibility study, the study elements are 6
intended to provide policy makers with information to assess whether the project should 7
proceed and, if so, at what size and scope. These elements would include establishing the 8
purpose and need for the project, modelling ridership, analyzing capacity, developing initial 9
capital and operating and maintenance cost estimates, developing a stakeholder and public 10
outreach plan, assessing project delivery methods, and evaluating existing conditions. The 11
study would evaluate a total of six (6) commuter rail scenarios. Three of these scenarios would 12
include service extensions into Orange, Johnston and Alamance counties. If any of these 13
counties elect to participate, each County would be asked to contribute to the cost of the study. 14
The study is expected to be completed during the 2019 calendar year. 15
16
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The Draft FY20 Work Plan recommends a total of $5.8 million in public 17
transportation investments to be funded with Dedicated Transit Revenues. The Board is being 18
asked to provide comments on these recommendations and to recommend the addition of 19
$75,000 in Dedicated Transit Revenues to participate in a Commuter Rail Feasibility Study. 20
Sufficient dedicated transit revenues are available to fund this addition. 21
22
Travis Myren made the following PowerPoint presentation: 23
24
Draft FY20 Work Plan for Transit Services in Orange County: Comment and Amendment 25
Board of Orange County Commissioners 26
May 21, 2019 27
28
Purpose 29
• Provide Comments on the FY20 Draft Work Plan for Transit Services as Outlined in the 30
Orange County Transit Plan 31
• Consider Participation in a Feasibility Study for Commuter Rail in the Triangle Region 32
• All Elements of the FY20 Draft Work Plan are Funded with Dedicated Transit Revenue 33
34
Relationship to the 2017 OC Transit Plan 35
• 2017 Orange County Transit Plan 36
• Broad Projects, Cost Estimates, Goals and Objectives 37
• Adopted by the Board of Orange County Commissioners 38
• Annual Work Plan 39
• Specific Projects, Budget Estimates 40
• Recommended by the Staff Working Group 41
• Approved by the GoTriangle Board of Trustees in Budget 42
• Local Budget and Project Implementation 43
• Executed Projects, Actual Expenditures 44
• Recommended by the County/Town Managers - Revenue Recognized in FY 45
Budget 46
• Approved by the Town Council/Board of Orange County Commissioners 47
Dedicated Transit Revenues 48
• Dedicated Transit Revenues Fund Work Plan-table 49
50
20
Proposed Expenditure Summary 1
• Expenditures Fund Services, Administration, Capital – table 2
3
Draft Work Plan Highlights 4
• 1st Work Plan since the Discontinuation of Durham-Orange Light Rail Project 5
• Development of New Orange County Transit Plan 6
o Third Party Consultant 7
Transportation Planning Elements 8
Public Input Process 9
o Contract through DCHC Metropolitan Planning Organization 10
Maintain Regional Perspective 11
Establish Local Steering Committee for Local Priorities 12
o Scope of Services Developed with Transit Stakeholders 13
More Detailed Cost Estimate 14
• Future Funding Flexibility 15
o Draft Plan Allocates $5.8 million of Projected $9.6 million Revenue 16
Funds Carry Forward to Next Fiscal Year 17
Chapel Hill Bus Rapid Transit – 50% of Non-Federal Share (Add $8 18
million) 19
Accomplished through Plan Amendment 20
• Mobility on Demand 21
o OCPT Initiative Following Short Range Transit Planning 22
More Flexible and Efficient Service to Less Dense Areas 23
Focus on Commuter Options 24
• Request to Fund Feasibility Study for Commuter Rail 25
o Orange County Contribution of $75,000 26
Should Project Proceed? 27
Size and Scope 28
Public Input 29
Ridership, Capacity, Initial Costs, Project Delivery 30
31
Funded Projects 32
• Services Project List – see page 15 of packet (chart) 33
• Administration Project List – see page 15 of packet (chart) 34
• Capital Project List – see page 15 of packet (chart) 35
36
Commissioner Greene asked what the Hillsborough Transfer Center was. 37
Theo Letman said this will be a transfer point for all three transit services to meet up. 38
Currently the stop they use was recently purchased and buses are not allowed and thus Go T is 39
researching other options. 40
41
Decision Items 42
• Provide Comments on Draft FY20 Work Plan 43
Staff to Formally Communicate Comments 44
• Add $75,000 to Draft FY20 Work Plan to Participate in Commuter Rail Feasibility Study 45
46
Commissioner Price referred to table 2 on page 7, and asked if there is a reason why 47
Durham and Orange would be paying the same amount for the administration positions. 48
Travis Myren said though Durham County is larger, both counties tend to have the same 49
amount of transactions. 50
21
Commissioner Dorosin referred to the $500,000 for the study, and asked if this is 1
comparable to what was paid last time, and if it will go out to bid. 2
Travis Myren said in 2010 GoTriangle had this in its budget, but this year it would go 3
through a competitive RFP process. He said $500,000 is an estimate. 4
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the idea is that the consultant would be hired in the fall 5
and have a year to complete the work. 6
Travis Myren said a year to 18 months is the estimated timeframe, and the Board would 7
be provided updates and information sessions. 8
Commissioner Dorosin asked if, in the interim, the existing transit plan would continue, 9
just without the light rail. 10
Travis Myren said yes. He said some existing projects have been expedited, and the 11
plan can always be amended should new opportunities arise in the meantime. 12
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the roughly $3.87 million will be banked, or used, in the 13
meantime. 14
Travis Myren said any of those options could be done, or the funds could wait for the 15
new proposed investment in the new plan. 16
Commissioner Dorosin referred to the bus rapid transit (BRT), and said there are 17
deadlines coming up this fall. He asked if this local commitment needs to be in place by 18
November. 19
Travis Myren said the non-federal share will need to be demonstrated sometime in 20
August, but since this can be over multiple years in the plan, staff thought a better vehicle would 21
be to use a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chapel Hill to lay out how the money 22
would flow, and for which years. 23
Commissioner Dorosin referred to the commuter rail idea, and said it would be helpful to 24
understand what this vision might be. 25
Travis Myren said multiple trains would run at peak times. 26
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the Orange County stop would be in Hillsborough. 27
Commissioner Marcoplos said the study would find out this information. 28
Commissioner Dorosin said he understands commuter rail to get people to and from 29
work at the beginning and end of the day. 30
Commissioner Marcoplos said a schedule designed to serve the short route, which 31
would share tracks with the trains running from Raleigh to Charlotte. 32
Chair Rich said sometimes freight trains can delay passenger trains, and asked if the 33
study would take those questions into account. 34
Commissioner Marcoplos said he hoped so. 35
Commissioner Dorosin asked if it would be same train running from Raleigh to 36
Charlotte, just with additional stops. 37
Commissioner Marcoplos said the train would be on the same track but would be a 38
different train. He said there is an $850,000 study, and Orange County is asked to put in 39
$75,000 as is Alamance and Johnston counties. He said Wake and Durham as well as the NC 40
railroad have also been asked to put in money. He said the NC Railroad caused some 41
problems with the light rail, but has voiced strong commitment to this project. He said the study 42
will provide much needed information. 43
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the study will be done by an outside consultant or 44
GoTriangle. 45
Commissioner Marcoplos said an outside consultant. 46
Commissioner Marcoplos said there is a notion going around that this is the transit plan 47
that they have been waiting for, and this is not that, but rather is just business as usual. He 48
said the actual transit plan will evolve out of this process. He said there is another notion that 49
Orange County will be subsumed by a regional transit plan. He said it would be crazy for 50
22
Orange County to break away from its regional partners, and the County can also continue to 1
do local transit work. 2
Commissioner McKee referred to the 50% non-federal share for BRT in Chapel Hill, and 3
asked if some of the unused overage of $3.8 million could be applied to this $8 million request. 4
Travis Myren said yes, and any resources that are available in this plan, or any future 5
plans, can be used to help pay for BRT. 6
Commissioner McKee clarified that this needs to be done by August. 7
Travis Myren said yes. 8
Chair Rich said she does not know how this can happen when the Board does not meet 9
in August. 10
Commissioner McKee said exactly. He said BRT has received less priority in recent 11
years because of the focus on light rail, and this is an opportunity to start pushing BRT towards 12
the front. He wants the public to be aware of what is happening, as the taxes still exist and the 13
revenue is sitting in waiting. 14
Commissioner McKee said the $500,000 for the for the transit planning goes to the third 15
party consultant, and asked if it is known to whom this person would be responsible. 16
Travis Myren said there would be a project manager with the Metropolitan Planning 17
Organization (MPO ), and a local steering or policy committee. He said it will likely be like a 18
Nelson firm; broad based firm. 19
Commissioner McKee said he wants to make sure that the consultants involved with 20
creating plan B were not heavily involved with plan A. 21
Commissioner Bedford said since this commuter rail will be diesel, she would like to add 22
an environmental caveat, as relates to climate change. 23
Commissioner Bedford said as the Orange County transit plan is created through the 24
DCHO MPO, is it possible to ensure that it connects with Alamance and Chatham. 25
Travis Myren said part of Chatham is in the DCHO MPO, but when traffic and 26
commuting patterns are examined, Alamance County is certainly relevant and gets picked up. 27
He said Theo Letman, Orange County Transit Director, is working with the City of Mebane to 28
see if there are services that can be provided within the City, or getting to the City, which makes 29
sense from a ridership perspective. 30
Commissioner Bedford asked if it could be part of the RFP. 31
Travis Myren said yes. 32
Commissioner Bedford referred to the interlocal implementation agreement for Orange 33
County bus and rail investment plan, and said tonight’s conversation just refers to the annual 34
plan. She said she is glad that Chapel Hill transit is involved, and having all transit operators at 35
the table is important. 36
Commissioner Bedford said the sales tax can only be used for newer expanded service, 37
per the General Assembly, and asked if there is a way to interpret this language to use these 38
dedicated transit taxes towards being more environmentally proactive in transit. 39
Commissioner Bedford said the BOCC is trying to balance the needs of their current 40
residents, such as the handicapped and elderly, and the future land use planning for the 41
residents. She said she hopes the consultant will focus on this balancing act as well. 42
Commissioner Marcoplos said Chapel Hill and Carrboro have always been represented 43
in all discussions at the DCHO MPO. 44
Commissioner Bedford said these towns are not listed as part of the working groups, 45
unless bus is on it. 46
Travis Myren said they are not a party to the interlocal implementation agreement. 47
48
PUBLIC COMMENT: 49
23
David Laudicina said Hillsborough has always been part of the plan for the future. He 1
said he lived outside Philadelphia for many years, and used commuter rail. He said there are 2
so many options of what is possible, and there is a rail line that goes right up to UNC, through 3
Carrboro and all the way up to the NC railroad. He said the potential is huge, and we cannot 4
continue to rely solely on I-40. 5
Commissioner Greene asked if assumptions about would be made for ridership. She 6
said she if she worked at UNC and lived in Burlington, she would not take a train from 7
Burlington to Hillsborough unless she knew there was a reliable and frequent bus to get her 8
from Hillsborough to UNC. 9
Travis Myren said typically connection points would be analyzed. He said he will make 10
sure this is included. 11
Commissioner McKee said Commissioner Greene’s comment was a good one, and 12
getting alternate modes of transportation will be critical as the area is only growing. 13
14
A motion was made by Commissioner Marcoplos, seconded by Commissioner McKee 15
for the Board provide comments on the Draft FY20 Work Plan for transit services in Orange 16
County and consider adding $75,000 in dedicated transit revenues to participate in a feasibility 17
study for commuter rail in the Triangle region. 18
19
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 20
21
7. Reports 22
NONE 23
24
8. Consent Agenda 25
26
• Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda 27
• Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda 28
29
A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Greene to 30
approve the items on the consent agenda. 31
32
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 33
34
a. Minutes 35
The Board approved the minutes from April 16, 23 and May 2, 2019 as submitted by the Clerk 36
to the Board. 37
b. Property Tax Releases/Refunds 38
The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release the property tax 39
value for five taxpayers with a total of eight bills that will result in a reduction of revenue in 40
accordance with North Carolina General Statute 105-381. 41
c. Authorize the Manager to Sign and Execute an Agreement with VISIONS, Inc. 42
The Board authorized the Manager to sign an agreement with VISIONS, Inc. for Diversity, 43
Equity and Inclusion Training and Consulting Services based on the Manager’s 44
recommendations regarding a three-year/three-phase training and consulting process 45
administered by VISIONS, Inc. and encompassing all employees. 46
d. Award of Emergency Services Stand-Alone Efland Station Professional Services 47
Agreement 48
The Board approved the County entering into a Professional Services Agreement with Stewart-49
Cooper-Newell Architecture of Gastonia, NC for the design and construction administration of 50
24
the Emergency Services Stand-Alone Efland Station capital project upon final review of the 1
County Attorney; and authorize the County Manager to execute the Agreement and to execute 2
any subsequent design amendments for contingent and unforeseen design requirements up to 3
the approved budget amount on behalf of the Board. 4
e. Fiscal Year 2018-19 Budget Amendment #9 5
The Board approved budget ordinance amendments for fiscal year 2018-19 for Animal Services 6
and Department of Social Services. 7
f. Approval of Budget Amendment #9-A for Piedmont Food Processing Center Freezer 8
Installation 9
The Board approved Budget Amendment #9-A for the Piedmont Food Processing Center 10
Freezer Installation. 11
g. Application for North Carolina Education Lottery Proceeds for Orange County 12
Schools (OCS) and Contingent Approval of Budget Amendment #9-B Related to OCS 13
Capital Project Ordinances 14
The Board approved, and authorized the Chair to sign, an application to the North Carolina 15
Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to release proceeds from the NC Education Lottery 16
account related to FY 2018-19 debt service payments for Orange County Schools (OCS), and 17
to approve Budget Amendment #9-B (amended School Capital Project Ordinances), contingent 18
on the NCDPI’s approval of the application. 19
20
9. County Manager’s Report 21
Bonnie Hammersley said the first budget work session is this Thursday, May 23rd, with 22
the second being next Thursday, May 30th. 23
24
10. County Attorney’s Report 25
John Roberts said the Board has asked for more information on the bills from the 26
Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), and he sent out some information last week. He 27
said these bills will be discussed in committee this Thursday. He said committee hearings are 28
often helpful to get extra information. 29
30
11. *Appointments 31
NONE 32
33
12. Information Items 34
• May 2, 2019 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List 35
• FY 2018-19 Third Quarter Financial Report 36
37
13. Closed Session – ADDED: CHAIR RICH 38
39
A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin to 40
go into closed session at 9:45 p.m. for the purposes below: 41
42
"To consult with an attorney retained by the Board in order to preserve the attorney-client 43
privilege between the attorney and the Board.” “N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(3) 44
45
“To discuss matters related to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the 46
area served by the public body, including agreement on a tentative list of economic 47
development incentives that may be offered by the public body in negotiations,” NCGS § 143-48
318.11(a)(4).) 49
50
25
“To consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of 1
appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or 2
prospective public officer or employee” NCGS § 143-318.11(a) (6). 3
4
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 5
6
RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION 7
A motion was made by Commissioner McKee seconded by Commissioner Dorosin to 8
reconvene into regular session at 10:10pm. 9
10
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 11
12
14. Adjournment 13
14
A motion was made by Commissioner McKee seconded by Commissioner Dorosin to adjourn 15
the meeting at 10:10pm. 16
17
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 18
19
Penny Rich, Chair 20
Donna Baker 21
Clerk to the Board 22
23
1
Attachment 2 1
2
DRAFT MINUTES 3
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 4
BUDGET WORK SESSION 5
May 23, 2019 6
7:00 p.m. 7
8
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a budget work session on Thursday, May 9
23, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. 10
11
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Penny Rich and Commissioners 12
Jamezetta Bedford, Mark Dorosin, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, Mark Marcoplos and Renee 13
Price 14
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: 15
COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: None 16
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager 17
Travis Myren and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified 18
appropriately below) 19
20
Chair Rich called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 21
22
1. FY 2019-20 Operating and CIP Budget Discussions, with: 23
• Durham Technical Community College, Pg. 148 & 199 24
• Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Pg. 148& 153 25
• Orange County Schools, Pg. 148& 173 26
27
BACKGROUND: The County Manager presented the FY2019-20 recommended budget on 28
May 2, 2019. Since that time, the Board has conducted two public hearings to receive residents’ 29
comments regarding the proposed funding plan. Tonight’s work session is the first opportunity 30
the Board has had to discuss next year’s recommended funding plan related to Education 31
funding. 32
33
County Support of Local Boards of Education 34
The recommended funding level represents a total appropriation for both school districts of 35
$113.2 million, which is 49.5 percent of General Fund revenues, 1.4 percent above the target of 36
48.1 percent established by the Board of County Commissioners. This includes funding for 37
current expense, school related debt service, school health and safety service contracts, 38
schools deferred maintenance funds, and school equity training funds. 39
40
Total Funding for Local School Districts: 41
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20*
Original
Budget
$98,488,46
9
$102,727,14
1
$104,274,75
7
$109,141,51
9
$113,230,85
9
*Recommended Budget 42
43
Student Enrollment Projections for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools: 44
Based on DPI projections, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District enrollment for fiscal 45
year 2019-20 totals 12,355, reflecting a decrease of 119 when compared to the March 2018 46
projections. The district has a current enrollment, as of March 2019, of 169 charter students, 47
2
which represents an increase of 14 students from March 2018. Out of district students are 1
budgeted at 250, 8 more than budgeted in the current fiscal year. This brings the total district 2
enrollment to 12,274 for FY 2019-20. 3
4
Student Enrollment Projections for the Orange County Schools: 5
Based on DPI projections, the Orange County School district enrollment for fiscal year 2019-20 6
totals 7,388, an increase of 43 students from the March 2018 projections. The district continues 7
to experience a growing number of charter students, with a current enrollment, as of March 8
2019, of 843 students, which represents an increase of 74 students from March 2018. Out of 9
district students are budgeted at 97 students; 6 less than budgeted in the current fiscal year. 10
This brings the total district enrollment to 8,134 for FY 2019-20. 11
12
The General Assembly requires school systems to pay a per pupil allotment to support charter 13
students within their district. 14
15
Current Expense 16
The recommended appropriations for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City and Orange County Schools 17
increase the current expense funding by $3,613,050 in FY 2019-20. This includes an increase 18
in per pupil funding from $4,165 to $4,340, a $175 increase for each of the 20,408 students in 19
the two school systems. This increase is to help cover the cost of both school systems for 20
mandated increases related to State mandated teacher pay raises and all other locally paid 21
school employees, and increases in Retirement and Health Insurance for FY 2019-20. Local 22
Current Expense funding supplements State and Federal funds received by each district for the 23
day-to-day operation of schools. Examples of expenses paid from these funds include salaries 24
and benefits for locally paid teachers and utilities. North Carolina statutes mandate boards of 25
county commissioners to provide local current expense monies to school districts. Counties 26
having more than one school administrative unit, as is the case in Orange County, are required 27
to provide equal per pupil appropriations to each system. 28
29
2019-20 Enrollment Projections 30
31
CHCCS OCS Total
March 2019 Department of Public Instruction ADM
Allotment #s
12,355 7,388 19,743
Less: Out of District (250) (97) (347)
12,105 7,291 19,396
Plus: Budgeted Charter Students 169 843 1,012
Total Budgeted Students 12,274 8,134 20,408
60.14% 39.86%
32
School Debt Service 33
The recommended budget provides for $17,770,542 in School Related Debt Service, which 34
represents repayment of principal and interest on School related debt, including general 35
obligation bonds and private placement loans. North Carolina statutes require counties to pay 36
for school related capital items, such as acquisition and construction of facilities. In instances 37
where counties borrow funds to pay for such items, the State mandates counties to repay the 38
debt. The amount of money counties borrow for school related projects is discretionary and 39
varies from county to county. 40
41
3
Health and Safety Service Contracts 1
The recommended budget includes $3,629,597 for the Health and Safety Service Contracts for 2
both school districts to cover the costs of School Resource Officers in every middle and high 3
school, and a School Health Nurse in every elementary, middle, and high school in both school 4
systems. 5
6
Deferred Maintenance Funds for School Capital Projects 7
The recommended budget includes $3,000,000 allocated by ADM towards deferred 8
maintenance needs as addressed in both school districts’ assessment of older facilities in the 9
following amounts: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools appropriation of $1,804,200, and Orange 10
County Schools appropriation of $1,195,800. 11
12
School Equity Training 13
The recommended budget also includes $260,000 towards Foundational Equity Training which 14
consists of the following: REI-Ground Water training will provide an historical context related to 15
racism and its fundamental impacts on organizations; and Beyond Diversity training which will 16
provide an in-depth analysis of systemic issues as they relate directly to schools and their 17
communities. It will allow participants to practice their learning in the context of their work in 18
schools. 19
20
School Districts Budget Requests 21
Both School Districts requested increases in per pupil funding for FY 2019-20. 22
23
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools requested an increase of $485.00. This requested increase 24
in the local per pupil allocation for current expenses would increase the per pupil allocation to 25
$4,650. This funding level would represent an increase of $5,530,872 in the current expense for 26
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. 27
28
Orange County Schools requested an increase of $273.00. This requested increase in the local 29
per pupil allocation for current expenses would increase the per pupil allocation to $4,438. This 30
funding level would represent an increase in the current expense for Orange County Schools of 31
$2,729,117. 32
33
County Support of Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community College 34
The recommended funding for the Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community 35
College, located at the Waterstone Development in Hillsborough, provides current expense 36
funding of $723,256, recurring capital of $75,000, and debt service payments of $242,108. In 37
addition, the recommended budget includes $200,000 for 200 scholarships (student tuition for 38
Orange County Residents), which will be paid from Article 46 Sales Tax proceeds instead of 39
through Current Expenses. 40
41
As with local school districts, counties in North Carolina are responsible for supplementing state 42
and federal appropriations to community colleges. For the most part, counties are responsible 43
for day-to-day operating costs such as utilities, security and custodial services. The Counties 44
are not responsible for funding of teaching staff. 45
46
Capital Investment Plan 47
The FY 2019-24 Manager Recommended Capital Investment Plan includes funding of 48
$8,689,391 in FY 2019-20, and a 5-Year total of $39,903,779, for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City 49
Schools; and funding of $25,823,215 in FY 2019-20, and a 5-Year total of $56,604,739 for 50
4
Orange County Schools. Note: these amounts have been revised from the Original 1
Recommended Capital Investment Plan to reflect the revised ADM%, as included in the FY 2
2019-20 Manager Recommended Operating Budget. 3
4
The Manager Recommended Capital Investment Plan includes funding of $26,547,911 for a 5
new Academic Building and parking in Years 6-10 for Durham Technical Community College – 6
Orange County Campus. 7
8
Details regarding recommended funding levels for local school districts and Durham Technical 9
Community College are located in the Education section of the budget document, beginning on 10
Page 148. 11
12
During tonight’s work session, Commissioners will have the opportunity to dialogue with the 13
Durham Technical Community College, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and Orange County 14
Schools about county funding and anticipated State funding for schools next year. Attachments 15
A, B, and C provide additional information of how Orange County compares with other counties 16
within North Carolina related to Current Expense funding per pupil and other educational related 17
funding issues; Attachment D provides a history of the Per Pupil Appropriation; Attachment E 18
provides a history of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools District Tax, Attachment F 19
represents the School Districts Local Current Expense Fund Balance Policy, and Attachment G 20
represents the Capital Investment Plan Schools Projects Summary. 21
22
23 24
5
1 2
3
4 5
6
1 2
3 4
5 6
7
1 2
3 4
5 6
Commissioner Dorosin said he was interested in the salary and benefits. He said it is 7
$8000, which seemed happily low to him. He asked if the number of impacted employees was 8
known. 9
8
Matt Williams, Durham Tech CFO, said Durham Tech was named as a living wage 1
employer last year, and the raise took place at that time. He said only a few people will get a 2
2.5% raise, he said most will get $500, or 1%, per the State’s prediction. He said these funds 3
will cover less than 8 people. 4
Commissioner Bedford referred to the proposed additional recruiter and counselor who 5
would work with both school districts, and clarified that the County funded one of these 6
positions 4 years ago, who works with 4 of the high schools. She asked if there is another 7
person working at Cedar Ridge High School, or if this role is covered under that same first 8
position. She asked what this role entails. 9
Penny Gluck, Executive Dean of the Orange County campus of Durham Tech, said this 10
four years ago the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) funded a public school liaison 11
position that covered both school systems: 5 high schools and 2 alternative high schools. She 12
said this was a lot for one person to do, while attempting to make significant connections with 13
the students and staff. She said Orange County partnered with them on a grant to receive 14
funding for a career coach, and this funding comes partly from Orange County Schools (OCS) 15
and Durham Tech – 25% each, with the grant paying for the rest. She said this grant required 16
a designated school, and in OCS this is Cedar Ridge High School (CRHS). She said this 17
career coach helps 9-12 graders make career decisions. She said this person discussed 18
programming at all of the community colleges, the military, and other career options beyond the 19
scope of Durham Tech. She said this position has been applied for and funded again, and 20
Durham Tech has requested that this position be able to serve Chapel Hill Carrboro City 21
Schools (CHCCS), and allow the original position to serve both OCS high schools. 22
Commissioner Bedford asked if this position would serve 9th -12th graders. 23
Penny Gluck said yes, but works mostly with the juniors and seniors. She said the 24
liaisons will do whatever is needed to help students think about long term planning. She said 25
they explain options for attending Durham Tech, as well as the Career and College Promise 26
Program, which is tuition free for juniors and seniors that are college ready. She said the 27
financial gain for these students is huge. 28
Commissioner Bedford asked if undocumented students pay out of state tuition. 29
Penny Gluck said yes, but Durham Tech is asking the Board to consider some of the 30
short-term, non-credit, training options that are available, as these fees are not based on in-31
state/out-of-state. 32
Commissioner Dorosin asked if this proposal has been approved. 33
Penny Gluck said not yet. She said Durham Tech is asking for a reallocation, within the 34
$200,000 provided for scholarships; as thus far these funds have been for curriculum 35
programming only, but this proposal would include certificate short-term training options that 36
have a track record of good employment outcomes. She said most of these are less than 37
$1000 to complete. 38
Commissioner Dorosin asked if this proposal will be voted on soon. 39
Penny Gluck said the BOCC has to vote on this potential reallocation. 40
Bonnie Hammersley said this will be voted on as part of the budget. 41
Chair Rich asked if the entire $200,000 is being spent. 42
Matt Williams said the $200,000 request is based on projections. He said this year 43
$151,000 was spent for fall and spring. He said it is growing every year, but not as quickly as 44
was expected. 45
Commissioner Bedford asked the school superintendents if, funding this additional 46
person at Durham Tech, would allow the districts to use counselors, etc. for expanded capacity. 47
Dr. Pam Baldwin said that is a hard question to answer, since CHCCS does not have a 48
plan yet; but would work with its counseling department and Durham Tech if this position were 49
funded. 50
9
Dr. Todd Wirt agreed with Superintendent Baldwin, and said OCS has seen some 1
benefits at CRHS from having a full time person on site, which has allowed counselors to focus 2
on other areas of their responsibilities, which are numerous at the high school level. He said as 3
a result there has been explosive growth in the College and Career Promise students. 4
Travis Myren said the Board of County Commissioners originally approved the eligibility 5
criteria, which the BOCC can amend as it so desires. He resumed the PowerPoint 6
presentation: 7
8
9
10
11
12 13
14 15
10
1 2
OCS and CHCCS 3
4
5 6
7 8
Commissioner McKee said he cannot imagine that there will only be a difference of 10 9
more students between this year and next. 10
11
Travis Myren said the charter schools students are up by 88 students, and the number 1
of students in seats is down by 76, which staff believes is driven by an overly aggressive 2
Department of Public Instruction (DPI) projection for CHCCS from last year. He said more 3
students were funded than actually showed up in the seats in CHCCS. He said this happens 4
sometimes. 5
Commissioner Marcoplos said he would find it notable to know how many home 6
schoolers there are, and asked if this number could be provided next year. 7
Dr. Todd Wirt said there were just over 1000 students countywide, last time staff 8
checked. He said the data is not parsed out by school system. 9
10 11
12 13
12
1 2
3 4
5
6 7
13
1 2
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the County pays for a school resource officer (SRO) at 3
every middle and high school. 4
Travis Myren said yes. 5
Commissioner Dorosin asked if there are SROs at the elementary schools. 6
Dr. Todd Wirt said OCS does, and these are paid for with grant funding from DPI. 7
Dr. Pam Baldwin said CHCCS does not, and does not qualify for this same grant 8
funding. 9
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 10
11
12 13
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the information on the previous slides is what totals up 14
to the percentages on the bar graph. 15
Travis Myren said yes, this bar graph includes all of the operating budget monies. He 16
resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 17
18
14
1 2
3
Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the lottery system could be further explained. 4
Travis Myren said these funds are drawn down from the state, and applied to offset debt 5
service. 6
Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the BOCC controls the fund into which the state 7
moneis flow. 8
Travis Myren said state lottery monies go into the state fund, and the County draws it 9
from there. He said he is not sure how that pot of money is established. 10
Paul Laughton, Finance and Administrative Services, said staff receives lottery 11
estimates from the state, and there is a quarterly allocation that the County can go to on the 12
State’s site, to see how much has been received. He said staff then comes to the BOCC most 13
quarters and does a quarterly application for debt service. He said both school boards passed 14
a resolution a few years ago to use the lottery funds as additional pay-go money. He said the 15
districts get the funds, and the County applies for the debt service, which allows the districts to 16
avoid filing with the State for different projects. 17
Travis Myren asked if there is a formula for establishing the amount of money in the first 18
place. 19
Paul Laughton said the lottery sales proceeds are state wide, and were capped at $100 20
million in 2007/2008. He said prior to the cap the County used to receive around $2 million, but 21
now only receives about $1.3 million. 22
Commissioner Greene clarified that the state lottery funds are intended for education, 23
but the General Assembly (GA) has decided to use these funds for other things. 24
Several members said yes. 25
Joal Broun, CHCCS Board Chair, said, in 2008, the GA started raiding the schools’ 26
lottery funds due to the recession. She said the remaining amount of lottery funds go into the 27
general fund. 28
Jennifer Bennett, CHCCS Assistant Superintendent, said it is ADM driven, as far as the 29
allocation that goes out for capital. She said over time more and more of the lottery funds are 30
going to cover other state public school funds-type expenditures that would have normally been 31
general operating funds. She said the schools watch this budgeting process carefully. 32
Chair Rich asked if the ADM count the charter schools. 33
Jennifer Bennett said it is the LEA ADM, as the charter schools are not eligible for 34
capital. 35
36
15
1 2
3 4
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the bond draw will exhaust the bond. 5
Travis Myren said each school would have one more draw left in the 2022. He resumed 6
the PowerPoint presentation. 7
8
9 10
16
1 2
3 4
5 6
17
1 2
3 4
Commissioner Dorosin asked if staff could identify to what amount would a 1-cent 5
increase equal. 6
Travis Myren said around $1.8 million. 7
Commissioner Dorosin asked if staff could identify to what amount would 1-cent on the 8
Chapel Hill district tax equal. 9
Travis Myren said around $1 million. 10
Commissioner Bedford asked if staff is aware what the House is proposing for classified 11
for certified salary increases. 12
Jennifer Bennett said an average of 4.8% for the teachers, and 1% or $500, whichever 13
is higher, for classified staff. She said the Senate budget should come out in the next few 14
weeks. 15
Commissioner Bedford said traditionally the House is friendlier to public education. 16
Jennifer Bennett said it depends, and hopefully the Senate budget will provide more 17
clarity. She said the benefit increases are on target with projections. 18
Commissioner Bedford said, in that case, what would be shortage be for the 19
continuation budget. 20
Jennifer Bennett said the retirement rate will be about the same, and if the classified 21
drops from 3% to 2%, this equals about $100,000 difference. She said she thinks the teacher 22
18
increase will come in at 5%, and the classified close to 2%. She said she will do final 1
calculations once the Senate’s budget is available. 2
Commissioner Dorosin asked if everyone is making a living wage in both school 3
districts. 4
Dr. Todd Wirt said that all OCS employees make a living wage, with the exception of 5
contracted custodians. 6
Jennifer Bennett said CHCCS is paying all a living wage. She said contracted positions 7
were required to provide a living wage through their benefit package. 8
Dr. Todd Wirt said OCS is going to re-bid its custodial contracts, and will be asking for a 9
living wage. 10
Commissioner Dorosin asked if cost comparisons will be done for bringing these 11
services in house. 12
Dr. Todd Wirt said OCS has done these calculations several times, and the costs to 13
bring these services in house around an additional $500,000 to $600,000. 14
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the living wage is covered by the contractor increases its 15
cost for services. 16
Dr. Todd Wirt said yes. 17
Commissioner Bedford clarified that teacher assistants (TAs) are not getting paid for 18
workdays. 19
Dr. Pam Baldwin said TAs were brought back for a few days this year, for professional 20
development, which will continue. 21
Commissioner Bedford said she remembered making cuts to summer programming in 22
CHCS, and now it is down to 15 days. She said she is not sure what OCS has for summer 23
programs, but she is glad that CHCCS is restoring these programs and she is glad that OCS is 24
restoring class sizes in middle school 25
Commissioner Bedford said the State have made serious cuts, and the districts are 26
doing less with less, and there is not enough staff to do the quality work that is needed. She 27
said if $175 does not allow for a continuation budget, she is fearful what will have to be cut next. 28
She said the question of restoring positions has not even been discussed. 29
Dr. Pam Baldwin said CHCCS would have 40 positions that would need to be absorbed 30
through attrition or cut. 31
Dr. Pam Baldwin said CHCCS is looking to write some grants in order to avoid cutting 32
summer programming. She said this programming is so important. 33
Dr. Todd Wirt said this year the budget does meet OCS’ continuation request, and it is 34
seeking to restore some summer programs, etc. this year, but there have been many 35
reductions over the past three or four years in order to meet state mandates and cuts. He said 36
these cuts have been made at the central office whenever possible. 37
Commissioner Bedford referred to capital, and said Mebane is growing. She asked if it 38
is time to look at landbanking in Mebane, especially in consideration of the Economic 39
Development District (EDD) zones. 40
Will Atherton, OCS Board Chair, said absolutely, and OCS is bringing this up now 41
because the problem is inevitable. He said all OCS schools are centralized, and redistricting 42
will not allow for much scale value. He said looking at some of these growth areas will help 43
significantly. 44
Dr. Todd Wirt said the Operations Research and Education Laboratory (OREd) out of 45
NC State, assists schools districts in addressing politically sensitive school planning issues, 46
such as district membership projections, determining the location of new school sites, creating 47
new attendance boundaries, and examining demographic balance in redistricting processes. 48
He said OREd will help OCS in this process. 49
19
Dr. Todd Wirt said OCS has one site that is greatly aged, but the moment OCS takes an 1
aging school offline, a new elementary school would be needed immediately. He said as part of 2
the reassignment process, OREd will help determine the best location for a new school. He said 3
there is growth in Hillsborough, but Mebane has no foreseeable slowing down of its growth. 4
Commissioner Bedford asked if there is also the potential to hook into water and sewer 5
in Mebane. 6
Commissioner Bedford said the County would want to help OCS, and collaborate on 7
finding a good school site. 8
Commissioner Dorosin said it is worth mentioning the Board’s long-term dedication to 9
school funding, and called attention to the agenda attachment: The Public School Forum Local 10
School Finance Study. He said this study ranked Orange County number one in actual dollar 11
effort, as well as in 6-year average capital outlay and debt service, etc. 12
Commissioner Marcoplos said at the last public hearing, it was noted that Orange 13
County did well in North Carolina, but does not stack up well on the national level. He said he 14
did some research about best-ranked schools in the nation, and how much money is spent per 15
pupil. He said there was a great range, and there seemed to be no relationship between per 16
pupil funding and school success. 17
Commissioner Dorosin said school funding can certainly make a difference, but the 18
relative wealth of the community is likely most significant. 19
Chair Rich said it is important to thank the school boards, as all involved are partners in 20
this process. She said this process is so much better than when she first arrived on the Board 21
of County Commissioners. She said the discussions now happen all year long, as opposed to 22
just during budget season. 23
Commissioner McKee said the funding increases the Board has provided in per pupil 24
allocation for the last 12 years exceeds to majority of the total funding of the counties across 25
the State. 26
Chair Rich said this shows the commitment of everyone in Orange County to public 27
education. 28
29
2. Discussion of Outside Agencies Funding for FY 2019-20, Pgs. 337-349 30
31
BACKGROUND: 32
Each fiscal year, non-profit organizations that deliver community services have the ability to 33
apply for program funding from Orange County. In December 2016, the Orange County Board 34
of Commissioners adopted a funding target of 1.2 percent of the county’s general fund 35
expenditures, less the appropriation for education expenses, for the purpose of funding outside 36
agency operations. Historically, the county had a funding target of 1.0 percent. 37
38
Applications are reviewed by staff members for completeness and eligibility. The applications 39
are then presented to a specific advisory board, depending on the subject matter. Each 40
advisory board is responsible for scoring each application based on an application scorecard. 41
The application scorecard is comprised of five weighted categories with a total possible score of 42
100. The five categories and the total possible points are: Mission (10 points), Collaboration 43
Efforts (15 points), Customer Impact/Value (25 points), Results (25 points), and Plan for 44
Implementation (25 points). The County Manager presents recommendations to the Board of 45
County Commissioners, which approves the final allocations. 46
47
Recipients are required to submit written program reports that include: goals, description of 48
activities/challenges, revisions of timelines/budgets, and other relevant information. Funded 49
projects are monitored for progress and performance, financial and administrative 50
20
management, and compliance with the terms of Performance/Development Agreement(s). 1
Monitoring may involve site and/or office visit(s). 2
3
For fiscal year 2019-20, Orange County received applications from 62 agencies. The requests 4
totaled $2,079,550, an increase of $628,377 above fiscal year 2018-19. The FY 2019-20 5
County Manager’s Recommended budget includes funding awards for 54 agencies with a total 6
of $1,490,181; an increase of $39,008 from FY 2018-19 Commissioner Approved Budget. The 7
County Manager’s recommended funding levels are based on scoring completed by each 8
advisory board. Agencies scoring between 95% and 100% received 35% of their requested 9
increase. Agencies scoring between 90% and 94% received 15% of their requested increase, 10
and agencies scoring between 80% and 89% received 5% of their requested increase. 11
Agencies with scores of 79% and below are not recommended for an increase in funds. Based 12
on the County Manager’s Recommended Budget, less the appropriation for education 13
expenses, 1.2 percent equates to $1,466,081. 14
15
Please refer to the Outside Agency section (Pages 337-349) of the FY 2019-20 Manager’s 16
Recommended budget for discussion of Outside Agency funding. In addition, see Attachment 1 17
for an Outside Agency Funding Requests Book, which includes the Purpose/Mission, Program, 18
Proposed Services, Performance Measures, and Agency Budget for each Outside Agency. The 19
following are the primary function areas: Arts, Community Services, Food/Nutritional Services, 20
Health, Housing, Human Services, Juvenile/Adult Justice Services, Mental Health, Senior 21
Services, and Youth Services. 22
23
Bonnie Hammersley said the Commissioners have a purple sheet at their places, which 24
is the scorecard used by the advisory groups to score the outside agencies, as well as an 25
outside agency book that will follow numerically with the PowerPoint presentation. 26
Bonnie Hammersley gave some background on the application process, and the 27
changes that staff made this year. She noted the outside agency book highlights and explains 28
these changes as it goes along. 29
Bonnie Hammersley said staff met with all 65 agencies, and all were invited to a grant 30
writing workshop prior to the start of this process. She made the following PowerPoint 31
presentation: 32
33
34 35
21
1 2
3 4
Commissioner Dorosin said at the start of this process there is a target of 1.2%, but 5
there is no dollar cap. He asked if every one of the applications had scored above 80, would 6
they all have received some funding. 7
Bonnie Hammersley said yes. She said last year, new agencies did not receive any 8
funding, but this year if an agency scored over 79 it received some time of funding; whether it 9
was a new agency or not. 10
Commissioner Dorosin asked if “new” means that an agency has not previously received 11
County funding. 12
Bonnie Hammersley said yes, or have not received funds in the past 5 years. She 13
resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 14
15
16
22
1
Chair Rich asked if those applicants that did not score well had attended the grant 2
writing class. 3
Bonnie Hammersley said yes, most did. 4
Commissioner Dorosin asked if an entity, which was previously funded, is guaranteed to 5
get its base budget regardless of its score. 6
Bonnie Hammersley said yes. 7
Commissioner Dorosin said he would question why the County would continue to fund 8
an agency that is scoring so low. 9
Bonnie Hammersley said there have been some agencies that were not funded again 10
due to such a low score. She said low scores are not usually related to the application, but 11
rather to the service no longer being needed. 12
Commissioner Dorosin said the score does not have to be a zero to warrant review. 13
Commissioner Marcoplos said looked at the example of the Hillsborough Arts Council, 14
which score an 88, and received an increase of $1,462; and the Arts Center, which score a 96, 15
but only got an increase of $916. 16
Bonnie Hammersley said the Arts Council requested a larger increase ($40,000) than 17
the Arts Center ($15,000). 18
Commissioner Greene said she is not clear on this year, and asked if the problem is that 19
agencies are asking for enough money. 20
Allen Coleman said it is the percentage difference between what was received last year, 21
and the requested increase this year. 22
Commissioner Marcoplos said, with this in mind, one could not go wrong by asking for 23
more. 24
Bonnie Hammersley said the agencies have to justify increases in the application, and it 25
is the difference between the base and the request, and they can get 35% of their request. 26
Commissioner Price asked if new programs are scored differently. 27
Bonnie Hammersley said a new program only gets scored on 75%, and she said it is not 28
100% grant. She said 25% of the weighted scoring is on past experience. 29
Allen Coleman said that is correct, and there is a “results” section in the scoring matrix, 30
for which a new agency would not yet have data. 31
Commissioner Price asked if 75 is the highest score a new agency could receive. 32
Allen Coleman said there are 75 total points possible, which is then divided against an 33
100-point scale. 34
Bonnie Hammersley said a new agency can score over 79, and if it scored 100, it can 35
receive 35% of its request. 36
37
38 39
23
Bonnie Hammersley said Hope Renovations is a new agency, but due to its very low 1
score, it was not recommended for funding. 2
3
4 Bonnie Hammersley referred the green line on the above slide, and said it is a new 5
request. She said Orange County does not fund capital requests, and this organization is not 6
eligible for the loan fund at this time. She said this agency was not eligible for outside agency 7
funding right now, but the Community Relations department budget has a $15,000 matching 8
option, which has been recommended for this agency. 9
Chair Rich asked if the match is given up to $15,000 if the agency raises an equal 10
$15,000. 11
Bonnie Hammersley said yes. 12
13
14 15
Bonnie Hammersley said PORCH has not requested funds in the past, but it is coming 16
to Hillsborough. 17
Bonnie Hammersley said Transplanting Traditions is a similar situation. She resumed 18
the PowerPoint presentation: 19
20
24
1 2
Allen Coleman said Piedmont Health Services changed its request from the refugee 3
program to general clinic support. He said the Health Department Advisory Board felt the 4
greater need exists with the refugee population. 5
Bonnie Hammersley resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 6
7
8 9
Bonnie Hammersley said Rebuilding Together of the Triangle is a new agency request, 10
but scored too low to receive funding. She resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 11
12
13 14
Bonnie Hammersley said all of the above are not recommended and previously 15
unfunded. She said Book Harvest is new but scored low; Child Care Services Association is 16
previously unfunded, and continues to be unfunded due to low scores. She said all childcare 17
services are currently being run through the Department of Social Services (DSS), and there is 18
no need for this association. She said the Diaper Bank is part of a line item in DSS, and this 19
scored low because of this. She resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 20
25
1
2 3
Bonnie Hammersley said the Youth Communnity Project is new and scored low and was 4
not funded. She said other agencies on this slide scored low, but will continue to receive their 5
base funding. She resumed the PowerPoint presenation: 6
7
8 9
Bonnie Hammersley said Coastal Horizons Center is a new agency and was 10
recommended for funding. She said this agency will be line item in the Justice department’s 11
budget. 12
Commissioner Price asked if that funding will come from the Justice Department’s 13
budget. 14
Bonnie Hammersley said no, but there are some agencies that work so closely with 15
particular departments that the funds are put through into the department’s budget to more 16
easily manage. She resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 17
18
26
1 2
Bonnie Hammersley said TROSA used to consistently request outside agency funding, 3
and now is back and scored well. 4
Bonnie Hammersley said Club Nova had a $62,500 increase request for one time 5
monies for transition, while its facility is under construction. She said this is considered 6
operating funds, and this money was pooled. She said Club Nova did not score as well as in 7
the past, but this was put together as a whole number, as opposed to the percentage being just 8
against that one time. She resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 9
10
11
12 13
14 15
Bonnie Hammersley said Orange County provides many in kind services to Orange 16
Partnership for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth, and so this agency scored low. 17
Commissioner Dorosin recommended reviewing any of the agencies that scored low, 18
but still received the same base funding, and determine whether these agencies should be 19
funded at all. 20
Bonnie Hammersley referred to the Boys and Girls Club of Eastern Piedmont, which 21
scored low, and did not receive an increase. She said this group still received $5,000, as there 22
27
is value in the work that it is doing for the County. She said each group is reviewed and spoken 1
openly with. She said every group that has received money is providing a service to the 2
County, but some are not increasing the services provided, so staff and advisory groups did not 3
see a reason to increase funding. 4
Commissioner Dorosin said the groups may be providing a service, but he questions 5
exactly what the service may be, and if it could be done more effectively by someone else. He 6
said he likes the scoring system, but if part of the exercise is to evaluate the value of the 7
services being provided, there ought to be notation has to why low scoring agencies do/do not 8
receive funding. 9
Bonnie Hammersley said better performance measures have been put in place, but the 10
resources are limited, and there must be a weighting system to best allocate all the funds. She 11
said staff can flag these agencies, and discuss low scores in great detail with them. 12
Bonnie Hammersley said they are working closely with food distribution agencies (e.g.: 13
Meals of Wheels, OCIM and OCRA), and there was not time to distribute how the funds would 14
be distributed, but checks are not cut immediately, and money is received by a reimbursement 15
model. She said she hopes next year there will be greater consolidation in this area. 16
Commissioner Dorosin said he wants does not want to only reward organizations that 17
have the means to hire a grant writer, or submit a top tier application. He said he wants to 18
support community-based organizations, and if someone scores low, but provides a valuable 19
and unique service, he wants to see that agency funded. He would like to have all this 20
information. He said he wants it to be very clear for those looking in from the outside. 21
Commissioner Price referred to page 9, and an organization that scored a 78 but is 22
getting $50,000 because they have received it before; however, there is another organization 23
on the same page that scored 79 and is getting nothing. She said this is difficult logic to explain 24
to the public. 25
Bonnie Hammersley said these agencies are being scored based on what they are 26
requesting. 27
Chair Rich said it is also related to the services that an agency is providing, and this 28
book is a whole picture, not just a score. 29
Commissioner Price said the logic just does not make sense. 30
Commissioner Marcoplos said the reasoning behind the added request is evaluated, 31
which validates that dollar request. 32
Commissioner Price said this is a good system, but it appears unbalanced when 33
programs that do not score well continue to receive base funding. 34
Commissioner Marcoplos said to communicate to the public more about how the 35
process works. 36
Commissioner McKee said this system is by far so much better than the process that 37
existed when he came on the board in 2010. He said he appreciated the effort that staff has 38
put into this process, and said the County is far less likely to be challenged now that it is in 39
place. 40
Bonnie Hammersley resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 41
42
28
1 2
3
4 5
6 7
Bonnie Hammersley said this loan is 0 interest loan with a 10-year payback period, and 8
it is for capital projects. 9
Commissioner Greene asked if staff has spoken to Kidzu about why it was not eligible. 10
Bonnie Hammersley said yes. 11
Bonnie Hammersley said InterFaith Council (IFC) precipitated this new loan program, 12
and it is aware of the opportunity, and will apply at some time. 13
Commissioner McKee said IFC is aware of the loan program, but did not apply, and 14
asked if IFC did apply if it would be a part of next year’s cycle. 15
Bonnie Hammersley said yes. 16
Commissioner Greene referred to her proposed amendment that Bonnie Hammersley 17
sent out today. She referred to page 32, and Community Empowerment requested $39,050, 18
and $19,050 was specifically for the County’s proposed shared of the permanent housing 19
location position. She said the Manager is amenable to this, and would like to put this under 20
contract to the Partnership to End Homelessness. 21
Commissioner Greene said this would not be the whole share, and as of tonight, neither 22
Chapel Hill nor Carrboro have funded their portions yet, but she is advocating for this position. 23
She said if the County is the only entity that funds this position, there will be insufficient funding. 24
She said this position exists so that when one calls the PTEH, at the brink of homelessness, 25
they would be referred to this person who has a strong network of available housing. 26
29
Commissioner Dorosin asked if Commissioner Greene is advocating that Orange 1
County fully fund this position if the towns are unwilling. 2
Commissioner Greene said no, but she would like the County to lead by example and 3
commit its portion of the funding. She said Carrboro seems to have said no, and Chapel Hill 4
has yet to discuss the position. She said if Chapel Hill is willing, she would like to see the 5
County and Chapel Hill work together to cover the missing $5000 that was intended to come 6
from Carrboro. 7
Bonnie Hammersley said that Commissioner Greene is referring to the amendment 8
sheet she sent out today, and on June 11th the Board of County Commissioners will be voting 9
on each amendment, and she has put this item in as a partnership line item (which means it 10
depends on funds from all jurisdictions). She said the $15,229.50 is only Orange County’s 11
portion, and she said if the Board wants her to change that then let her know. 12
Commissioner Greene said the executive committee of the Partnership for 13
Homelessness did not have a chance to discuss this since procedurally it did not come up to 14
them that way. She said she hoped the Board and Chapel Hill could fund it this year, and it 15
could be shared by all four entities next year. 16
Bonnie Hammersley said if this is determined by the time the budget is approved, then 17
an amendment can be done. 18
Commissioner Dorosin said there is a request for $39,050, and the County is giving 19
$23,824. He asked if this for the same position, or if this is an additional request. 20
Commissioner Greene said the request for $39,050 is not broken down between that 21
which is needed for regular work and that which is needed for the new position. 22
Bonnie Hammersley said part of the outside agency request was to help fund this 23
position, but not all of the funds were to come from the County. He said CEF has applied to all 24
of the jurisdictions, and she does not know how much was requested from the County, but a 25
portion would go to fund this new position. 26
Commissioner Greene said CEF’s spreadsheet indicates request of $19,050 from the 27
County for this position. 28
Commissioner Dorosin said there is a recommendation to give CEF $23,824. 29
Commissioner Greene said the $20,000 received by CEF last year was not for this 30
position. 31
Commissioner Dorosin said he needs more information about this amendment. 32
Bonnie Hammersley said it is a part of their ask, but their base was only $20,000 and 33
their addition included some for that position. 34
Commissioner McKee said he wants to be careful to not move away from this process 35
and he has had several agencies contact him requesting additional funding. He said he will not 36
support giving additional funding because the process is data based, and this discussion seems 37
to be moving away from the established process. 38
Commissioner Greene said yes, and no. She said the proposal being made by the 39
Manager, is that this worthy position of housing locator should be managed by the PTEH, which 40
is not an outside agency. 41
Commissioner McKee said the position was grant funded, the funding for which has no 42
ended. He said he does not question the usefulness of the position, but the Board needs to be 43
careful about the blurring the process. He said this seems like a separate conversation. 44
Commissioner Price said she is concerned about what message this may send, and she 45
would feel better if this came up in an overall housing discussion. 46
Commissioner Greene said it would be good for this organization to speak to the Board, 47
and this is the intersection of homelessness and housing. 48
Bonnie Hammersley said she will send out an updated amendment list each week. 49
Commissioner Bedford suggested putting this information out for public consumption. 50
30
Bonnie Hammersley said copies are available at the Clerk’s office, and this is a 1
living/changing document. She said these decisions will be voted on at the June 11th meeting, 2
and the abstract will contain information. 3
Commissioner Bedford asked if the public can comment at that meeting. 4
Bonnie Hammersley said no, but the public can comment at the June 18th meeting. 5
Commissioner Bedford said it would be more transparent to allow the public to comment 6
prior to the Board voting. 7
Commissioner Price said the public can send emails to the Board. 8
9
3. Adjournment 10
11
A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin seconded by Commissioner Greene to 12
adjourn the meeting at 9:01 p.m. 13
14
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 15
16
Penny Rich, Chair 17
18
Donna Baker 19
Clerk to the Board 20
1
Attachment 3 1
2
DRAFT 3
MINUTES 4
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 5
BUDGET WORK SESSION 6
May 30, 2019 7
7:00 p.m. 8
9
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Thursday, May 30, 10
2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. 11
12
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Penny Rich and Commissioners 13
Jamezetta Bedford, Mark Dorosin, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, Mark Marcoplos and Renee 14
Price 15
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None 16
COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 17
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County 18
Manager Travis Myren, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will 19
be identified appropriately below) 20
21
Chair Rich called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 22
Travis Myren reviewed the following items at the Commissioners’ places: 23
24
- Blue sheet: a listing of the draft amendments to the budget from Commissioners staff has 25
received so far. This is a living document that will be amended throughout the budget process. 26
- White sheet: sent out this last week, and contains answers to questions that were raised 27
during the CIP Discussion: 28
29
1. Prioritization of Facility Projects 30
The facility repair and improvement projects were scored based on consistent scoring 31
criteria described in the attachment. In general, projects intended to address known 32
failures or facility deficiencies that pose significant risk are scored above preventative 33
maintenance items. 34
35
2. Prioritization of the Parks Facility and Renovation Project 36
Individual elements of the Parks Facility Repair and Renovation Project were scored 37
using the facility scoring criteria. We did not attempt to score the other parks projects 38
such as improvements to Cedar Grove Park or continued investment in the Mountains to 39
Sea Trail. Each of those projects has its own intrinsic value and purpose, so they are 40
not easily prioritized against one another. 41
42
3. HVAC Recommendations 43
This list is an inventory of the HVAC systems recommended for replacement along with 44
an explanation of each system’s current status and age. New units are listed separately 45
with a justification for their addition. 46
47
4. Reponses to CIP Questions 48
This memo responds to specific questions raised by the Board during the CIP work 49
session. It addresses the cost and benefit of geothermal systems, building envelope 50
2
work, LED lighting plans, and the sustainability evaluation process that is now applied to 1
all new construction. 2
3
4
1. FY 2019-20 Fire District Tax Rates, Pgs. 261-266 5
Damascus Fire District and Southern Triangle Fire Service District, Pg. 262 6
White Cross Fire District, Pg. 266 7
8
BACKGROUND: During tonight’s work session, Commissioners will have the opportunity to 9
dialogue with Damascus Fire District and Southern Triangle Fire Service District, as well as 10
White Cross Fire District who have requested tax rate increases for FY 2019-20. As in the past, 11
fire districts requesting tax rate increases present their needs for a tax increase to the 12
Commissioners at a work session. Staff has invited representatives from the departments listed 13
above to tonight’s work session to answer any questions and/or provide additional information 14
to the Board regarding their increase. 15
16
Attachment A provides information regarding tax rate requests from all twelve (12) fire districts 17
and/or fire service districts in Orange County for FY 2019-20, the amount of funds one cent on 18
the tax rate generates, fund balance information, as well as information detailing the reasons 19
for the requested tax rate increases. Information regarding all fire districts is located in the Fire 20
District section of the FY 2019-20 Manager Recommended Budget beginning on page 261. 21
22
Attachment B reflects historical Fire District tax rates dating back to FY 2004-05. 23
The Fire Districts requesting tax rate increases in FY 2019-20 are as follows: 24
• Damascus Fire District and Southern Triangle Fire Service District (Page 262) – 25
increase of .50 cents, going from a current tax rate of 10.30 cents to 10.80 cents, for 26
FY 2019-20. This rate increase is to continue to meet the needs of operations and 27
replacement of aging apparatus. This rate is consistent with the Chatham County tax 28
rate. 29
• White Cross Fire District (Page 266) – increase of 1.00 cents, going from a current tax 30
rate of 11.37 cents to 12.37 cents, for FY 2019-20. This rate increase will be used to 31
add staff for 24 hours day/5 days a week coverage. The district is also requesting 32
$40,000 from their available fund balance to help install a training tower as part of a 33
grant received. 34
35
36
2. Discussion of County Departments’ FY2019-20 Recommended Budgets within the 37
Public Safety, General Government, and Support Services Functional Leadership 38
Teams (including Operations, Capital, and Fee Schedule Changes): 39
Public Safety 40
Courts, Pg. 117 41
Criminal Justice Resources, Pg. 118 42
Emergency Services, Pg. 246 43
Sheriff, Pg. 371 44
45
BACKGROUND: The County Manager presented the FY 2019-20 Recommended Operating 46
Budget on May 2, 2019. Since then, the Board has conducted two public hearings to receive 47
residents' comments regarding the proposed funding plan. On May 23, 2019, the Board 48
discussed recommended FY 2019-20 budgets for Durham Technical Community College – 49
Orange County campus, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education and Orange 50
3
County Schools Board of Education, as well as reviewed and discussed recommended FY 1
2019-20 funding for Outside Agencies. 2
3
Tonight's work session offers the Board an opportunity to review and discuss the recommended 4
budgets directly with County departments within the structure of Functional Leadership Teams, 5
including operations, capital, and department fee schedule change recommendations. 6
7
Functional Leadership Teams: 8
The following Functional Leadership Teams are scheduled to attend tonight's work session: 9
10
Public Safety: 11
• Courts 12
• Criminal Justice Resources 13
• Emergency Services 14
• Sheriff 15
General Government: 16
• Board of County Commissioners 17
• Board of Elections 18
• County Attorney 19
• County Manager 20
• Register of Deeds 21
• Tax Administration 22
Support Services: 23
• Asset Management Services 24
• Community Relations 25
• Finance and Administrative Services 26
• Human Resources, including Employee Pay and Benefits 27
• Employee Pay and Benefits - staff has provided information relating to FY 2019-20 28
employee pay and benefits in Appendix A of the Manager’s Recommended Budget. The 29
information provided includes background information on employee pay and benefits 30
over recent years and information on specific pay and benefits plan elements. Key 31
components of the recommended employee pay and benefits plan include: 32
o A wage increase of 2% is recommended for all permanent employees hired on or 33
before June 30, 2019, effective July 1, 2019. The maximum salary of each salary 34
range shall also be increased to accommodate the wage adjustment. In addition, 35
the Manager recommends maintaining $15.00 per hour as the minimum salary 36
rate for all permanent employees. 37
o Employee Performance Awards – recommends continuing three levels, $500 for 38
proficient performance; $750 for superior performance; or $1,000 for exceptional 39
performance. Employees will continue to receive merit pay on their current 40
performance evaluation date, and it will continue to be added to an employee’s 41
base salary. 42
o Continue the $27.50 per pay period County contribution to non-law enforcement 43
employees’ supplemental retirement accounts and the County matching 44
employees’ contributions up to $63.00 semi-monthly (for a maximum annual 45
County contribution of $1,512) for all general (non-sworn law enforcement officer) 46
employees, and continue the mandated Law Enforcement Officer contribution of 47
5.0% of salary; and continue the County’s required contribution to the Local 48
Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS) for all permanent 49
employees. 50
4
o Continue to participate in the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool (NCHIP), and 1
continue medical and prescription third party administration with Blue Cross Blue 2
Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and Prime Therapeutics, a division of 3
BCBSNC, respectively. No increase to health and dental appropriations, and no 4
increase to employee premium equivalent for health, dental, or vision insurance. 5
o Living wage increase for temporary employees from $14.25 per hour to $14.95 per 6
hour, effective July 1, 2019, consistent with the Orange County Living Wage 7
formula. 8
o The continuance of the additional eight hours of annual leave to be awarded at an 9
employee’s anniversary date, prorated for part time employees. 10
o Continue the six-week paid parental leave policy. 11
12
Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager, made the following PowerPoint presentation: 13
14
Budget Work Session #2 15
County Fire Districts 16
Public Safety 17
General Government 18
Support Services 19
May 30, 2019 20
Southern Human Services Center 21
22
Fire District Requests – page 262 & 266 23
24 25
• Damascus & Southern Triangle Fire Service District 26
– Service Provided by North Chatham Fire Department Under Contract 27
– 0.5 cent Increase Requested for Each District to 10.80 cents 28
» $4,837 for Damascus 29
» $11,548 for Southern Triangle 30
– Consistent with the Tax Rate in Chatham County 31
– Operational Costs and Equipment Replacement 32
33
• White Cross Fire District 34
– One cent increase from 11.37 cents to 12.37 cents 35
» $44,197 for White Cross 36
– Add Staff to Provide 24 Hour Coverage Five (5) Days per Week 37
– Apply $40,000 from Fund Balance to Offset Fire Training Tower Installation 38
39
5
Commissioner Dorosin said all of the information is helpful, but in the future he would 1
like staff to provide more information about the districts themselves, such as how many 2
structures in their districts, the scope the community that is served, etc. 3
Commissioner Marcoplos said White Cross is going to apply $40,000 from its fund 4
balance towards the fire training tower installation, and asked if other districts are contributing 5
to the fire tower. 6
Deputy Chief Moody said the grant was secured through the Fire Chief’s Council, and 7
the tower will be temporarily located on Millhouse Road. He said the training tower will arrive in 8
August, and the Town of Chapel Hill has given the land, and the White Cross funds will help do 9
some of the grading work, and ensure that the grant is not lost. He said this is combination 10
effort from all of the departments. 11
Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the cost is equally distributed. 12
Deputy Chief Moody said this tower will benefit everyone, and no one is worried about 13
equal distribution of cost at this point. 14
Travis Myren said there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in place. 15
Tony Blake, Board of Directors’ President, said there is an MOU in place to cover cost 16
sharing, and this is just a contingency in order to make sure the funds are there to get the 17
portable tower in time before the grant runs out. 18
Commissioner Marcoplos said he appreciated all of the work that went into getting this 19
tower and siting it. 20
Chair Rich referred to the MOU, and asked if there is language for White Cross to 21
recoup some of the monies. 22
Travis Myren said the MOU is between the fire districts. 23
Tony Blake said the cost sharing will be determined by district, as well as the 24
maintenance; for example: there is hope to get a hydrant out there, and all will share in the 25
costs of that. 26
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 27
28
CIP Questions 29
• Project Prioritization – Scoring System (See Handouts) 30
31
Travis Myren said the Board asked about Installation and Pay-Back in reference to 32
geothermal wells: The County currently has 3 geothermal HVAC systems, which serve 6 33
facilities. Geothermal systems are often 20% more expensive than traditional HVAC systems, 34
and this difference in cost can be justified through avoided costs of energy and maintenance. 35
36
• Category of Project 37
– 5 Points for Repair 38
– 3 Points for Replacement 39
– 1 Point for Improvement 40
• Ranking Within Multi-Project Proposals 41
– 3 Points for Critical (Known Failures, Significant Risk) 42
– 1 Point for Less Critical 43
• Stakeholder Awareness 44
– 3 Points for Most Visible 45
– 1 Point for Least Visible 46
47
• Project Prioritization – 11 Point Scale; 57 Projects; $6,674,449 Recommended 48
Investment 49
• Project Scores 9-11 50
6
– 11 Projects; $2,662,828 Investment 1
– Critical Repairs; Known Failures 2
• Project Scores 7-8 3
– 31 Projects; $3,271,543 Investment 4
– Accessibility Improvements; Scheduled Replacements 5
• Project Scores 3-6 6
– 15 Projects; $740,078 Investment 7
– Improvements; Adding Functionality to Existing Systems 8
• Project Questions 9
• Geothermal Evaluation – HVAC Projects p. 39 CIP 10
– 5 Replacements in Years 1-2 of CIP 11
– Amend Recommended CIP to Add $75,000 for Geothermal 12
Feasibility Studies 13
» Technical Feasibility 14
» Cost Estimates 15
» Payback and Environmental Analyses 16
– Review Study Results and Propose CIP Budget 17
Amendments for Geothermal Cost Difference 18
19
Commissioner McKee asked if there is any information on payback rates from past 20
geothermal projects. 21
Travis Myren said staff has this information from the system installed at the Link building 22
and the Justice Center, and the payback schedule is about 13-15 years. 23
Chair Rich asked if there is a timeline for the Board to make a decision. 24
Travis Myren said tonight would be great, and staff can add it to the amendment list; but 25
it can be added later, if preferable. 26
Commissioner Price referred to the Southern Human Services Center, noting that it is a 27
22-year-old building, and asked if the County is facing high maintenance costs. 28
Travis Myren said this is a pneumatic system, and they are experiencing failures now 29
and it is quite inefficient. 30
Commissioner Price asked if this is the same at Central Rec. 31
Travis Myren said there have not been as many repairs there, but it is reaching its 20- 32
year life. 33
Commissioner Price asked if the location for the well has been determined. 34
Travis Myren said it is in the back of the building. He said eventually the entire Whitted 35
campus could be served by a well field behind the building, or in one of the parking lots. 36
Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the cost savings are known for these systems. 37
Travis Myren said staff can get those dollar figures for any amendment. 38
Commissioner Marcoplos said it would be interesting to know if the $25,000 per project 39
could be easily recouped in the life cycle of the project. 40
Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is a basis for the “$25,000 per project” figure. 41
Commissioner Marcoplos said there are three studies, totaling $75,000, which leads to 42
$25,000 per project. 43
Commissioner Price said the $25,000 is just for the study. 44
Travis Myren said the Board wants to know what the payback projections would be if the 45
study costs were added to the building costs. 46
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the study is for more than one project. 47
Travis Myren said it was for three projects. 48
Chair Rich said to add this item to the amendment list, and staff can provide more 49
information. 50
7
Commissioner Dorosin asked if staff is proposing to add this into the CIP, or if there will 1
be an offset reduction for it. 2
Travis Myren said there is no offset at this time. 3
Commissioner McKee asked if taxes will be affected, if there is not an offset. 4
Travis Myren said $75,000 will not tip the scales one way or another, and will be 5
borrowed over 10 or 20 years. He said it could affect 2020-21 tax rates, and it could be added 6
to the debt model and be brought back for Board consideration. 7
Chair Rich said the systems will need to be fixed, and money will have to be spent at 8
some point. 9
Commissioner McKee said he is aware of that, but he is trying to understand the budget 10
as compared to available funds, and available funds going forward. 11
Commissioner Price asked if the feasibility studies were done in 2020, when would 12
projects go online? 13
Travis Myren said probably next fiscal year - 20-21. He resumed the PowerPoint 14
presentation: 15
16
• Project Questions 17
• Sealing Building Envelopes – p. 49 CIP 18
– Ongoing Inspections and Evaluations 19
– Building Façade Study ($25,000 per year for 3 Years 20
Recommended) 21
• Cedar Grove Plumbing and Shower Timing – p. 44 & 81 CIP 22
– Shower Project would Use Septic Line 23
– Repair Septic Line First 24
– Amend Recommended CIP to Delay Shower Project to FY21 25
26
Commissioner McKee asked if the gym floor will be torn out, or if there is another option. 27
Travis Myren said staff would look at both options, but right now it looks as if they will 28
need to remove the gym floor. He resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 29
30
• LED Lighting Projects 31
– Retrofits Require Ballast Replacement and Lighting Redesign 32
– Remodeling Projects and New Construction 33
– Part of Lighting Strategy – Occupancy Sensors, Daylight 34
Harvesting, etc. 35
• Project Questions 36
• HVAC Replacement Projects - $862,000 – p. 39 CIP 37
– Age of Systems 38
• Project Questions 39
• HVAC Improvement Projects - $345,500 – p. 39 CIP 40
– Improvements to Current Systems 41
42
PUBLIC SAFETY 43
• Courts – page 117 44
– Increase of $7,500 for the Jury Master List which is Funded Every Other Year 45
– CIP Projects for Justice Facility - p. 41 CIP 46
• Mural Courtroom – $21,078 47
– Replace Recessed Lighting with LED 48
• Clerk of Courts Office - $22,143 49
– Install Counter in Juvenile Section 50
8
– Improve Furniture in Probate for Privacy 1
– Install Glass Partition at Main Counter for Security 2
3
Commissioner Greene asked what data is used to create the jury master list. 4
Travis Myren said he would find out for her. He resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 5
6
• Criminal Justice Resource Department – page 118 7
• Total Recommended Expenditure Budget - $700,654 8
• Misdemeanor Diversion Program Transition 9
– Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion 10
– Program Referral Instead of Arrest/Charges 11
– Originally Designed to Serve 16 and 17 Year Olds in Adult System 12
• Transition to Orange County Pre-Arrest Diversion (OC-PAD) 13
– Redesign Program to Serve 18+ Year Olds 14
– Provides Immediate and Targeted Programming and Collateral 15
Consequence Education 16
– Prevent Criminal History 17
• Criminal Justice Resource Department – page 118 18
• Restoration Program Legal Counsel - $69,978 19
– 1.0 FTE Starting October 1, 2019 20
– Restore Driving Privileges 21
– Means Tested Service Eligibility 22
– Free Legal Services to Reduce or Eliminate a Traffic Fee or Fine 23
– Expunction Relief to Purge Criminal Record 24
• Population Served 25
– 16,000 Orange County Residents with Suspended Drivers 26
Licenses 27
– 3,000 of those Suspensions Result from Failure to Comply with 28
Traffic Fines and Court Fees 29
• Program Outcomes 30
– License Restorations or Expungements 31
– Employment Rates and Housing 32
– Access to Health Care and Education Resources 33
– Increase in Family Stability and Reduction in Recidivism 34
35
Cycle of Revocation 36
37
Criminal Justice Resource Department – page 118 (page 18 of PPT) 38
39
Criminal Justice Resource Department – page 118 40
41
Chair Rich asked if this is being done in other areas. 42
Cait Fenhagen said Wake, Durham and New Hanover, but all are a little bit different. 43
She said it is guided by the District Attorney’s office, and it is important to note that Orange 44
County is only offering relief for failure to pay/comply, as opposed to failure to appear. 45
Commissioner Bedford asked if the court fees and fines go somewhere in particular and 46
how is the money made up. 47
Cait Fenhagen said it is not being collected at all right now. She said it is important to 48
limit this to those who really cannot ever pay, and Orange County judges have expressed 49
concern about this. She said there is an affidavit of indigency, which is similar to the right to 50
9
counsel (but that is a constitutional right), and one judge has asked for a closer examination of 1
financial means. 2
Commissioner McKee asked, of those that have not paid, if it is known how many may 3
have the means to pay. 4
Cait Fenhagen said it is important at intake to thoroughly determine who cannot pay and 5
those who can pay. She said ultimately the issue goes before the District Attorney, who must 6
consent to the motion, and is then presented to the Judge, who reviews the driving record and 7
reasons for relief. 8
Commissioner McKee asked if there is any percentage data. 9
Cait Fenhagen said no, but staff is finding that most people who avail themselves of this 10
program genuinely cannot pay. 11
Commissioner Dorosin said he is thrilled this is in the budget, and he appreciates the 12
work that Cait Fenhagen has done; and while it is not a constitutional right, there is clear 13
constitutional issue in the racial disparities and discrimination in how the penalties are impacting 14
people of color. He said he expects there are a percentage of people failing to appear because 15
they know they cannot pay the fees. He said he looks forward to an update next year. 16
Chair Rich asked if there is a timeline for when this program will begin. 17
Cait Fenhagen said there is a start date of October 1st. She said there are several 18
interested and capable candidates already. 19
Commissioner Price asked if there is a timeline to start looking at the failure to appear 20
issue. She said sometimes in an issue of the wrong phone number, address, etc. 21
Cait Fenhagen said this is an important issue for the entire court system, and they are 22
working systematically to address these issues, including free text reminders of court dates, 23
etc., and finding ways to help clients make their court date. She said she hoped there will be a 24
broader look at addressing some of those cases within the driver’s license restoration program. 25
She said having a staff person in place to focus on this will be very effective. 26
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 27
28
• Public Safety - CIP 29
• CJRD Expansion and Remodeling - $216,300 (CIP page 34) 30
– Currently Located in Lower Level of 1954 Courthouse 31
– Remodel Space to Current Design and Functionality Standards 32
– Accommodate Program Expansion 33
34
Commissioner Price referred to the ABC Board revenue, and said there was a mistake 35
of $17,500. She asked if this could be clarified. 36
Cait Fenhagen said last year, the County asked the ABC Board for an additional amount 37
to cover GPS monitoring, and the ABC Board declined. She said this funding was found 38
elsewhere, but the budget was never adjusted. 39
Commissioner Greene referred to the ongoing funding for the reentry counsel, and said 40
there is a second grant proposal. She asked if this will be the ongoing source of funding for 41
that position, or will the County be expected to pick it up at some point. 42
Cait Fenhagen said staff just received notice of having been granted the $150,000 for 43
next year, and it is for up to three years so she would expect another year of full funding. She 44
said after that it is unclear what funding will be available. 45
Cait Fenhagen said the misdemeanor diversion program is still going on through 46
December 1st, and any 16 or 17 year olds can be referred. She said the Orange County pre-47
arrest diversionary program, for 18 and older, has already started. 48
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 49
50
10
• Emergency Services – page 246 1
• Total expenditure budget - $11,380,019 2
– Total County Costs Increased by $637,534 from FY2018-19 3
Budget 4
– Program Budget – Division Breakdown for Increased Visibility 5
– EMS Revenue Budgeted to Recognize Reduction of Delinquent 6
Bill Backlog 7
• Recurring Capital - $194,890 8
– Ambulance Outfitting, Equipment Replacement 9
– Increase from FY2018-19 Recurring Capital of $104,816 10
• Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan 11
– Streamline Local Response Process Across Jurisdictions 12
– Involve All Stakeholders in Emergency Management Response 13
– Costs Shared with Municipalities 14
• EMS Revenue – Collected by Tax Administration - graph 15
16
Commissioner Dorosin asked if, given that every year the actual revenue exceeds the 17
budget, there is a reason to not increase the budgeted amount. 18
Travis Myren said, upon review, he notified Dwane Brinson (Tax Administrator) that staff 19
would add another $200,000 in additional revenue for this. 20
Commissioner Price said the recommendation for Operations is about $140,000 less, 21
and asked if there is a reason for this. 22
Travis Myren said he does not recall the reason for the decrease in operations, but 23
believes it to be based on the department’s requests, as opposed to budget cuts. 24
Commissioner Price said there seems to be more calls and more activity, yet the budget 25
is lower. 26
Bonnie Hammersley said it was not cut, but is based on departmental requests. 27
Dinah Jeffries, Emergency Services Director, said the department prioritized needs, and 28
there were choices for equipment for the EMS division. She said staff stayed focus on needs 29
and not wants. 30
Commissioner Price said she just wants to make sure the departments have what they 31
need, especially as natural disasters seem to be on the rise. 32
Dinah Jeffries said she would love to have everything they ask for, but her staff tries to 33
focus on the priorities for service to the community. 34
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 35
36
• Emergency Services 37
• Community Paramedic - $55,204 38
– 1.0 FTE Starting July 1, 2019 39
– Included in the FY2018-19 Budget Contingent on Revenue 40
– FY2019-20 Budget Lifts the Revenue Contingency 41
• Population Served 42
– Falls at Home 43
– Congestive Heart Failure & Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary 44
Disease (COPD/Emphysema) 45
– Substance Abuse/Overdose Follow-up 46
• Program Outcomes 47
– Reduce Falls 48
– Decrease 911 Calls and Emergency Dispatch for Falls 49
– Reduce Transports to the Emergency Room for Falls 50
11
– Reduce Hospital Readmission Rates for Heart Failure & COPD 1
– Connect Residents with Recent Overdose Experience with 2
Treatment Resources 3
4
Commissioner Greene asked if there are examples of other counties that have the 5
Community Paramedic position in place, and if the is impact known. 6
Dinah Jeffries said Orange County is kicking off this program with one position only, and 7
the hope is this person will serve many people. She said currently, the County is calling people 8
in on their off days to help, and this is making an impact. She said she is very hopeful that a 9
dedicated staff person will make a large impact. 10
Kim Woodward said many EMS systems across the State have community para-11
medicine programs. She said Orange County has led the way in the creation of this program, 12
and is working with Durham County to implement the “Stay Active” program there. She said the 13
program has been very successful due to the partnership with the Department on Aging, and 14
this position will help greatly in getting resources to those isolated in the community. 15
Commissioner Bedford asked if WPPRs could be defined. 16
Travis Myren said that is the employee performance system that the County uses. He 17
said there has been concerted effort countywide to get these reviews done on time as it affects 18
the employee’s base salaries. 19
Dinah Jeffries said doing WPPRs on time shows that the department values the 20
employee. 21
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 22
23
• Emergency Services – graph – 2018 EMS Call Volume by Dispatch 24
– 911 Communications Performance Measures 25
– Emergency Medical Services Performance Measures 26
– Emergency Medical Services Wheels Rolling Time 27
28
Chair Rich asked if there is a reason that calls are trending up again. 29
Kim Woodward said overdose numbers are slightly up from the previous year, but are 30
still a small percentage of the total calls. She said the population is aging, and the elderly 31
population calls with falls. She said a fall is the number 2 reason for calls. 32
Dinah Jeffries said they still experience population in the outlying areas, who do not 33
have access to a General Practitioner so they call 911, who transports them to the hospital. 34
She said this is one of the main reasons her department is pushing hard for the community 35
paramedic. 36
Commissioner Price said the community paramedic position is one FTE, and asked if it 37
is known how the time will be scheduled. 38
Kim W woodard said staff did an analysis, and most of the “fall calls” go out between 39
8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. She said the community paramedic’s hours are being determined as 40
analysis continues. 41
Dinah Jeffries said EMS will still respond by ambulance for a person that calls at 2 a.m., 42
but the community paramedic can follow up with the patient to prevent future falls and future 43
calls. 44
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 45
46
PUBLIC SAFETY - CIP 47
• Waterstone Substation Colocation with Orange Rural - $400,000 – p. 63 CIP 48
– Supplemental Funding of $350,000 for Construction Costs 49
– $50,000 for Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment 50
12
– Interlocal Agreement Pending with Orange Rural Fire Department 1
– Orange Rural to Serve as Project Lead and Majority Building Occupant 2
– Public Safety - CIP 3
• Efland Standalone Station - $50,000 – p. 63 CIP 4
– $1.5 million Appropriated in FY2018-19 for Purchase and Remodel – 5
Architectural Contract Executed 6
– Additional $50,000 Requested in FY2019-20 for Furniture, Fixtures, and 7
Equipment 8
– 24 hour station; Replaces Mt. Willing Road 9
• Leased until 2019 for $1 from Efland Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 10
11
Commissioner Dorosin asked if Mt. Willing Road is leased until the end of 2019. 12
Travis Myren said yes. 13
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the lease ends after that time. 14
Dinah Jeffries said May 9, 2019; but it is an agreement that she feels like Efland Fire 15
Department will work with her on, as they are aware of the remodeling project at the Krazy 16
Karts building. 17
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 18
19
– Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Demonstration 20
• Roof mounted, 61kW system 21
• 11-13 year payback of County investment 22
23
Commissioner Price asked if there is a reason that solar is only being installed on the 24
Efland building, and not on Waterstone. 25
Travis Myren said they may do it on Waterstone, and that is a budget conversation with 26
Orange Rural, as it is the primary occupant of the facility. 27
Chair Rich referred to the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP), and 28
said she and Dinah Jeffries talked about this today. She said this is important, and asked if a 29
brief description could be provided. 30
Kirby Saunders, EMS Coordinator, said this plan has been on the priority list for three 31
years, with a goal to further enhance coordination efforts between the other municipal 32
emergency management teams. He said all EMS providers work very closely together, with the 33
County responding to the entire County, and the municipalities taking the lead in their locales. 34
He said the plan aligns responsibilities, planning assumptions, coordination etc. He said it is a 35
very collaborative approach to make them all stronger and reduce duplicative efforts. 36
Chair Rich asked if the University of North Carolina (UNC) is a part of this conversation. 37
Kirby Saunders said UNC has a system plan, and is not a cost-sharing partner, but is a 38
partner in operations and emergency response. 39
Commissioner Marcoplos asked if Mebane is included in this plan. 40
Kirby Saunders said Mebane belongs to Alamance County for reporting requirements, 41
but there is still a close partnership with these providers. 42
Commissioner Greene asked if there is a timeline for the creation of this plan. 43
Kirby Saunders said about 6 to 8 months, and they are looking for a consultant to guide 44
them. He said staff will come back to the Board of County Commissioners about their hazard 45
mitigation plan. He said this plan focuses on mitigating the impact of disasters, and is up for 46
renewal in 2020. 47
Commissioner Dorosin said it would be wise to have a readiness plan for disasters, 48
since staff knows the vulnerable areas. 49
13
Kirby Saunders said that is part of the hazard mitigation plan, and there is also a 1
Triangle Resiliency Plan, which focuses on future hazards and threats. He said the information 2
from the latter plan is being wrapped into the hazard mitigation plan, which has not been done 3
previously. 4
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the hazard mitigation plan is a regional plan or an 5
Orange County plan. 6
Kirby Saunders said the Eno-Haw Regional Hazard Mitigation plan is the official name, 7
and it is done in coordination with Orange County municipalities, Alamance, Durham and 8
Person County will be added this year. He said this plan and process is paid for by the State 9
via federal FEMA dollars. He said acquisition and elevation are standard mitigation actions. 10
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 11
12
• Sheriff – page 371 13
• Total expenditure budget - $14,076,091 14
– Increase of $626,898 over FY2018-19 Budget 15
• Five (5) New Deputy Sheriff I Positions - $283,547 16
– Court Ordered Involuntary Commitment Transports from UNC 17
Hospital 18
» Number of Transports Increased by 28% Over Last Two 19
Years 20
– Increase in Service Demand 21
» Calls for Service through 911 22
» Average Time on Scene 23
» Average Response Time 24
– Overtime Control and Mitigation 25
26
27
28
14
1
2 3
Commissioner McKee asked if the difference in the overtime is without the additional 4
five positions. 5
Travis Myren said yes. 6
Commissioner McKee asked if the blue bar is with the five new positions. 7
Travis Myren said the blue bar is tied back to the original request for 10 new positions, 8
and with 5 new positions, it would be somewhere between the two colors on the bar graph. 9
Commissioner McKee asked if, given the differential in the hours, it would be worth it to 10
fund a few more positions instead of paying overtime. 11
Travis Myren said the budget is not currently at a level that can pay for all the overtime, 12
and it runs over by around $100,000. He said the recommendation is to try adding 5 more 13
positions first, and then come back and review. 14
Travis Myren said this recommendation can hold the overtime budget where it is, and 15
bring in new positions, as opposed to moving money from the overtime account into the 16
personnel account to fund new positions, as there are not funds in the overtime account to do 17
this. 18
Commissioner McKee said there are 4 out of 6 years of major overtime costs, which 19
would almost equal two positions. He said if they are consistently running in the $100,000 in 20
overtime costs, and would it not be prudent to hire two more positions, and hopefully have less 21
wear and tear on the current employees? 22
Travis Myren said the 10,000 hours equates to about 5 FTEs. 23
Commissioner McKee said he is not suggesting 5, and at some point he would like to 24
look at the alternatives to overtime. 25
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the overtime is equal to five positions, and therefore is 26
being recommended to alleviate the overtime. 27
Bonnie Hammersley said yes. 28
Commissioner McKee said the money is being spent either way, and asked the Sheriff if 29
this amount of overtime is affecting employees. 30
15
Sheriff Blackwood said that is a hard question to answer, and he said they allow their 1
employees to work overtime for other entities (e.g.: UNC sporting events), and the overtime pay 2
that goes out comes back to the County from these overtime entities. He said he would make a 3
respectful recommendation to try out 5 new positions first. He said it is his opinion that 10 new 4
positions would eliminate all overtime cost issues, but overtime must be considered in two 5
different categories: what is actually being paid out in overtime hours, and then that which is 6
coming back to the County. He said the County is blessed to have the service of Travis Myren, 7
and while there is a real need for 10 positions, he would like to start with 5. 8
Commissioner McKee said he is okay with that, and he was not accounting for monies 9
paid in accounting for the money paid out. 10
Sheriff Blackwood said the main issue of late is the coverage he is providing to UNC for 11
recent civil unrest occurring there. He said the days have been 15-20 hours long, and the 12
attrition rate suffers under these conditions. 13
Commissioner McKee said he would like a mid year report update on this. 14
Sheriff Blackwood said it would be helpful to split the two overtime costs out. 15
Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the report would hours from things like the civil unrest 16
at UNC. 17
Sheriff Blackwood said when an agency calls for help, the Sheriff’s department goes 18
even if payment cannot be provided. He said there is a payment agreement with UNC athletics. 19
He said a lot of the time there is not time to debate the cost at the time. 20
Commissioner Marcoplos said but since the coverage of the civil unrest coverages is 21
part of this, it should be included. 22
Commissioner Price asked if this is just a spike in overtime due to recent campus 23
activities. 24
Sheriff Blackwood said he cannot predict if this is a trend. 25
Commissioner Price said if 5 new positions can only bring coverage up to current 26
service levels, would it be wise to have 2 more positions. 27
Sheriff Blackwood said he appreciates that thought, but this is a need as of now. 28
Commissioner Price said she wants to know where the need is, and if it would be wise 29
to have more staff to offer some buffer. 30
Sheriff Blackwood said he has a plan, and this meeting may not be the best place to 31
discuss it. 32
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 33
34
• Communication System Improvements – Sheriff’s Office - $273,250 – p. 61 CIP 35
– Final Year of Multiyear Replacement of Portable and In-Vehicle Radios 36
– Replace Remaining Sheriff’s Office Radios – Approximately 131 Mobile and 37
Portable Units 38
39
Commissioner Greene asked if more explanation could be given about the increase in 40
“average scene time”. 41
Sheriff Blackwood said the way emergency personnel are responding has changed. He 42
said it is no longer feasible to expect staff to arrive, gather names, and leave. He said this 43
approach sets his staff up for a guaranteed return to scene at some point. He said if his office 44
does not take the time to get to the root cause for the call, it is doing a disservice to the 45
community. He said he cannot advocate strongly enough for the community paramedic 46
position, and way of responding has changed. 47
Commissioner Greene asked if law enforcement has changed its behaviors, or if the 48
needs of the community have changed. 49
16
Sheriff Blackwood said both; and part of it has to do with a societal change, part of 1
which is due to opioids. 2
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 3
4
• Sheriff’s Office Body Worn Cameras - $158,381 – p. 62 CIP 5
– Successful Pilot Project – Report in February 2018 6
– $300,000 Appropriated in FY2018-19 7
– Finalizes Implementation to All Sworn Officers 8
– Public Safety – CIP 9
10
• Non-Departmental Expenditures – page 330 11
– No significant budget changes 12
• Public Safety 13
14
General Government 15
• Board of County Commissioners – page 71 16
• Total expenditure budget - $976,501 17
– Increase of $59,470 over FY2018-19 18
• Intergovernmental Work Group Facilitation - $2,500 19
– Small Work Group Format to Begin in September 20
– Professionally Facilitated Meetings 21
» Assemble Agenda Items 22
» Produce Meeting Notes 23
» Assist in Evaluation 24
25
• Board of County Commissioners – page 71 26
• Performance Indicators – From Output to Efficiency and Outcome 27
• New Performance Measures 28
– % of Contracts Completed within 15 Days of Department Request 29
– % of Agendas Published Electronically within 24 hours of Receipt 30
– % of Eligible Reappointments Submitted Prior to Term Expiration 31
32
Commissioner Marcoplos asked if there is a list of all the associations to which the 33
County belongs, and associated costs. He said he is particularly interested in the dues for the 34
National Association of Counties (NACo), as he wonders if there is much benefit to the County 35
from this membership. 36
Donna Baker said her office has this information, and she would provide it to the Board 37
at the next work session. 38
Commissioner Price referred to NACo, and said she has worked with staff members on 39
various initiatives. 40
Commissioner Marcoplos said he would like to hear more details. 41
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 42
43
• Board of Elections – page 75 44
• Total expenditure budget - $952,821 45
– Increase of $263,637 over FY2018-19 46
– Partially Offset by Revenue from Municipalities and Fees - 47
$89,654 48
• Personnel and Operating Account Increases - $226,088 49
17
– Three (3) Countywide Elections in FY2019-20 Compared to One 1
(1) in FY2018-19 2
• Impact of Photo ID Requirement 3
– 2020 Presidential Primary 4
– Create ID Cards at Board of Elections without Delay 5
– Registration and Photo Identification on Same Day 6
– Increase in Provisional Ballots – 15 Minutes to Research and 7
Process Each Provisional Ballot 8
9
Rachel Raper said the March 3rd presidential preference primary will be one of the 10
biggest turnouts ever seen. She said the political climate is energized, and she wants to ensure 11
a smooth process for voters. She said the photo ID is an additional variable. 12
Commissioner Price asked if the figures are based on Saturday and Sunday voting. 13
Rachel Raper said extended Saturday and Sunday hours have been included for the 14
March 3rd presidential preference primary, along with the same number of 5 early voting sites. 15
Commissioner Dorosin referred to “personnel and operating account increases,” and 16
asked if this includes hiring new personnel. 17
Rachel Raper said this is for temporary positions. 18
Commissioner Dorosin referred to the photo ID issue, and asked if the legislation 19
indicates how soon the County must be able to start providing photo IDs. 20
Rachel Raper said her office started providing this service on May 1st. 21
Chair Rich asked if the County will be able to do outreach to educate the community 22
about being able to get a photo ID. 23
Rachel Raper said her office has partnered with the Department on Aging, and will hold 24
outreach events at the senior centers on July 15th and August 8th. She said her office will make 25
a large push after the municipal primary. 26
Commissioner Dorosin said it would be good to have information during the 2019 27
election. 28
Rachel Raper said her office is required to post signage at each check-in station, and on 29
large poster boards. 30
Commissioner Dorosin said he would like to see more outreach besides Aging. 31
Rachel Raper agreed. 32
Commissioner Price asked if there are alternate sites for public meetings, to 33
accommodate more people. 34
Rachel Raper said their meetings where they are considering one-stop hours will be at 35
capacity, and they will look at alternative meeting space. 36
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 37
38
• County Attorney – page 106 39
• Total expenditure budget - $676,032 40
– Increase of $83,609 over FY2018-19 41
• Personnel Addition and Reallocation 42
– Create New 0.5 FTE Staff Attorney Position to Accommodate 43
Loss of Senior Staff Attorney Assigned to Human Rights and 44
Relations 45
– Reallocate 0.5 FTE Administrative Support to Human Rights and 46
Relations from County Attorney 47
– New Net County Cost - $56,035 48
• Temporary Personnel to Cover Employee Leave - $19,200 49
• Major On-going Litigation Increase - $10,000 50
18
1
John Roberts said this half position will bring his staff back to 4 persons, where it was 2
previously. 3
Commissioner Dorosin asked if one full-time attorney will be hired, and reallocate the 4
0.5 FTE elsewhere. 5
John Roberts said he wanted to hire a part-time person. He said 0.5 of Annette Moore 6
is still as the senior staff attorney. He said this position would be 20 plus hours, and would be a 7
benefitted part-time person. 8
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the employee going on leave is also an attorney. 9
John Roberts said yes, and $19,000 would cover the time of leave. 10
Commissioner Price referred to the 0.5 FTE attorney, and asked if this will be shared 11
with another department. 12
John Roberts said no, the additional position would be entirely in the County Attorney’s 13
(CA’s) office. 14
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 15
16
• County Manager – page 109 17
• Total expenditure budget - $3,002,025 18
– Increase of $177,368 19
• Chief Information Security Officer 20
– Start January 1, 2020 21
– FY2019-20 Cost - $54,308 22
– Report to County Manager with Dotted Line Responsibility to 23
Director of Information Technology 24
» Primary Goals and Objectives Set by Manager 25
» Specific Project Management and Implementation in 26
Cooperation with IT 27
• 2019 Virus Event 28
– 8,256 Hours of Dedicated IT Personnel (3.9 FTE for a Full Year) 29
– 90% of Services Restored in 24 Hours; 98% Restored in 36 Hours 30
– $266,400 Incurred Expense 31
– $239,870 Submitted for Insurance Coverage 32
33
Commissioner McKee asked if the County is at 100% service again. 34
Jim Northup, Chief Information Officer, said staff is still doing a lot of remediation work, 35
but the services are running at 100%. 36
Commissioner McKee said he heard about other entities that have been attacked, and 37
assumes there are still bugs out there. 38
Jim Northup said this is the new reality, and staff is staying diligent. 39
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 40
41
• County Manager – page 109 42
– Arts Commission 43
• Total Expenditure Budget - $211,168 44
– Increase of $17,443 45
– Offsetting Revenue of $36,703 46
• Benchmark for Occupancy Tax Contribution 47
– Personnel Costs + 5% of Prior Year Occupancy Tax Collections 48
» Resulted in $17,410 Increase in Arts Commission Budget 49
• Risk Management (graph) 50
19
– Increase Expenditures for Bonds and Insurance - $40,000 1
– Property insurance, general liability, public officials, employment, 2
cyber 3
• Risk Management (graph) 4
• Risk Management (graph) 5
– No Change in Budgeted Expenditures for UC - $50,000 Base 6
Budget 7
8
• County Manager – page 109 9
• Partnership to End Homelessness 10
– Total Program Expenditures - $223,313 11
– Total Increase of $39,931 to Provide Substitute Staffing During 12
Employee Leave 13
» County’s Share - $17,083 14
– Costs shared with Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough Based 15
on Population 16
• Food Council Coordinator 17
– Total Program Expenditures - $75,000 18
– Guided by Interlocal Agreement 19
– Costs Shared with Towns Based on Population 20
» County $27,690 + $4,000 for Racial Equity Training 21
= $31,690 22
» Chapel Hill $29,110 23
» Carrboro $10,650 24
» Hillsborough $3,550 25
– Interviews Scheduled Friday, May 31st 26
27
Commissioner Marcoplos referred to the Food Council Coordinator position, and asked 28
if all the other governments are fully committed. 29
Travis Myren said staff has circulated the MOU, and all have signed with the exception 30
of Chapel Hill. He said staff anticipates no problems. 31
Chair Rich asked if the MOU is good for a number of years. 32
Bonnie Hammersley said Chapel Hill wants to add a review period after 18 months, and 33
thus this would be a two-year MOU. 34
Commissioner Dorosin said last week the Board talked about funding a position for the 35
Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), of which the Partnership to End Homelessness (PTEH) 36
is in support. He said if there is interest in funding this position, he wonders if it would make 37
sense to fund it here through the PTEH, instead of through an outside agency. 38
Commissioner Greene agreed, and said the request is to give the funds to the 39
Partnership. She said the PTEH coordinator is working on an MOU to go to all municipalities. 40
She said the Executive Team of the PTEH did not get a chance to discuss this prior to its 41
summer break, but the plan would be for the funds to come from the four government entities 42
and go to the PTEH, who would then contract with the CEF to do the work. 43
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the employee would be a County employee. 44
Commissioner Greene said no, this position would be a part of CEF, and funded by all 45
jurisdictions through the PTEH. 46
Travis Myren said the County would probably hold the contract with CEF to perform 47
those functions. 48
Commissioner Dorosin said he would like this position to be a County employee under 49
PTEH Coordinator Corey Root, funded by the four-party split. 50
20
Commissioner Greene said that is reasonable for the future, but right now CEF is doing 1
the work already, and her interest is to keep it funded this year. She said it has been funded 2
by a one-year grant, which is set to expire. 3
Chair Rich said there will need to be buy-in from the other municipalities in a very short 4
time. 5
Commissioner Greene said yes. 6
Travis Myren said staff is working to get a description out to all the partners. 7
Commissioner Dorosin said he is not questioning the need for the position, but is trying 8
to think of the most equitable funding strategy within the existing framework and partnerships. 9
Commissioner Greene said that makes sense, but they may not be able to get there 10
before the end of the budget process. 11
Commissioner Dorosin said maybe this could happen in 3-6 months. 12
Commissioner Price asked if the applicant for the current grant funding could be 13
identified. 14
Commissioner Greene she assumes CEF. 15
Commissioner Price said she agrees with Commissioner Dorosin, and if it is done by the 16
PTEH, it would need to be open to anyone to apply, and not just to CEF as it would be funding 17
a position for them. She said this could be seen as favoritism for one group. 18
Travis Myren agreed, to the extent that it would be a County employee then the position 19
would need to be open to anyone to apply. 20
Chair Rich asked if staff could run down the steps in the process. 21
Travis Myren said there is an amendment on the list that would add the CEF contract, 22
and a description of the position going to each of their partners asking for feedback and if they 23
are willing to contribute. He said this will go out tomorrow. 24
Chair Rich asked if there can be a deadline for the partners to respond. 25
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the $15,000, on the amendment from Commissioner 26
Greene, is for the County’s portion of the position. 27
Travis Myren said yes. 28
Chair Rich asked if staff would create and MOU with partners, if all agree, to ensure buy 29
in. 30
Travis Myren said staff would probably want to amend the Partnership’s MOU, which 31
could be done after the budget. 32
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the $23,824, which is recommended to CEF in outside 33
agency, covers the County’s $15,000 portion of this position. 34
Travis Myren said no. 35
Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is a reason for this. 36
Commissioner Greene said CEF asked for this money, but did not get it. 37
Bonnie Hammersley said CEF got an increase of $8,000 of what it requested. 38
Commissioner Price asked if the PTEH is only working with CEF. 39
Commissioner Greene said yes for the housing locator. 40
Commissioner Price asked if there is a contract with CEF, and the PTEH does not work 41
with any other housing organizations. 42
Travis Myren said the locator position is serving the entire community. 43
Commissioner Price said there are other housing organizations that do similar work. 44
Commissioner Greene said this was mentioned last time, and she is unaware of other 45
organizations doing housing locator work. 46
Commissioner Price said EmPowerment. 47
Chair Rich moved to remove the $4000 from the Food Council Coordinator position. 48
She said these funds were in here previously because funding was not coming in from all the 49
towns and the County at the same time. She said this money was to cover the director’s salary, 50
21
as the Board was taking this money and putting it into the racial equity training. She said there 1
was a desire to pay the salary while the director was in the training, but now there is a 2
partnership, and everyone should share racial equity training. 3
Bonnie Hammersley said staff can put this on as an amendment. 4
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the training happened. 5
Chair Rich said yes, it did. 6
Commissioner Dorosin asked if the County is seeking reimbursement for the training. 7
Chair Rich said no, but the training was a one-time thing, and no longer needs to be in 8
the budget. 9
Bonnie Hammersley said she would have more information on the housing locator 10
position at the June 11th work session, and the grant expires June 30th. 11
Commissioner Greene said she wished this had been part of the budget discussion at 12
least 6 months ago. 13
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 14
15
• Register of Deeds – page 367 16
• Total expenditure budget - $1,015,308 17
– Net County Costs Increased by $125,885 18
– Remains a Net General Fund Contributor - $816,692 19
• Revenue Decrease - $135,500 20
– Excise Stamps on Register of Deeds Fees 21
• Operational Savings – ($38,100) 22
– New Software Maintenance Transferred to ROD Automation 23
Account in CIP 24
– Elimination of Scanning Contracts due to New Software 25
26
• Register of Deeds – page 367 (graph) 27
28
• Tax Administration – page 402 29
• Total expenditure budget - $3,823,452 30
– Increase of $82,833 over FY2018-19 31
• Preparing for 2021 Revaluation 32
– Commercial Appraisal Firm - $26,000 33
• Tax Administration – Sales Tax Collection History 34
35 36
• Tax Administration – Tax Base History 37
22
1 2
• Assessed Home Value by Tax Jurisdiction 3
– Based on 2018 Revaluation 4
5 6
• Tax Administration - Tax Rate History 7
8 9
• Tax Administration – Simulated Incremental Rate Increase to Accommodate Debt 10
Service 11
23
1 2
Commissioner Dorosin asked about the hiring of his replacement. 3
Bonnie Hammersley said this posting went out last week, and hopes to have someone 4
in soon. 5
Dwane Brinson said he was at the state conference last week, and many qualified 6
persons were very interested in this position. 7
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 8
9
• Non-Departmental – page 311 10
• No budget changes 11
• General Government 12
13
Support Services 14
• Asset Management Services – page 64 15
• Total expenditure budget - $4,806,645 16
– Decrease of $786,414 over FY2018-19 Budget 17
• Motor Pool Transfer to Department of Transportation Services (formerly 18
OCPT) 19
– Transfer $1,126,128 and 6.0 FTE out of Asset Management 20
Services 21
– Transfer of Fuel Purchasing Responsibility 22
• Utility Increase - $203,258 23
– Electricity $101,790 – New Square Footage (leased space) & 24
Other Adjustments Related to Use 25
– Water $81,179 – Budget Right Sizing 26
– Natural Gas $21,289 – Budget Right Sizing 27
28
• Vehicle Replacement Recommendations – Purchase 29
24
1 2
• Vehicle Replacement Recommendations – Lease 3
4 5
Chair Rich asked if there is a process to deal with surplus vehicles. 6
Alan Dorman said leased vehicles are turned in or bought, and vehicles that are not 7
leased are surplussed. 8
Chair Rich asked if someone is buying the ambulances. 9
Alan Dorman said a part of the contract for the ambulances is to remount them, leaving 10
only the chassis. He said part of the contract states the chassis must be turned in or purchased 11
back. He said the revenue is negligible. 12
Commissioner Dorosin said the County should be looking at electric cars going forward. 13
Brennen Bouma, Sustainability Coordinator, said staff is expecting to hear in the next 14
three weeks about a state grant, which, if awarded, would include the purchase of the County’s 15
first electrical vehicle. He said this vehicle would be entered into the car share program, which 16
is open to all County staff. He said the grant will pay 80% of the difference in the lease costs, 17
which are considerably higher than regular vehicles. 18
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 19
20
• Community Relations – page 96 21
• Total expenditure budget - $288,826 22
– Increase of $15,387 Compared to FY2018-19 Budget 23
• Advertising in News of Orange - $1,000 24
• Website Maintenance and Video Production - $3,000 25
• Census Outreach - $1,500 26
27
Commissioner Price asked if staff advertises in the News and Observer. 28
Todd McGee said for some things, but the News of Orange is the best way to reach the 29
northern part of the County, which is typically the hardest portion of the County to reach. 30
25
Chair Rich asked if there are monies coming in from other entities for the census costs. 1
Todd McGee said there should be. He said the County plans to develop the materials to 2
distribute, and the other entities will reimburse the County for printing and distribution costs. He 3
said far more than $1500 is expected to be spent on this project. 4
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 5
6
• Finance and Administrative Services – page 256 7
• Total expenditure budget - $1,534,718 8
– Increase of $29,113 Over FY2018-19 Budget 9
• Business Automation Initiatives 10
– Budget Central – Eliminate Redundant Spreadsheets 11
– Maximize Electronic Funds Transfer to Vendors – Reduce Paper 12
Checks 13
– Automate Employee Travel Reimbursement – Eliminate Paper 14
Forms 15
– Online Vendor Bidding – Receive and Tabulate Quotes Online 16
• New Key Performance Indicators Focused on Efficiency 17
– % of Invoices Not Paid within 30 Days 18
– % of Purchasing Card Transactions Not Reconciled within 30 19
days 20
– $ amount of Revenues Not Recorded within 30 days 21
22
Commissioner Dorosin said he has found having the performance measures, developed 23
by departments, to be extremely helpful in this budget process, and is a good tool going 24
forward. 25
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 26
27
• Human Resources – page 287 28
• Total expenditure budget - $1,002,957 29
– Increase of $46,172 over FY2018-19 Budget 30
– $5,000 for Drug Testing Required by Department of 31
Transportation 32
• Employee Pay and Benefits – page 409 33
• 2% General Wage Adjustment Effective 7/1/19 - $1,100,000 34
• Employee Performance Adjustments – $735,000 35
– Employee Base Hourly Rate Adjusted Based on Performance 36
– Hourly Rate Equivalent to Existing Performance Tiers 37
» Exceptional - $1,000 = $0.48 per hour 38
» Superior - $750 = $0.36 per hour 39
» Proficient - $500 = $0.24 per hour 40
41
• Employee Pay and Benefits – page 409 42
• Health Insurance Increase (Active Employees & Pre-65 Retirees) – No 43
Change 44
• Post 65 Retiree Health Insurance Cost Increase - $59,700 45
• Dental Insurance Cost – No Change 46
• Maintain $15.00 per hour for Permanent Employees 47
• Living Wage for Temporary Employees 48
– Increase to $14.95 ($0.70 increase) Effective 7/1/19 for All 49
Temporary Employees Consistent with OC Living Wage - $25,000 50
26
1
Commissioner Dorosin said the Board started a conversation last week of giving a flat 2
percent increase across the board, and whether this creates disparities between those who are 3
at the top and those at the bottom. He said he would like to revisit the idea, and possibly 4
having a differential scale, or some other way for more equitable distribution. 5
Commissioner McKee said the increase means something different to a person making 6
$30,000 than it does to someone making $150,000, and those at the bottom tier need the 7
money more than those at the top tier. 8
Commissioner Greene said since it is at the base pay, it is compounded every year. 9
Chair Rich said this is not for now, but for future discussion. She said it is important to 10
add it to the base pay, as bonuses are nice but do not help with retirement; only the base pay 11
does. 12
Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 13
14
• Information Technologies – page 295 15
• Total expenditure budget - $4,076,614 16
– Increase of $628,598 Over FY2018-19 17
• Software Maintenance and Licenses 18
– Increase of $615,168 19
– Funds Maintenance for 111 Software Programs 20
21
Commissioner Dorosin said the increase of over $600,000 is a lot, and asked if this is 22
unusual. 23
Jim Northup said this is not unusual with the timing of the multi-year contracts, but there 24
are savings up to about $116,000 over the term of 5 years. He said multi-year contracts are 25
pursued every year, and they sometimes stay the same, but usually do not increase. He said 26
there is typically a 2-4% increase in software maintenance across the board for existing 27
applications, and the multi-year helps to keep it at 4% or less. 28
Chair Rich referred to page 327 and the Tuition Refunds, and asked if the specifics of 29
the refunds could be clarified. 30
Travis Myren said this is for employee reimbursement for tuition for professional 31
development activities. 32
Commissioner Greene referred to page 306 - Community Services - and asked if there 33
is a unifying thread to these items; e.g.: Arts Center and Kidzu. 34
Travis Myren said the common denominator is that these items do not fit into the 35
departments’ budgets, but have some relationship to Community Services. 36
Paul Laughton, Finance and Administrative Services, said the outside agencies are 37
included in the outside agency section, but are also included in whatever functional leadership 38
team with which they are associated. 39
Bonnie Hammersley said staff will go through the non-departmentals as it goes through 40
the functional leadership teams next week. 41
Travis Myren said staff can re-format the list after the budget process is completed. 42
Chair Rich clarified that the items are not doubly listed. 43
Travis Myren said correct. 44
Commissioner Dorosin offered an amendment to add to the list due to the extreme 45
funding discrepancy between the school districts, due to the district tax at Chapel Hill-Carrboro 46
City Schools (CHCCS). He proposed reducing the CHCCS district tax one cent, and add one 47
cent to the ad valorem tax, which would be used for education. He said this would hold CHCCS 48
harmless and add to education to the Orange County Schools (OCS). 49
27
Commissioner Bedford said it is not exactly one cent and one cent. She said the math 1
would have to be done. 2
3
3. Adjournment 4
5
A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin seconded by Commissioner McKee to 6
adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. 7
8
VOTE: UNANIMOUS 9
10
11
Penny Rich 12
Chair 13
14
Donna Baker 15
Clerk to the Board 16