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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 12-06-2021 Virtual Business Meeting 1 APPROVED 1/18/22 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS VIRTUAL BUSINESS MEETING December 6, 2021 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Virtual Business Meeting on Monday, December 6, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Renee Price, Vice Chair Jamezetta Bedford, and Commissioners Amy Fowler, Jean Hamilton, Sally Greene, Earl McKee (arrived at 7:05 p.m.), and Anna Richards COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager Travis Myren, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) Chair Price called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. A roll call was called; all members were present, except Commissioner McKee. Due to current public health concerns, the Board of Commissioners is conducting a Virtual Business Meeting on Monday, December 6, 2021. Members of the Board of Commissioners participated in the meeting remotely. As in prior meetings, members of the public were able to view and listen to the meeting via live streaming video at http://www.orangecountync.gov/967/Meeting-Videos and on Orange County Gov-TV on channels 1301 or 97.6 (Spectrum Cable). In this new virtual process, there are two methods for public comment. • Written submittals by email • Speaking during the virtual meeting Detailed public comment instructions for each method are provided at the bottom of this agenda. (Pre-registration is required.) Chair Price dispensed with reading the public charge. Public Charge: The Board of Commissioners pledges its respect to all present. The Board asks those attending this meeting to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner toward each other, county staff and the commissioners. At any time should a member of the Board or the public fail to observe this charge, the Chair will take steps to restore order and decorum. Should it become impossible to restore order and continue the meeting, the Chair will recess the meeting until such time that a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed. The BOCC asks that all electronic devices such as cell phones, pagers, and computers should please be turned off or set to silent/vibrate. Please be kind to everyone. 2 Board Organization a. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair Laura Jensen described the process the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) will follow to nominate and vote on the nominees for Chair and Vice Chair. She said she will ask the Board for nominations for Chair, which will need to receive a first and second. She said she will then ask for a motion to close the nominations, which will also need to be first and seconded. She said there will be a roll call vote to close the nominations, followed by a roll call vote for the nominees. Chair Price paused the process to allow Commissioner McKee to join. Commissioner Fowler said she would like to make a nomination when Commissioner McKee has joined. Commissioner McKee arrived at 7:05 p.m. Laura Jensen asked the Board for nominations for the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner Fowler nominated Commissioner Price to serve as Chair of the Board. Commissioner McKee seconded the nomination. A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford, seconded by Commissioner Greene, to close the nominations. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS Laura Jensen said the Board would now take a vote on Commissioner Price as the nominee to serve as Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS Laura Jensen asked the Board for nominations for Vice-Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner McKee nominated Commissioner Bedford to serve as Vice-Chair of the Board. Commissioner Greene seconded the nomination. A motion was made by Commissioner Hamilton, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to close the nominations. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS Laura Jensen indicated the Board would now take a vote on Commissioner Bedford as the nominee to serve as Vice-Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. 3 Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Price thanked the Commissioners for entrusting her to serve as Chair for an additional year. She said the Board works well together and she enjoys the comradery. Commissioner Bedford thanked the Board for voting for her for Vice-Chair. She said she knows Chair Price will be busy this year and encouraged her to call on colleagues if needed. b. Designation of Voting Delegate for all North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) and National Association of Counties (NACo) Meetings for Calendar Year December 1, 2021-2022 Commissioner McKee nominated Commissioner Greene to serve as the NCACC voting delegate for the coming year. Commissioner Bedford seconded the nomination. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Fowler nominated Chair Price to serve as the NACo delegate for the coming year. Commissioner McKee seconded the nomination. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda None. 2. Public Comments a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda None. b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members Commissioner Fowler said she attended the Behavioral Health Task Force meeting on November 18". She said the big news from the meeting is the county's switch from Cardinal to Alliance as its MCO, and continued work on a diversion facility. She said news should be forthcoming on the architectural plans for the facility. She said she attended the JCPC meeting last Friday and $15,000 of the $25,000 in leftover funding was allocated to Wren House for much needed renovations. She said with this allocation, only$10,000 will have to be given back to the state. She said among the various providers, numbers served are up again from where they were down due to COVID. Commissioner Richards said she has nothing to report. 4 Commissioner Hamilton said the first meeting of the Capital Needs Work Group took place November 291h. She said this group was formed to look at the facility needs of the K-12 public schools, and it is comprised of elected officials and staff from the County as well as the Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) districts. She said she is serving as the Chair with Bonnie Hauser, member of the OCS board of education, serving as Vice-Chair. She said Gary Donaldson, Orange County Chief Financial Officer, gave a presentation on the finances for capital needs for schools. She said the work group will meet again on January 101h at 8:00 a.m. She said Chair Price is the other commissioner on the Capital Needs Work Group. She said the Board of Health also met on November 17th and wrapped up work for the year. Commissioner Bedford said she sat in on the Alliance Health Board Meeting last Thursday, and the transition is effective December 1 st. She said it will take a billing cycle to work through some of the wrinkles, due to the transition. She said she forwarded a letter from the Alliance Board Chair welcoming Orange County. Commissioner Greene said the Cedar Ridge High School women's volleyball team won the state championship, which is the school's first state championship since 2003, when the men's track team won. She said she became aware of this achievement during the Hillsborough Holiday Parade, where she was positioned in front of the team's float. Commissioner McKee said the parade was well received, and there was a large crowd in attendance. He said there is a milestone coming up for the Broadband Task Force in the next couple of weeks when RFPs are due back. He said the task force will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss how those will be opened, followed by another meeting in a couple of weeks to actually look over and evaluate them. He said the group will also look into some short term wireless options, until the fiber fix can be implemented. He said this will be an expensive and long project, but he is glad that it is moving forward. Chair Price said there is draft Rules of Procedure as an information item in tonight's packet, and the Board will be voting on that at the December 14th meeting. She said the main changes were just correctional updates. She said the rules can be amended in the future, but she hopes this can serve as a basis that is accurate. She reminded the public that the mask mandate is still in effect in public indoor spaces, in light of the Omicron variant. She asked if the board would like to recognize the Cedar Ridge volleyball team at their next meeting with a proclamation. She said December 6, 1865 was the day of the ratification of the 13th Amendment, declaring the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a convicted crime. She said therein lies the rub because there are issues with that clause, and vestiges still remain, but today marks 156 years since the abolition of slavery in the United States. Commissioner Greene said there was an item in the Rules of Procedure, to which she wanted to propose an amendment. Chair Price said that can be considered next week, if the Board would like. She said it was not her intention to go through the Rules of Procedure thoroughly, but just to make corrections for accuracy. Commissioner Bedford asked if Commissioner Greene would send the proposed amendment to the Clerk for distribution to the Board. 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations None. 5. Public Hearings None. 5 6. Regular Agenda a. First Reading of Amendments of Portions of the Code of Ordinances to Comply with North Carolina Session Law 2021-138 The Board considered the first reading of ordinances having misdemeanors as one of the available enforcement options and repealed the misdemeanor provision as may be required by law. The proposed updates and revisions will be presented for second reading approval at the Board's December 14, 2021 Business meeting. BACKGROUND: As previously reported to the Board of Commissioners, the North Carolina General Assembly recently passed and the Governor signed into law an act that prohibits certain local government ordinances from having criminal penalties and requires a new adoption process for other local government ordinances that have criminal (misdemeanor) penalties. Part XIII of North Carolina Session Law 2021-138 reads in pertinent part: § 153A-123. Enforcement of ordinances. (b)Except for the types of ordinances listed in subsection (b1) of this section, violation of a county ordinance may be a misdemeanor or infraction as provided by G.S. 14-4 only if the county specifies such in the ordinance. An ordinance may provide by express statement that the maximum fine, term of imprisonment, or infraction penalty to be imposed for a violation is some amount of money or number of days less than the maximum imposed by G.S. 14-4. Notwithstanding G.S. 153A-45, no ordinance specifying a criminal penalty may be enacted at the meeting in which it is first introduced. (b1) No ordinance of the following types may impose a criminal penalty. (1) Any ordinance adopted under Article 18 of this Chapter, Planning and Regulation of Development or, its successor, Chapter 160D of the General Statutes, except for those ordinances related to unsafe buildings. (2) Any ordinance adopted pursuant to G.S. 153A-134, Regulating and licensing businesses, trades, etc. (3) Any ordinance adopted pursuant to G.S. 153A-138, Registration of mobile homes, house trailers, etc. (4) Any ordinance adopted pursuant to G.S. 153A-140.1, Stream-clearing programs. (5) Any ordinance adopted pursuant to G.S. 153A-143, Regulation of outdoor advertising or, its successor, G.S. 160D-912, Outdoor advertising. (6) Any ordinance adopted pursuant to G.S. 153A-144, Limitations on regulating solar collectors or, its successor, G.S. 160D-914, Solar collectors. (7) Any ordinance adopted pursuant to G.S. 153A-145, Limitations on regulating cisterns and rain barrels. (8) Any ordinance regulating trees. In considering the recommended changes, the Board may wish to examine the full section of the ordinance in addition to the subsections shown on Attachment 1. Due to the number of sections in need of amendment or re-adoption, it is not practical to attach the entire 600 plus Code of Ordinances. The Board and the public may view the Code of Ordinances at this link. 6 Each section may be accessed by clicking the Chapters linked on the left hand side of the page. In order to comply with the provisions of subsection (b1) of the session law, the following ordinances should have the misdemeanor penalties removed from the ordinance. • Code of Ordinances --- First Reading --- Text Amendments as reflected in Attachment 1 o Chapter 1; Section 1-7 - General Penalties --- Language amended o Chapter 4; Section 4-51 ---Animal Control Generally----Clarifies that now all violations of the animal control ordinance are intended to automatically be misdemeanors o Chapter 8; Section 8-42 — Regulation of Massage Businesses --- Misdemeanor language replaced by civil penalty o Chapter 8; Section 8-81 —Tax on Gross Receipts for the lease or rental of motor vehicles --- Misdemeanor language removed o Chapter 8; Section 8-100 — Regulation of Sexually Oriented Businesses --- Misdemeanor language replaced by civil penalty o Chapter 8; Section 8-122 — Regulation of Mobile Food Vending Businesses --- Misdemeanor language replaced by civil penalty o Chapter 18; Section 18-156 —Weapons --- Clarifies possession on County property is a misdemeanor rather than relying on the general language in Section 1-7 There is consensus among local government attorneys that the substantial change in the manner in which ordinances that have a misdemeanor penalty are adopted into law should be addressed by the governing board, out of an abundance of caution, by re-adopting those provisions under the new method. The ordinances in the Code that provide for a misdemeanor penalty include the following sections. • Code of Ordinances --- First Reading --- No Changes to Language o Chapter 4; Section 4-42 --- Control of Dangerous Animals o Chapter 4; Section 4-51 --- Animal Control Generally o Chapter 4; Section 4-133 --- Display of Wild Animals o Chapter 4; Section 4-184 --- Keeping Wild Animals o Chapter 14; Section 14-42 --- State of Emergency o Chapter 14; Section 14-83 --- Emergency Management o Chapter 14; Section 14-129 --- Rescue Franchise Agreements o Chapter 14; Section 14-261 --- Oil Pollution and Hazardous Substances o Chapter 16; Section 16-37 --- Smoking o Chapter 16; Section 16-57 --- Noise o Chapter 24; Section 24-1 --- Hunting and Fishing o Chapter 24; Section 24-3 --- Firearms Discharge o Chapter 24; Section 24-4 --- Fireworks Display o Chapter 34; Section 34-1 --- Disposal of Solid Waste o Chapter 34; Section 34-47 --- Solid Waste Collection and Disposal o Chapter 34; Section 34-77 --- Recyclable Materials o Chapter 36; Section 36-34 --- General Water Conservation o Chapter 36; Section 36-67 --- Emergency Water Conservation 7 o Unified Development Ordinance; The UDO has provisions that must be amended, however, the process to amend the UDO is more involved than that of the Code and the Planning Department is moving the UDO amendments through that process. There has been discussion previously by Board members about the necessity for the misdemeanor penalty provisions of some ordinances. Contrary to what may be generally believed, the goal of the penalty sections of the ordinances is compliance rather than punishment. Generally a civil citation for a violation would issue prior to any misdemeanor citation. And, for the most part, once the offender is in compliance the civil penalty, if any was assessed, may be waived in whole or in part depending on the circumstances. Having a misdemeanor option is another avenue to encourage compliance either through the threat of enforcement or when a civil penalty fails. The only ordinance violations that regularly involve misdemeanor penalties are violations of the Animal Control Ordinance. When misdemeanor violations are charged, the outcome is out of the hands of County staff and is decided by the District Attorney. For these reasons misdemeanor penalties are rarely pursued for violations of ordinances other than for violations of the Animal Control Ordinance. John Roberts reviewed the background information for the item. He said several months ago, the Governor signed a bill into law that is the result of several years of research done by the General Assembly, looking at each county and city's ordinances for misdemeanor provisions. He said he believes the intention was to remove most misdemeanor authority from local governments. He said the advisory committee for the study came back with a limitation on what local governments could adopt misdemeanor penalties for. He said the documents provided in the agenda packet were actually a draft, and he will share his screen to show to correct final documents. John Roberts focused on subsection b1 as written above, which has the limitation. He said the UDO has to be amended, and will be on the December 14, 2021 agenda. He said this evening the Board will see subsection 2, which refers to ordinances regulating businesses. He said he is recommending addressing with amendments to misdemeanor language. He said much of subsection b1 is not something for which Orange County has an ordinance. He said prior boards have asked why misdemeanor penalties are there at all. He said these are not something intended to fine or convict people, but rather are intended to encourage compliance. He said most ordinances have multiple avenues for pursuing penalties, including civil and criminal penalties up to a Class 3 misdemeanor. He said since he has been at the county, he is not aware of any misdemeanors being enforced other than the Animal Control Ordinance. He said the Board can look at removing misdemeanors in the future if it would like. He said the first section has some minor amendments to change the misdemeanor language, and the second thing is readopting misdemeanors as a best practice measure to address the new method imposed by the General Assembly. He said there are very few sections where he is recommending the Board make any change. He reviewed the few changes. Chair Price said the language in the ordinance is "punished by a fine", and asked John Roberts to clarify his point that these provisions are not intended as punishment. She said it seems contradictory to say this. John Roberts said a fine can be a civil fine as well. He said this language is in here because some of the misdemeanor language refers back to 1-7, and he felt it needed to be clearer. He asked if the Board would like to change this. Chair Price said no because she does not have any alternate suggestions, but just wanted to point out the language of the ordinance goes against the idea that these provisions are in place to encourage compliance, rather than impose punishment. 8 John Roberts said since he has been with the county, the only misdemeanors enforced were for violations of the Animal Control Ordinance. John Roberts continued his presentation. He went over the section where he is recommending no changes as shown in the background information for the item and on Attachment 1. He said he is asking the Board to readopt these sections at the December 14, 2021 meeting. He clarified that no vote on this is necessary tonight. Commissioner Richards asked if the state is limiting what local governments can do, and if this is the legislature trying to come in and recriminalize things in light of local governments attempting to decriminalize. John Roberts said this is not related to the movement to decriminalize some things. He said, several years ago, the General Assembly asked local governments to provide a list of all ordinances with misdemeanor penalties. He said this is the culmination of that request. He said this started out as the legislature trying to strip authority from local governments as they have done continuously over the last 10-12 years. He said this list resulted from these discussions. He said a lot of the items that local governments can no longer regulate via misdemeanor are things the General Assembly likes, such as planning, billboards, businesses, etc. Chair Price said the remedies indicate the County Manager or their designee may assess civil penalties. She said a lot of this is under the LIDO, and asked if there is a process in place if there is a violation. John Roberts said a previous manager delegated enforcement of ordinances to the department that deals with that ordinance, for example: Animal Services and the Dangerous Dogs Ordinance. He said Animal services issues a citation and works with the County Attorney's office, who then works with Assistant District Attorney assigned to it. He said there will be either a misdemeanor, out of court settlement, or some other enforcement action for violation of the ordinance. Chair Price asked if department heads have authority to issue citation based on a report from a member of the public. John Roberts said in some departments, yes, but in others they would have to call the Sheriff and ask for an investigation. Chair Price said this item will be brought back next week, December 14, 2021, for a second reading and vote. b. Approval of an Allocation Framework for the FY2020-21 Financial Results The Board considered approving an allocation framework for the FY2020-21 financial results, which resulted in a total net positive financial positon of approximately$12 million, with the approved framework to be codified in a budget amendment for consideration at a future meeting. BACKGROUND: This abstract provides a high level summary of the attached Update on FY2020-21 Year End Financial Results report which provides a more detailed discussion of the sources and proposed uses of the County's positive net financial positon ending on June 30, 2021. The results of the FY2020-21 financial audit will show positive results in two areas. On an operating basis, the audit will show a surplus of approximately $8.9 million before transfers. Of that amount, approximately $8 million is available for a mid-year budget adjustment. In addition, the fund balance reconciliation contained in the audit will show $4 million in available one time resources resulting from a decrease in the fund balance appropriation used to balance 9 the FY2020-21 Budget compared to the smaller amount appropriated to balance the FY2021-22 Budget. The positive operating results relied on revenue collections that exceeded budgeted expectations and intentional expenditure restrictions that limited expenditures to below budgeted amounts. Some of these variances are expected to be recurring or ongoing while others are non-recurring or one time occurrences. Source Amount Recurring vs. Non- Recurring Property Tax Collection Rate $1,600,000 Recurring • 98.7% Budgeted • 99.27% Actual Motor Vehicle Tax Collection Rate $ 400,000 Recurring • 99.4% Budgeted • 103.8% Actual (exceeds 100% due to payment of delinquent bills) Sales Tax Collections (Articles 39, $4,000,000 Recurring 40 and 42) • Budgeted to decrease by 4.5% • Actual Collections exceed Budget by 17.4% Medicaid Hold Harmless $2,000,000 Non-Recurring • Budgeted at $1.75 million • Actual Payment - $3.75 million No Use of Fund Balance to Balance $4,000,000 Non-Recurring Budget • $8,200,000 Budgeted • $1,900,000 Assigned to FY2021-22 Budget • $2,300,000 Allocated to maintain 16% Unassigned Fund Balance • $4,000,000 Available for Allocation TOTALi0i i0i Based on the recurring and non-recurring nature of the variances outlined above, the following table proposes specific uses for those funds. A more detailed description of the proposed allocations is contained in the attached Update on FY2020-21 Year End Financial Results report. Proposed Non- Recurring Employee Wage Adjustment $ (1,883,875) Recurring • Three percent wage increase retroactive to July 1, 2021 Schools Opportunity Gap & Mental $ (1,500,000) Recurring Health Fund • Allocated by average daily membership 10 • Schools to provide spending plan • Track progress on key indicators FEMA Back Stop $ (407,543) Non-Recurring • Reserved for unreimbursed COVID-19 emergency expenditures • May be repurposed if reimbursement occurs Ineligible Federal Expenses $ (2,228,629) Non-Recurring • Sportsplex Deficit • Visitors Bureau Deficit • Information Technology Expenses for County use • Expenses not eligible under evolving federal regulations Outside Agencies $ (1,729,953) Non-Recurring • Substitute general fund resources for proposed ARPA funding due to rigorous reporting requirements for sub recipients Crisis Diversion Facility Design $ (250,000) Non-Recurring • Conceptual design funding for potential new facility Transfer to Capital Reserve Non-Recurring • Reserved to fund existing debt $ (4,000,000) financed projects or increase capital funding for priority projects • A decision on how to allocate this funding could be made at a later date TOTALGRAND (12,000,000) Commissioner Bedford said it is always good news when there is an adjustment due to additional revenue, rather than additional expenses. She said the suggested framework was thoughtful and captured the will of what the Board previously wanted to do with the budget, but could not. Travis Myren said this additional revenue is good news, but is not something that is expected to happen every year. He said the county should typically be projecting better, but the pandemic caused this discrepancy in projection and reality. He made the following PowerPoint presentation: 11 Slide #1 Agenda Item 6.b, ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Approval of an Allocation Framework for the FY2020-21 Financial Results Board of Orange County Cornrnissiorrers December 6, 2021 Slide #2 The Context for the FY2020-21 Budget Uncertainty Aggressive Interventions Created and Approved during • Remote Work—Online Stay at Home order Consumerism • Unemployment Increasing • County$mall Business Grants • State Directed-Conservative • Federal Funds to Counties and Revenue Projections Municipalities — Mainlain County Services • Intentional Cost Conte inment — PromrveSoclal Safely Net Strategies • ❑irrectFederal Payments to Individuals ORANGE COUNTY 15R7]I CAROLINA Travis Myren said staff had no idea what to expect when the 2020-2021 budget was first proposed, only six weeks into the stay-at-home order. He said the idea was to operate conservatively, as the Department of Revenue was advising counties to be careful about projecting revenues and to not rely on the same hold harmless payment as received in the past. He said, due to a change in how sales tax was delivered a few years ago, an increase in online shopping during pandemic resulted in higher sales tax revenue. He said stimulus payments also had an impact on this, as seen in slide #4. He resumed the PowerPoint presentation: 12 Slide #3 F` 20 0- 1 Year End Results Actual Operating Revenues Over Budgeted Levels Actual Operating Expenditure&Under Budget Non- Pmmrty Tax Cabcdon Ft" 61.600.0 4 Retuning 99.1r%Butlgeled 99.27%Acbjal Ma4nr Ybhlcb Tex CoMetlon ftba FAD3.63D Recuning • 99.4%Bu uoEd • 1038%Anuel (exceeds 10ft die to p nent of delmuent �1I15 &Nln x orn S4.Wl),M lur'u—mrig Bulgaled to decrees%try 45% Atkin Coledane emLed 8 et 158% Wdluld Hold Wnnlms L2,G]6pG] MaM2eaMrg + Budgalad a1 51.75 milim • Aoml ftym nl-$3.7.51nllon o as&fund GNImme to Dolonco Budget -E—Q rg ba,a]o au]8Wgeied 51,9IDpG]A.9e1grred to FYM21-22 Mgel L2,9IDpG] Allaceted 1a mairtam 1B% unaseigned Fund Balance FA,GIDpG]Aaallade ror Macau Slide #4 gales Tax Illustration Sales Tax[allecWfks by Manth aKOA� 3rd 9VrJu rud 3a31 �rd'�YnWw'[emraef�p2p � 525E6i000.M 52EE6i000.M fi Jaye"0 4 Lr 4WD it Firru' ^—'-" Ha.r—`._ ho`�xi err rh frri.rh '-"'r {i Lu. .r GRAN F COL;NTY Ptak I I I CAkil INA 13 Slide #5 Framework for Mid-fear Budget Adjustment E MO"M W&p Adustment 6 11,88 7 1 Re[oning Thee percenl 0%)wage increase revnachMe la JuN 1,2621 9shoolsOppwWnl%y WrP SLMeow HmKhFuW Recurring Allocated br average dairy merrbefship Schods w pramde apendng plan Track progress on key Indcalm 'FEMA Ewa Wp 6 9 enurwg Resaxed for unrelrrbursed COVID-19 emergency exerdlhuee Nay berepurpesed rrrelrrbursernent occurs InvIVA Fedrd Expowes 6 (2,2261629) Morr-Raornrg Sporlsplea Oenat "sitars Bureau Oencit Irtafmanan Technology Experises TorCaunty use Ouwldo Agenims OQPrg Suhshlwe general hind resources for proposed ARPA funding due bo rigorous repomrg I EQuifemenls for sub recipenls ab 4rvrrslon Foclllpy Galen 5 INAM) NorHReoxring Cmeept-nI design Tundng for polenoal neev raalrry TianafartoCapltellbamme (A.D6,01M) Man-Recuring • Reserved io fund eusdng dw financed pralam or 1nueom Gap1I8l fundng for priority projects • A decision on how io allocate i is funding could be made at a leler dale Travis Myren said the county has not been able to provide an across the board wage increase to county employees for two fiscal years. He said if approved, employees would see a retroactive lump sum check at the end of December, and wages would go up 3% for the rest of the fiscal year. Travis Myren said allocation for schools would be based on average daily membership. He said the County Manager has spoken to the superintendents, who are ready and able to provide a spending plan for the use of these funds, as well as the key indicators to track that the funds are being used as they are intended. Commissioner McKee asked if the Board could set tight parameters about what the money could be spent on. Travis Myren said yes, but this is not being recommended. He said staff is asking for a specific plan from the schools. Commissioner McKee said he would like to set parameters around the use of these funds for students who are currently non-proficient from grades 3-8. He said the Board must intervene in closing the achievement gap in the school districts. He asked if there is support from other Board members on this. Commissioner Greene thanked Bonnie Hammersley for talking to the superintendents. She said she spoke with a CHCCS school board member, and feels the Board must collaborate with the schools. She said everyone wants to address the same problems, but she does not want to dictate how this should be done. She said they need the metrics, and end of grade scores are not always the best metrics. She said the schools can offer an appropriate metric. Commissioner Hamilton said she agrees with Commissioner Greene. She said the schools need more money, and it is the responsibility of the school board to provide education for all children, and hire professionals to close the gap. She said she has watched what the school boards do over the years, and there has been a lot of effort put forth to address the achievement gap. She said it is important to understand what the metrics say and do no say. She said she does not agree with the metrics that have been proposed, if they are too broad to capture what is actually happening. She said if the Board just keeps demanding change 14 without understanding what drives the gap, it will cause more stress for students and staff alike. She said county commissioners do not know enough, and must work in partnership with the schools. She said the Board needs to hear more from the schools to better understand the root of the achievement gap. She said there is a broad range of students in this community, and the Board needs to have a better idea before setting outlines that may not help and may actually harm. She said she supports providing the money for mental health and the Board should look back at the details of what the school asked for, and what was not provided for previously. She said the Board should ask the schools what needs they currently have, and be clear on who is responsible for what. She said she does not agree with current proposal. Commissioner Richards said the job of the school district should be geared toward all children achieving success at all times. She said she does not want to throw more money at a program to address closing the achievement gap, which is a hot buzz word these days. She said she does not believe either school district is working up to its mission, and wants to see better quality educational and outcome for all students. She said this money should go to social emotional health, and the ramifications of COVID-19, isolation, and stress. She said she understands the county should not micromanage, but she thinks what the schools asked for, but was unable to be funded, should dictate how the money is allocated. She said she would like to know the gaps in terms of the overall district request, and what was funded and what was not. She said she supports money going to mental health, social emotional learning (SEL), because there has never been enough support in this area. Commissioner Fowler said the surplus came about through austerity and online sales tax. She said the county was austere in what it provided to the schools, and she supports this money and thinks the schools should dictate where the emphasis and dollars go. She said she would like to know if the schools have already received other funds in this area, and may no longer need it. She said if funds are needed, she supports giving them to the schools. Chair Price said she is in favor of$1.5 million going to mental health and SEL, which were both highlighted as needed areas in the budget from the schools. She said if students are unable to learn because of some other reason, achievement scores will go down. She said she falls in the middle on whether or not the county should have some say in how the money is spent. She said what is outlined here can help with collaboration between schools and the county. She said she would like to see a spending plan with indicators contained within, prior to Board approval. She said the Board does have some degree of fiduciary responsibility, and wants everyone to work together for the best of the children. She said it helps the Board if progress is tracked with key indicators, so as to better budget in the future. She said the needs are likely endless. Commissioner McKee said none of his comments were meant to denigrate any individual or board. He said no one can say that the proficiency rates are acceptable, and these rates are his focus. He said he is happy to approve the proposal tonight, but he very much wants to address these issues in the future. He said it was not intent to change anything tonight, but he will not accept the proficiency levels, and will keep hounding the issue until students achieve a significant increase in proficiency rating overall. He said he refuses to see students matriculate out of schools without being proficient. Commissioner Bedford said she supports this amount, but this is a recurring expense for future years. She asked if actual enrollment will be used for this year. Travis Myren said he was going to use projected ADM, but would have to look at that in advance of the budget amendment coming back on the 14tn Commissioner Bedford said she became a school board member in 2003, and heard a lot about community mental health services being offered in schools out of state, and local schools hoping to do the same. She said over the years, some mental health services have been cobbled together through various measures, but there has never been anything 15 comprehensive. She said Orange County leads in ratios of counselors in schools, but is still less than what is recommended by national standards. She said she would like to see these additional dollars focused on mental health and SEL with broad definitions. She said she has not attended school board meetings recently, and does not know what school boards are doing to address issues. She said she wants to leave it up to schools to determine on what to spend the money specifically, but does also like to have a plan because of ESSR funds the schools boards got this year. Chair Price asked the County Manager if she could explain the current situation with counselors and social workers in the schools. Bonnie Hammersley said she wanted to share a conversation she had with the superintendents. She said the schools will provide a spending plan to school boards for approval, then to the BOCC for approval. She said there would be an agreement that this would not go to current expense, and they are intended to be ongoing funds. She said they also discussed that schools should be able to determine priorities within plan. She said ultimately the BOCC would have the opportunity to speak into the plan, but she has always relied on superintendents as experts in their fields. She said both schools boards requested funds in their expansion budgets for these issues, and she imagines these are the most pressing needs, as students were not in school for many months. She said a question was raised as to whether these funds could also be used for mental health for school employees. She told the schools to work with the boards and bring the plan forward. She said they also talked about metrics, which the schools thought should be different. She said the BOCC will approve a framework of funds, but will have to go through additional approval for more details. Commissioner Hamilton said CHCCS had $1 million in its expansion budget for SEL and mental health, but the county could not fund it. She said there are words in the information provided about what the plan is, but she does not feel comfortable approving it unless it is clear it is just a framework. She said anyone who is paying attention and reading the documents would make the assumption that if it is in the document it will be done. She said she wants to be specific. Commissioner Richards said employees have gone two years without increases, and there have also been no trainings. She said this may be a onetime opportunity to catch up more with employees. She asked if there is any consideration to this issue. Commissioner Richards asked if the Sportsplex is meant to be self-sustaining. Bonnie Hammersley said the Sportsplex is an enterprise fund, and does not receive general funds from the county, but the county is the safety net. She said the county did provide some support during COVID-19, but the Sportsplex is now back on track. She said the county has two enterprise funds: Solid Waste and Sportsplex. Commissioner Richards said she assumed part of the funds available came through department austerity measures, and asked if departments had delayed projects, etc. that can be corrected. Travis Myren said department savings from delayed projects have been re-budgeted. Bonnie Hammersley said the 5% reduction of operating funds was meant to be sustainable, i.e.: there is no expectation for the money to be put back. She said this is not uncommon in county government. Commissioner Richards asked if salaries will be maintained in the new budget. Bonnie Hammersley said the county is currently 6% behind the market before this increase. She said she cannot say what will be done in next budget because projections are not available yet. She said the full impact of the pandemic is not known, as the pandemic is not over. She said she hopes to make up some of the loss. 16 Commissioner Richards said when she spoke with department heads, each department brought up the amount of work employees have to do, nature of work changed due to COVID- 19, and vacancies in departments. She said it is important to stay competitive. Bonnie Hammersley said one area where the county can remain competitive, is to allow remote working. She said the private sector is doing tremendous amounts of remote work, which is attractive to young professionals. She said one of her goals for the upcoming budget, will be to look at some type of retention package to retain employees. She said there is a labor shortage right now, with boomers retiring, and employees have opportunity they did not have with opportunities to go other places. She said the county must compete with private sector in that way. She said it is also evident that the pandemic has left everyone exhausted. She said when this surplus came up, she knew it was important to put some funding towards employees. Commissioner Richards asked if county employees have emotional and mental health services/support. Bonnie Hammersley said yes, there is employee assistance and a strong benefits package. Chair Price thanked the County Manager for putting the salary increase in the budget. She said she wanted a cost of living increase for employees during the budget, but it was not available at the time. She said the County Manager promised to put any excess funds towards the employees, and she has done so. Travis Myren referred to Commissioner Bedford's earlier question, and said the ADM share for CHCCS would go down a bit if using current enrollment. Commissioner Bedford said she would like it to be reflective of current enrollment for accuracy. Travis Myren asked if Board wants to address specific wording of how the money can be used by the schools. Commissioner Greene said a good way to synthesize the discussion would be to offer money to schools under the joint umbrella of opportunity gap and mental health/SEL, and let them come back to board with priorities based on their needs. She said she is persuaded that both school systems could use it all for mental health, but to honor the intent of the Board, she would like the wording to be proposed as both, as it gives schools greater flexibility. Commissioner McKee said Commissioner Greene's comments were spot on, and agrees with her proposal. Commissioner Richards said she will go along with this plan, but will remain concerned as long as the opportunity gap is discussed but the system is not held accountable for the results of a sound education for all. Commissioner Richards referred to planning funding for the crisis intervention center, and asked if these funds would be in addition to the planning funding. She said she asked for a list of ARPA funds expenses, and there was a line item of planning funding for the crisis center. Travis Myren said the crisis center is on both lists, but it is not eligible for ARPA expenditures Commissioner Richards said $160,000 is not happening but $250,000 is happening. Travis Myren said yes, as it is not eligible for APRA funding. Commissioner Richards asked if the costs went up. Travis Myren said staff is recommending an increase in funding for the planning stage, to allow the process to move further down the road. He said it will come off ARPA list at the next BOCC meeting. Commissioner Richards asked if staff will let the BOCC know if other items are removed from the list. Travis Myren said he will go back to those ARPA fund items which are be replaced with general fund monies at the end of his presentation. 17 Commissioner Bedford said she would take out the sentence about measuring outcomes by end of grade tests (EOG's). She said she would prefer to let the school superintendents propose the measures. Commissioner Hamilton said this is one slice of the budget, and she is unclear why the Board would require it if not required for the rest of the school budgets. She said the Board is micromanaging the process, and she believes it should fund generally and let the school experts do their work. She said tying funding to specific metrics is an over stepping of boundaries, as the BOCC does not understand these metrics sufficiently. She said this will not help students. She said it is very important to have conversations with the schools, and to gain understanding, but she disagrees with tying funding to certain metrics. She said the BOCC would not like if the state micromanaged in this way. Commissioner Hamilton said she does agree with the employee wage adjustment and thanks staff for their sacrifices. She said she would like to have a list for what ARPA funds were originally allocated versus what these funds cannot be used for. She said she would like to know how much funding remains and how the BOCC can assign it. Chair Price said the achievement gap, mental health and SEL are interrelated, and the BOCC is addressing both in this funding category. She said she feels good about letting schools make decision about how to spend this money within this category. Bonnie Hammersley said the superintendents suggested that the districts can provide key performance indicators for both and would be doing it anyway. She said the superintendents do not feel like the Board is micromanaging them and are extremely pleased. She said the state requires the county to provide key performance indicators for everything it does, so it is not unusual to receive money and have to do this. Commissioner Greene proposed striking the last paragraph under "Opportunity Gap Reduction and Student Mental Health Support Fund" of the attached memo. She suggested keeping paragraphs 1 and 2, and making the next to last sentence of 2nd paragraph, "as proposed, each district would provide a spending plan each year with key performance indicators, which could not supplant current spending." A motion was made by Commissioner Greene, seconded by Commissioner McKee, to amend the Update in FY2020-21 Year End Financial Results memo as indicated above. Commissioner Bedford made a friendly amendment to correct the allocation amounts in the second paragraph under "Opportunity Gap Reduction and Student Mental Health Support Fund" based on average daily membership. Commissioner Greene and Commissioner McKee accepted Commissioner Bedford's amendment. Travis Myren said the actual budget amendment for these changes will come back on December 14, 2021 and he will attach the updated memo to the actual budget amendment so the Board can take final action. Chair Price said the Board does need to vote on the motion on the floor. Commissioner Fowler asked if the Board should wait to vote on the proposed amendment until the rest of the items on the memo are discussed in case there are additional amendments. Chair Price recommended voting on any amendments separately. The Board decided to move forward with a vote on the motion made by Commissioner Greene. Roll call ensued 18 VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner McKee thanked staff for the $4 million for capital reserve, and would like for it to be left standing for a wireless solution or other need. Travis Myren said he can talk about the rest of the framework. He said a lot of non- congregate sheltering was paid for during the pandemic assuming there would be Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement, but now there is pushback from the State and FEMA for full reimbursement for these expenses. He said staff thinks they will ultimately be reimbursed but, if not, is recommending around $400,000 that can be repurposed. Travis Myren said when ARPA guidance first came out, it was clear that revenue deficits were an eligible use of funds; however, guidance changed, and money is now needed to cover the deficits experienced by the Sportsplex and Visitors Bureau. He said as reporting requirements came out for ARPA funds, it became clear that many outside agencies, funded using those funds, do not have the administrative capacity to follow those requirements. He said if the sub-recipients failed to report properly it becomes a liability for the county. He said general fund money is recommended to replace the ARPA funds used for Outside Agencies. He resumed the PowerPoint presentation: Slide #6 Board Action Approve an allocation framework for the FY2020.21 Year End Financial Surplus totaling$12 million. • Authorize staff to present a budget amendmentat an upcoming meeting to effectuate the mld•year budget adjustment. Commissioner Richards referred to the table on slide #5, and asked if the designation of funds as recurring or non-recurring could be explained. Travis Myren said non-recurring means that those particular funds will not be used to fund the expense in the future. Commissioner Richards said the school district expenses are listed as recurring, but these funds will not be used, which leads to her confusion. Bonnie Hammersley said the sales tax will continue to increase at that level, and sales taxes are used for the schools and employees, because the source of fund is recurring. Commissioner Richards clarified that the designation refers to whether or not the source of funding is recurring or non-recurring, as opposed to the expense itself. Bonnie Hammersley said yes. Chair Price asked for the difference between recurring and non-recurring to be specified in the framework in the budget amendment for next week as a reminder. Travis Myren said he would do that. 19 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to approve the allocation framework totaling $12 million and authorize staff to present a budget amendment at a future meeting to codify this framework. Chair Price asked if the memo needs to be approved. Travis Myren said staff has what they need in order to describe the Board's expressed intent for the funds. Chair Price asked if the memo would have to be approved next week. Travis Myren said it will be attached to the budget amendment for approval. Chair Price asked the BOCC to send any other changes to Travis Myren. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Price thanked Chief Financial Officer, Gary Donaldson, and Deputy Financial Services Director, Rebecca Crawford, for their work on this item. 7. Reports None. 8. Consent Agenda • Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda None. • Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda Chair Price noted some changes to the minutes sent by the Clerk by email, which will be reflected in the adoption of the minutes. A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to approve the consent agenda. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANIMOUS • Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda None a. Minutes The Board approved minutes from the October 7, 2021 Virtual Joint Meeting with the Orange County Chiefs' Association and Work Session, the October 19, 2021 Virtual Business Meeting, and the November 4, 2021 Virtual Business Meeting. b. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Releases/Refunds The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release motor vehicle property tax values for two taxpayers with a total of two bills that will result in a reduction of revenue. 20 C. Property Tax Releases/Refunds The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release property tax values for eighteen taxpayers with a total of twenty one bills that will result in a reduction of revenue. d. Applications for Property Tax Exemption/Exclusion The Board considered five untimely applications for exemption/exclusion from ad valorem taxation for five bills for the 2021 tax year. e. Updates to the Assistance Policies for the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) 2021 Urgent Repair Program (URP21) and the 2020 Essential Single Family Rehabilitation Loan Pool (ESFRLP20), and the Orange County Procurement and Disbursement Policy The Board authorized the County Manager to sign, and thereby adopt, the amended URP21 Assistance Policy, ESFRLP20 Assistance Policy, and Orange County Procurement and Disbursement Policy for Urgent Repair and Housing Rehabilitation Programs. f. Three Party Right of Way Encroachment Agreement on Primary and Secondary System Associated with the Orange County Emergency Services Substation The Board approved a Three Party Right of Way Encroachment Agreement on Primary and Secondary System between the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Orange County, and Orange Alamance Water System (OAWS); and authorized the County Manager to sign the Encroachment Agreement on Primary and Secondary System contingent upon final review by the County Attorney and upon Orange Alamance Water System's execution of the Agreement. g. Advisory Board and Commissions -Appointments The Board approved the Advisory Boards and Commissions appointments as reviewed and discussed during the November 11, 2021 Work Session. 9. County Manager's Report Bonnie Hammersley said ARPA fund discussion will be on December 14, 2021 and the County is still receiving guidance on that. She said she will bring forward what is known for sure to be eligible at this time. She said tomorrow is the Chair/Vice-Chair agenda meeting and will be publishing December 14th agenda on Thursday December 9th, and encouraged Commissioners to contact staff with any changes before then. 10. County Attorney's Report John Roberts said the General Assembly met briefly today and recessed until Friday. He said the Panel of Court of Appeals issued a stay today in legislative redistricting, but full Court of Appeals reversed it for the full court to hear it. He said the Governor and Attorney General petitioned the State Supreme Court to intervene, so hopefully it will intervene and make adjustments. 11. *Appointments None. 12. Information Items • Tax Collector's Report— Numerical Analysis • Tax Collector's Report— Measure of Enforced Collections • Tax Assessor's Report— Releases/Refunds under $100 • Memorandum - Draft Rules of Procedure for Review 21 13. Closed Session None. Chair Price reminded the Board that it will be choosing committees and boards at its next meeting, and encouraged commissioners to think about the boards on which they would like to serve. Commissioner McKee said he appreciates the accommodation for the in person work session in November, and looks forward to hearing feedback on that experience. Commissioner Bedford said the Chair is talking with mayors about the Assembly of Governments meeting because of the number of people required for attendance and a lack of safe venue. 14. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Bedford, to adjourn the meeting at 9:11 p.m. Roll call ensued VOTE: UNANMIOUS Renee Price, Chair Tara May Deputy Clerk to the Board Submitted for approval by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board.