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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-18-2025; 7-c - Master Aging Plan Balance Discussion 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 18, 2025 Action Agenda Item No. 7-c SUBJECT: Master Aging Plan Balance Discussion DEPARTMENT: County Manager, Department on Aging ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: 1) Master Aging Plan Programs Kirk Vaughn, (919) 245-2153 2) PowerPoint Presentation Janice Tyler, (919) 245-4255 PURPOSE: To discuss the outstanding balance of the Master Aging Plan project and how the Master Aging Plan should be budgeted in future fiscal years. BACKGROUND: The County's Department on Aging has had a long-standing relationship with Carol Woods. As Carol Woods is a continuing care retirement community, it does not pay property taxes to the County. Carol Woods has instead provided a $175,000 annual charitable gift to the Department on Aging, which the County reserves for use for the Master Aging Plan (MAP). Over the last several fiscal years, the Department has accumulated a large reserve of the donated funds, detailed in the table below. The primary causes leading to this accumulation are, first, that the Department had access to one-time Federal grants that needed to be spent down, and second that there has been a higher rate of vacancies in the temporary staff that were funded out of the MAP program. For example, of the seven (7) identified temporary staff positions that are intended to be funded out of the MAP program, only two (2) or three (3) of those positions were filled at any given time over the last three (3) years. MAP Balance FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 Starting Balance $ 99,880 $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 $ 377,911 $ 469,734 $ 579,105 Expenditures $ 146,617 $ 139,399 $ 87,294 $ 78,659 $ 100,965 $ 90,138 $ 130,659 New Revenue $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 205,000 $ 192,787 $ 199,509 $ 216,459 Annual Surplus/(Deficit) $ 28,383 $ 35,601 $ 87,706 $ 126,341 $ 91,822 $ 109,371 $ 85,799 Ending Balance $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 $ 377,911 $ 469,734 $ 579,105 $ 664,904 In response to this balance, the FY 2024-25 Manager's Recommended Budget redirected $75,000 of the new Master Aging Plan funds to offset the Aging Department's expenses in the General Fund. There was also a proposed Commissioner amendment to the Budget to redirect the remaining $100,000 to offset General Fund expenses. That amendment failed by a vote of 3- 4, with the majority of the Board preferring to revisit the issue in greater detail prior to the Board's FY 2025-26 Budget process. 2 For this discussion, County staff will present the recent budget history of the Master Aging Plan, the programs that the MAP program supports (Attachment 1), and three broad categories of scenarios of how the funds could be spent down. The scenarios are: 1. Expand Aging programming within the MAP project to spend down the balance over 2-3 fiscal years. 2. Utilize the balance to offset the cost of the Department on Aging in the General Fund for multiple fiscal years. 3. Identify other County initiatives consistent with the donation that could utilize additional one-time funding. As the Board discusses the three (3) options, it should keep two (2) considerations in mind. First, utilizing one-time revenues for ongoing expenses will create a budget gap in future years. Second, while the County has broad latitude to utilize existing Carol Woods donations, Carol Woods could withhold future donations. As the Board discusses the use of the balance, staff will also seek Board input on how to budget future annual Carol Woods contributions. Currently, Carol Woods provides its donation each December, and the funds are provided directly to the Department on Aging, to be used as supplemental funding for programs communicated by the department to Carol Woods. The breakdown of MAP supported programs has not been included in the Manager's Recommended Budget. The MAP program utilizes its own steering committee and domain teams to identify priorities and assign funding. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no immediate impact of the discussion. Different scenarios will have impacts on the FY 2025-26 Manager's Recommended Budget. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GOAL 2: HEALTHY COMMUNITY OBJECTIVE 2. Expand access to quality, affordable healthcare services. (e.g., Crisis Diversion facility, Medicaid expansion, crisis response, healthy living campaign). OBJECTIVE 7. Invest in services and programs that improve the health and quality of life of the community (e.g., recreation and public open spaces, arts, etc.) • GOAL 3: HOUSING FOR ALL OBJECTIVE 7. Expand resources and invest in housing designed for our aging and disabled residents. OBJECTIVE 8. Preserve existing housing stock from disrepair and avoid displacement. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board discuss how to utilize the balance of the Master Aging Plan funds and the budgeting of future annual Carol Woods contributions, and provide feedback to staff. 3 Attachment 1 FY 2024 MAP Programs Master Aging Plan Administration Internship support for PhD Intern from UNC Department of Geography and graduate school interns for MAP projects. Continuing work on putting processes in place and gathering baseline data for the 2022-27 MAP to measure our success and for evaluation. We have just completed Year 2 and have made significant progress on the 188 indicators. 68%of the indicators have either been completed or have significant progress. Support of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work throughout the 2022-27 MAP, including expanding inclusive programming and outreach into our underserved communities and communities of color. Supported a master's in public administration intern this summer to review the policies of the Unified Development Ordinances that are currently being revised in Chapel Hill and Orange County and create a report to submit both to the town and county. We want to ensure that age-friendly best practices are being incorporated into these ordinances, including mixed-use developments,better pedestrian throughfares, encourage communal gathering spaces, building accessibility and green,bike/micro-mobility paths. Supported Programs Handy Helpers—This program does safety and accessibility projects that include minor home repairs, grab bar installation, building ramps and any additional safety assistive devices needed in the home. This program has served 60 low-income older adults this year. This program is managed by a part-time staff person(8 hours/weekly). This grant has supported both the part-time staff person, as well as building materials. Project EngAGE -We have 74 Project EngAGE senior leaders that have completed a 13-week leadership training. 14 new senior leaders completed 84 hours of training and graduated in Dec. 2023. These leaders are organized into 7 Senior Resource Teams(SRT)that are doing community outreach and coordinating educational programs. Year-to-date the SRTs have offered 79 programs and have another 33 planned for the rest of the year in the areas of End-of-Life issues; outreach and program development for our LGBTQ community;Falls Prevention and Health Promotion education;Mental Wellness programs; development of Intergenerational programming; support to our Neighborhood Connections program and promoting the"Village model"in Orange County. To date 1,978 attendees have participated in these programs. Volunteer Connect 55+Appreciation event-254 volunteers were honored this year. To date they have served 171923 hours and we anticipate an additional 5,000 before year end. We could not do all of our community work without these dedicated individuals. They volunteer at the Centers; assist with monthly food box distribution to 300+older adults; make daily Telephone Reassurance calls; have Friend to Friend partnerships;Volunteers Income Tax Assistance(VITA)program (1495 tax returns completed); and Seniors Health Insurance Information(SHIIP)Program(Assisted 913 persons with a cost savings of$396,224 for those served) and many other opportunities. Senior Employment Program—It has been a year of transition and great development for our Employment program. A new employment specialist was hired. We have served over 50 persons in the program. We have transitioned the program from offering our own employment workshops to working closely with the Orange County Department of Social Services, Durham Technical Community College, and Orange County Library and referring older adults to their employment and technology classes. Our work has been focused on helping individuals to connect with potential employers. Our employment specialist has been working on developing relationships with local employers and helping them understand the benefits of hiring older adults. Carol Woods has been a great partner in that work and has hired a couple of our clients. We have also been analyzing US Census data to understand how many older adults particularly in the 55-64 age range are unemployed and underserved. Our Employment Specialist is fluent in Spanish. This has been a valuable resource as we have participated in outreach events sponsored by El Centro Hispano and have translated our information into Spanish. The Employment section of our website was completely redesigned this year. Bilingual Social Worker—This person works 20 hours per week serving our Mandarin speaking older adults and their families. She works with families on caregiver issues and, if needed,provides care navigation. She provides translation services for programs, as well as for department materials. She manages the Mandarin Aging Helpline that receives an average of 40 calls monthly. She is an advocate for the Mandarin community in departmental program development. She offers 35+classes annually in Mandarin. We currently have 80-100 Mandarin speakers attending the Seymour Center on a daily basis. 4 Community Outreach—Department materials are updated and translated into Mandarin, Spanish,Burmese and Karen languages. Work also began on our website to embed documents into the website framework, so when Google translation tools are used, information will easily translate to other languages. Upgraded our Inclusive Lobby project at both Centers to provide easier access for non-English speakers.With the addition of a part-time outreach worker extra effort has been made to be represented at Latino events,refugee community events and any events serving our communities of color. To date we have tabled at 25 events and have reached 600 persons. Our outreach worker is working to connect with the refugee community, our Karen and Burmese speaking older adults and our faith communities. We completed a survey to the faith communities to identify any needs by their older adult attendees. We have been invited to present at church events and are currently scheduling individual meetings with faith leaders focusing on our underserved communities first. Fall is the busy season for community events and we anticipate attending another 10-15 before the end of the year. A part-time wellness program assistant was also hired to develop health and wellness programming in our communities of color and to increase diversity in wellness programming at the Centers. He has been instrumental in increasing our fitness room participants of color by 25%. We have also increased diversity in our class instructors, including 3 new African American instructors and 2 Latinx instructors. We offered a health fair at each of the senior centers that had 400+participants. We launched the Aging Well Together Radio Show/podcast with Dr. Heather Altman as the show host. We have completed 52 shows and anticipate continuing weekly shows. This has been a tremendous outreach tool to our community, and we have others tuning in from around the state and US. Durable Medical Equipment Loan program-This program has continued to grow since the pandemic. With the support of the CW gift we added a part-time Occupational Therapy assistant to assist our full-time Occupational Therapist in managing the program and making home deliveries. To date this year,we have served 183 clients with 302 pieces of durable medical equipment. 71 of these clients received an in-home visit and DME was installed by our team. We are on track to well exceed the number of clients we served last year. In an effort to measure the impact of this program we had clients served complete a survey with the following results: Using equipment from the DME program increases my feeling of physical safety at home- 96%agree Using equipment from the DME program decreased my concern about falling at home- 88%agree Using equipment from the DME program supports my ability to age in my home- - 84%agree Using equipment from the DME program decreased my feelings of worry about safety at home - 88%agree This program has provided a critical service to help older adults age in community and in their homes. R Place—Developed a new weekly community caregiver respite program modeled after a national program called"Respite for All."This volunteer driven respite care program has served 54 families. Our hope is to replicate this program in faith communities across Orange County. We have already had several visits from local congregations here and in surrounding counties. With the growing population of persons with cognitive impairment we feel this is a great solution to provide an affordable option to meeting the need while also providing meaningful engagement for both the volunteers and the participants and much needed respite for family caregivers. With remaining funds this year, along with a significant amount of American Rescue Plan Funding,we are installing a Fit Lot at the front entrance of the Seymour Center,which will fulfill a MAP goal. Similar in size to a playground each FitLot is a shaded, safety surfaced area and features 11 pieces of equipment. With open floor space and 32 attachment points for resistance bands,participants of all abilities will be able to perform dozens of exercises for cardio,balance, flexibility and strength training. Participants will have access on their own or will have the opportunity to participate in a group lead fitness class. We are using this both as an outreach tool to bring new persons to the Center,but also as a fun wellness focused activity. Our goal has always been to help keep our older adults active and engaged in community and this tool will help in reaching our mission. 5 OR- -A-NGE COUNTY NORTH CAR(3LINA Master Aging Plan Discussion March 18, 2025 BOCC Business Meeting MASTER AGING PLAN HISTORY 6 • Orange County has received charitable gift of $ 175 ,000 from Carol Woods for many years . • County reserves funds for funding Master Aging Plan (MAP) identified projects in a multi-year project ordinance. — MAP project also includes cost-share donations for R Place and Handy Helpers programs • MAP began in 2000 , and we are currently in year 3 of the 2022-27 MAP. • Due to underspending , the MAP project has accrued a significant balance, $665k at end of FY 24 . Estimated $595k balance by end of FY,25 ORANGtCOUNTY NORTH CAROLINA MASTER AGING PLAN HISTORY • Master Aging Plan funding decisions occur outside of the BoCC annual budget process . • MAP sets priorities through formal strategic planning based on AARP Age-Friendly Communities framework • Goals and objectives set in 8 Domains of Livability, as determined by MAP leadership team and Aging Advisory Board . • Stakeholders from county, town leadership , healthcare , non-profits and advocacy organizations included in steering committee. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY OF MAP BALANCE 8 • MAP project has typically had some unspent carryforward funding but has grown significantly over last 5 vears . MAP Balance FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 Estimate Starting Balance $ 99,880 $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 $ 377,911 $ 469,734 $ 579,105 $ 664,904 Expenditures $ 146,617 $ 139,399 $ 87,294 $ 78,659 $ 100,965 $ 90,138 $ 130,659 $ 194,886 New Revenue $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 175,000 $ 205,000 $ 192,787 $ 199,509 $ 216,459 $ 124,375 Annual Surplus/(Deficit) $ 28,383 $ 35,601 $ 87,706 $ 126,341 $ 91,822 $ 109,371 $ 85,799 $ (70,511) Ending Balance $ 128,263 $ 163,864 $ 251,570 $ 377,911 $ 469,734 $ 579,105 $ 664,904 $ 594,393 • Causes : - Disruptions from Covid - One-time Federal grants that needed to be prioritized - Turnover in temps charged to project ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA MAP PROGRAMMING 9 • Current MAP Projects — Simplified from Abstract Materials — Handy Helpers — safety and accessibility projects for homes. MAP funds temp and materials. — Senior Employment Program — Provides employment assistance to seniors. MAP funds temp. — Bilingual Social Worker — Provides casework assistance to Mandarin population . MAP funds temp. — Outreach Coordinator — connects with Karen , Burmese, refugee, and faith communities. MAP funds temp. — Durable Medical Equipment Loan program — provides medical equipment to client homes. MAP funds temp ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA MAP PROGRAMMING (CONT.) 10 • Current MAP Projects — Simplified from Abstract Materials — R Place — Volunteer community caregiver respite program . MAP funds temp and supplies. — Communication Assistant — Provides communication support for all Dept Aging functions. MAP funds temp. — Fit Lot Construction — built outdoor fitness equipment at Seymour Center. $71 k of one-time costs to MAP — Various: Invoicing Coordinator, PhD intern , SHARP awards, Project EngAGE, marketing ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA MAP PROGRAMMING 11 • Of the temps identified in prior slides , only 2-3 roles have been filled at any given time in the last few years. — Projects would either be on hold or been progressed by permanent staff or partner agencies during temp vacancies • County does not fund permanent staff in the MAP project. • FY 2025 Budget - $75,000 flat allocation of new Carol Woods Donation to support Aging dept in General Fund , rather than MAP project. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA PERFORMANCE OF MAP 12 Master Aging Plan reports on 188 indicators, available on OC website. Dept identified 68% of indicators have been either completed or have serious progress at the end of Year 2. Related Strategic Plan Priorities - GOAL 2: HEALTHY COMMUNITY • OBJECTIVE 2. Expand access to quality, affordable healthcare services. (e.g., Crisis Diversion facility, Medicaid expansion, crisis response, healthy living campaign). • OBJECTIVE 7. Invest in services and programs that improve the health and quality of life of the community (e.g., recreation and public open spaces, arts, etc.) GOAL 3: HOUSING FOR ALL • OBJECTIVE 7. Expand resources and invest in housing designed for our aging and disabled residents. • OBJECTIVE 8. Preserve existing housing stock from disrepairvoid displacement. ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA OPTIONS FOR BOARD DISCUSSION 13 • Option 1 : Allow Aging dept to utilize balance on MAP and expand programming • Option 2 : Utilize balance to offset county cost of Aging dept • Option 3: Identify other county programs that are consistent with the donation that could utilize one-time funding • Or combinations of above: Balance could be split between three options ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA OPTIONS FOR BOARD DISCUSSION 14 Option 1 : Allow Aging Dept to utilize balance on MAP and expand programming • Aging has suggested additional programs that could spend down the funding — FIT Lot Instructor - $27k per year — Consultant for School Agism Awareness - $25k per year — MAP Evaluation and Development - $30k per year — Project EngAGE Retreats, Video Production, Encore Music Program, Wellness Programming — $5-10k each per year • Rate of spend down highly dependent on temp vacancies on existing and new programming • If all positions were filled , MAP program would be spent down by FY 28 or FY 29. Programs then would have to be stopped or funded by county. ORANGECOUNTY NORTH CAROLINA OPTIONS FOR BOARD DISCUSSION 15 Option 2 : Utilize balance to offset county cost of Aging Dept • Funds would be used to offset county Aging costs. — For example: $190k subsidy to GF for 3 years. • Dept would only be able to use new donations to fund MAP projects. • County would be using one-time revenues to support ongoing expenses, creating future budget gap when balance is depleted . • Could jeopardize future Carol Woods donations. �s ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA OPTIONS FOR BOARD DISCUSSION 16 Option 3 : Identify other county programs that are consistent with the donation that could utilize one- time funding • County Staff investigated other department programs to look for collaboration opportunities — Aligns with Strategic Plan — Aligns with MAP efforts, Carol Woods charitable gift and targets aging demographic — Dept has ability to utilize one-time funds without creating ongoing operational obligations • Housing Urgent Repair Program — Can utilize funds based on existing relationships with contractors — Community advocacy group identified $2 million backlog of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing repair work. — Can adjust existing program to restrict funds for aging residents and include aging safety investments ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA BUDGETING NEW DONATIONS 17 • Currently donation is made in December each year, but amount is already anticipated in budget. • Specific programs or priorities for MAP project are not specified in budget process. • FY 25 Budget did specify how much of the Carol Woods donation should support the Aging dept in General Fund and how much could be used for MAP project. • Going forward , what role should BoCC have in directing how future donations are budgeted? — Continue to specify split funding of donation between GF and MAP project — Or expand to specify individual project funding in MAP project ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA DISCUSSION/QUESTIONS '$ • Questions for staff? • No formal vote by Board required • Staff will incorporate Board direction into FY 2025-26 Manager's Recommended Operating Budget, Presented May 6thor in upcoming Budget Amendment ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA