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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 02-17-2026; 8-a - Minutes for January 16, 2026 Retreat and January 20, 2026 Business Meeting 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 17, 2026 Action Agenda Item No. 8-a SUBJECT: Minutes for January 16, 2026 Retreat and January 20, 2026 Business Meeting DEPARTMENT: Board of County Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Draft Minutes (under separate cover) Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board, 919- 245-2130 PURPOSE: To correct and/or approve the draft 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. Attachment 1: January 16, 2026 Retreat Attachment 2: January 20, 2026 Business Meeting FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this item. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GUIDING PRINCIPLE — COMMUNICATION AND AWARENESS We provide information and opportunities for engagement in a transparent manner so that all in our community have knowledge, understanding, and a voice. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve minutes as presented or as amended. Attachment 1 1 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 4 RETREAT 5 January 16, 2026 6 9:00 a.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a retreat on Friday, January 16, 2025 at 9 9:00 a.m. at Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. 10 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jean Hamilton, Vice-Chair Amy Fowler, and 12 Commissioners Jamezetta Bedford, Marilyn Carter, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, and Phyllis Portie- 13 Ascott 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT. John Roberts 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT. County Manager Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager Caitlin 17 Fenhagen, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified 18 appropriately below) 19 20 Chair Hamilton called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. All commissioners were present, 21 except Commissioner Bedford. 22 23 1. Welcome and Opening Comments 24 Chair Hamilton welcomed everyone to the meeting. The commissioners and staff in 25 attendance introduced themselves. 26 27 Commissioner Bedford arrived at 9:01 a.m. 28 29 2. Collaborative Board Activity 30 The commissioners put together a puzzle as a team. The puzzle was created from a 31 photograph by Kayla Pendergraft called "Short Kiss of Winter." Kayla Pendergraft's photo was 32 the 2020 Adult 2nd Place Winner in the Nature of Orange photography contest. 33 34 3. Oranqe County Strategic Plan Performance Measures 35 Kelly Guadalupe, Strategic Planning Manager, made the following presentation: 36 37 Slide #1 GRANGE COUNTY N"R-rt-r c:AR04.1NA FY2025-2029 Countywide Strategic !Plan ,performance Measure Progress Report Kelly Guadalupe, Strategic Planning Manager January 16, 2026 38 2 1 Slide #2 Background • February 201h, 2024: Countywide Strategic Plan adopted • 5 year plan, FY 2024-25 through FY 2028-29 • The County Manager's Office prepares regular updates to the Board for each Strategic Goal including milestones and challenges • The first year progress update is available on the county website ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #3 Goals • Environmental Protection and Climate Action • Healthy Community • Housing for All • Multi-modal Transportation • Public Education/Learning Community • Diverse and Vibrant Economy ORANGE COUNTY 3 NORTH CCAROLINA 5 6 7 Slide #4 Early Successes r yr::• ORANGE COUNTY B NOR"1'FI CAROLINA 8 9 3 1 Slide #5 Environmental Protection and Climate Action 3. Increase the annual solar energy generated at County facilities by 967% by Mune 30, 2023. Solar Generated by county Facilities 4,000,000 In year 1 , solar CD 3.011.619KRTus 3,0n,619KBTus energy generated 0 3,000,000 - - - - at County facilities La 2,217,662 KBTUS 10 increased by 97 . 2,000,000 ♦•Target 4 Actuals a 1,127,947 KBTUs G w 1,000,000 i-a 0 0 Basehne(FY23 24) Fl24 25 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #6 Healthy Community 9.b. Implement Post Overdose 2 PORT Induction to Transfer of Care Response Team (PORT): U Ila Establish and maintain an 80% v 1ee 100% induction to transfer of care and c 90 completion of medication- 80% sax 80% 00% assisted treatment for opioid-use $° - - -_♦___• -a-Target disorders. ° ro -s-Actuals U -------------------------------------------- 'a 60 C On average, 84% of patients the IT- �01T IV team treated began the initial tee` �a1 phase of starting medication and received a warm hand-off to ongoing treatment. -=-�-- ORAIN E ACOUNTY NA5 6 7 8 9 4 1 Slide #7 Housing for All In the last year, Gold Weather Emergency Beds the number of 2. Increase 60 beds increased the number of so from the baseline immediately 20 of 28 to a total of accessible 40 55 beds cold weather 0IFC Cold Weather 60ds available emergency D ' •CLCold WeatherBed s• eascrne between Orange beds available i 20 County and the by 25% by Inter-Faith 2025• p Council for Social Service. Baseline(FYO-24) FV24-25 ORANGE COUNT`( 7 NOR-rH C°AROLINA 2 3 Commissioner Bedford asked if the current cold weather shelter budget is strained. 4 Travis Myren said currently the budget looks ok, but they will continue to monitor. 5 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the increase in beds includes the cold weather 6 shelter in northern Orange County. 7 Kelly Guadalupe said the data in slide #7 was for the previous winter season. 8 Commissioner Carter asked for an update for current cold weather cot usage. 9 Kelly Guadalupe said there are 50 beds available in the current season. 10 Commissioner Carter asked about the usage of those beds. 11 Travis Myren said the average is 30 people in Chapel Hill. He said the beds in 12 northern Orange County were not used at all and the program was discontinued. 13 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if North Orange beds were open for about two weeks. 14 Travis Myren said yes. 15 16 5 1 Slide #8 Multi-modal Transportation 5. Increase by 1 OmTime Fick-ups and Drop-offs percentage point 11O � 100% 4� On-time rates are each year the a 100 -- close to 100% for percentage of on- -- time pick-ups and 90 both Fixed Toute drop-offs on fixed 042 �% and Demand p E79%' '_- Response route, demand response, and ° Services. mobility on- 70 Baseline(FY23-24) FY24-25 demand transportation + Fixed Route services. + Demand Response �1 ORANGE COUNTY B NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Kelly Guadalupe said for Mobility on Demand, wait times fell from 22 minutes in FY 2023- 4 24 to 19 minutes in FY 2024-25. She said the target is 15 minutes. 5 Commissioner Carter asked what the difference is for fixed routes versus demand 6 response. 7 Kelly Guadalupe said fixed routes are the typical routes you might see on a map. She 8 said that demand is most similar to a ride service that might be offered in the private sector. 9 Travis Myren said demand response might be for people going to dialysis treatment. 10 11 Slide #9 Public Education/Learning Community The Southern Branch Library soft 6. Establish a opening was baseline and Southern Branch Library Visitors �°° February 3, 2025, increase v WPM n.7n The first five visitors to the rte„ months of data Southern 20. Southern show a strong Branch Library ,o,� start, with slightly by 5% decreased foot annually. a Feb M.,M25 Aw-1-2025 JWY".Piwj traffic in quarter one of FY25-26. GRANGE COUNTY 9 N47R-rH CAROLINA 12 6 1 Slide #10 Diverse and Vibrant Economy • Established baselines to better track the outcomes of our investments in community partners producing cultural events, and the small business investment and agricultural economic development grant programs. ORANGE COUNTY 10 NC]RTH CaAROLINA. 2 3 4 Slide #11 Current Challenges 11 ON4ANGE.0 OUNNTY 5 6 7 Slide #12 Housing for All 10. Reduce the number of individuals who are unhoused by 10%per year, prioritizing protection from displacement. • The January 2024 Point in Time count was 148 individuals • Our target was to decrease to 133 individuals in the January 2025 Point in Time count • The January 2025 Point in Time count was 149 individuals ORANGE COUNTY 12 NORTI t CAROLINA 8 1 Slide #13 Housing for All 90. Continued homelessnessHouseholds experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of FY23-24 FY24-25 V 6 months FY25-26 Households who 448 households 430 households 261 households completed Coordinated (Entry ORANGE COUNTY 13 NOR-1'H CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #14 Housing for All 10. Continued Households homelessness FY23-24 FY24-25 1St 6 months FY25-26 Households who 448 households 430 households 261 households completed Coordinated Entry Households whose 233 households 262 households 239 households Coordinated Entry was still open, indicating unmet housing need, at end of fiscal year 5 6 Commissioner Greene asked if cases that are "open," means that the individuals are still 7 homeless. 8 Kelly Guadalupe said they are still experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of 9 homelessness. 10 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about the reasons for the cases being open. 11 Kelly Guadalupe said her understanding is that there are not available placements for the 12 individuals. 13 Travis Myren said another issue is the lack of rental support. He said wrap around services 14 and case management is also important. He said there will be a focus on getting the numbers 15 down over the next year. 16 8 1 Commissioner Bedford said the people living in the shelter are still considered homeless 2 and the "open" number included them. She said that is different than the point-in-time count. 3 Kelly Guadalupe said yes. She said the point-in-time count is the number of people found 4 outside of shelter on one night in January. 5 Chair Hamilton said this topic should be brought back to the commissioners and more 6 detail should be shared about those experiencing homelessness and the available resources. 7 She said the Board needs to have a good understanding of the needs in this population so they 8 can make strategic decisions on how to address those needs. 9 10 Slide #15 Housing for All Rent Support for Households Through Vouchers This temporary decrease is 700 because the Emergency �, � 9 Y ----' ------�5 Housing Voucher program 12. Continue fi60 is ending four years early, in providing rent s°o 2026 instead of in 2030. cost support There will be 15 fewer through federal "`°° � vouchers available. housing choice E 300 target vouchers for 650 To absorb the decrease and households '°° prepare for opening the waitlist,the department only annually. 100 issued a handful of new vouchers in 2025. ° 8ase11ne{FV23-24) OeC 2024 Sun 2075 ORANGE COUNTY 15 NCQR'Ct-I CARCILINA 11 12 13 Slide #16 Housing for All 12. Continued • The number of households supported is expected to increase to 640 by June 2026. • ,An estimated 200 households are currently awaiting housing and would be eligible for a voucher. ORANGE COUNTY 16 NORTI-I CAROLINA 14 9 1 Slide #17 Multi-Modal Transportation 2. County transportation information is included in 90 outreach events each year. • Transportation information was included in 53 outreach events in F"Y24-25. • The Transportation Department is pursuing a more focused approach to outreach, prioritizing in depth outreach in areas and with groups likely to increase ridership on fixed route services. ORANGE COUNTY 17 NORTH CAROLINA Z 3 Kelly Guadalupe said that the transportation performance measures will be updated for 4 the next fiscal year and shared with the Board. 5 Commissioner Greene said she hopes that the fare free service combined with more 6 outreach will result in better outcomes. 7 8 Slide #18 Public Education/Learning Community 1. Reach residents in all 15 zip codes of the county with digital literacy workshops offered annually. • Residents from 11 zip codes were reached in year 1 . • The Library Services Department experienced some delays with their digital literacy program due to federal funding uncertainty but will implement the grant to expand programming in the spring of 2026. ORA.NC 1L COON 1 Y 12 NORTFI CAROLINA 9 10 1 Kelly Guadalupe said that three of the fifteen zip codes have few residents, so the county 2 may want to reduce the focus area to twelve. 3 Commissioner Bedford asked if the senior centers are offering digital literacy workshops. 4 Kelly Guadalupe said that the Department on Aging offers a number of those each quarter. 5 She said those numbers are included in the performance measure. 6 7 Slide #19 Diverse and Vibrant Economy 4. Establish baseline and increase by 3 percentage points annually the percentage of residents enrolled in Employment Services who complete an employment or training related program and/or gain employment. • Department of Social Services is determining the best way to define completion of a program for this measure. Baseline data will be available later this year. Establishing a baseline in 2025 was delayed due to Chantal recovery efforts and impacts of the federal government shutdown ORANGE COUNTY 19 NORTH CAROLINA 8 9 10 Slide #20 Next Steps • Continue quarterly staff strategy meetings • Twice annual reports to Board of Commissioners —Mid FY 2025-26 Progress Report planned to be included on March 5th business meeting • The Manager's Office will review performance measure targets and bring recommendations for changes to the Board 29 ORNAoNGE�AROLINA COUNTY 11 12 Commissioner Carter asked about the mobile crisis response team information on page 13 19 of the agenda packet. She said the numbers seem to be going up with a new staff member 14 and she looks forward to an update on that in the next quarterly report. She said she was happy 15 to see that Carrboro was participating and is pleased with the progress. 16 Vice-Chair Fowler said given the issues with housing it sounded like permanent supportive 17 housing and housing choice vouchers might be part of the issue. She asked if staff had been 18 looking at that and creating any strategies for addressing the concerns. 19 Travis Myren said they will issue all housing choice vouchers that are allocated by federal 20 funding. 21 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if there is anything related to permanent supportive housing. 11 1 Travis Myren said there is one county funded permanent supportive housing program at 2 $150,000 that IFC is administering. 3 Commissioner Bedford said the Partnership to End Homelessness met and the budget 4 they approved is a continuation budget, considering the funding pressures. She said there is no 5 new funding coming. 6 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about the number of people on the waitlist for housing 7 choice vouchers and the average length of stay. 8 Travis Myren said people keep the voucher as long as they're eligible. He said if their 9 income rises to a certain level and they become ineligible, the voucher becomes available for 10 reissuance. 11 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how often that happens. 12 Travis Myren said he would get the average length of time on the waitlist,what the turnover 13 is, and how long someone keeps a voucher. 14 Commissioner Greene asked if Orange County supplemented housing choice vouchers. 15 Travis Myren said that was through ARPA funding. 16 Commissioner Greene said she thought the county supported it when she first came on 17 the Board. She said that is one option the county could pursue. 18 Chair Hamilton said that the Board will need to have a focused discussion on housing in 19 the county. She said that the county will be challenged in providing services and paying for those 20 services. She asked that commissioners review the strategic plan. She said that they may need 21 to change performance measures to make sure that they are relevant to the community. She said 22 that federal funding may also affect performance measures. 23 Commissioner Bedford another issue is that once someone does have a voucher, they 24 must find a landlord that will accept the voucher. She said that wait can be up to three months. 25 She said 25 new landlords have been added to the program. 26 Commissioner Greene said that having a good number of landlords in the program is a 27 success. 28 Commissioner Bedford said one thing they should be looking at is the grant for preserving 29 farmland and when it expires. She said they should get an update on this, and they need to know 30 if there's a rubric and how they are recruiting. She said they have the match in the budget. 31 Commissioner Carter asked if that is the conservation easement. 32 Commissioner Bedford said she doesn't remember. 33 Commissioner Carter she attended an NCACC agriculture committee meeting, and they 34 discussed a program for conservation easements. She said that it is a pilot program this year, 35 but will expire unless the legislature acts. 36 Commissioner Bedford noted that the county closed on two conservation easement 37 properties in December 2025. 38 Kelly Guadalupe said there is a performance measure in the environment goal to 39 permanently protect 300 additional acres of farmland, priority natural areas, riparian buffer lands, 40 floodplains and wildlife habitat over the next five years. She said the county is on track for that 41 measure. 42 At 10:03 a.m., a motion was made by Commissioner Portie-Ascott, seconded by 43 Commissioner McKee, to recess until 10:20 a.m. 44 45 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 46 47 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Greene, to 48 reconvene the meeting at 10:20 a.m. 49 50 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 51 12 1 4. Budget Preview and Federal Funding Update 2 Travis Myren, County Manager, made the following presentation: 3 4 Slide #1 GRANGE COUNTY NOR717H CAROLINA Budget Preview and Federal Funding Update January 16, 2026 Board Retreat 5 6 7 Slide #2 Strategic Plan Alignment Mission Statement Orange County is a visionary leader in providing governmental services valued by our community, beyond those required by law, in an equitable,sustainable, innovative,and efficient way. Vision Statement We are a diverse,inclusive, and healthy county working together to strengthen our community and enhance the quality of life for all residents. ORANGE COUNTY NOWF"CAROLINA 8 9 10 13 1 Slide #3 Strategic Plan Priorities Environmental Promote sustainability and resiliency across the County and Pro!ectionl and Climate collaborate with our partners to activate our community,protect Action and preserve our natural resources, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions_ Healthy Community Increase equitable access to care and social safety net programming to promote the physical,social,and mental well- being of our community Housing for All Promote equitable and accessible housing and address housing disparities through policies.partnerships,and collaboration to create a thriving community. Multi-modal 4Lx Collaborate with our regional partners to expand.integrate/ Transportation connect.and provide accessible public transportation options. Public Education/ Enhance and maintain quality school operations and infrastructure Learning Community and cultivate lifelong learning. Diverse and Vibrant Foster an environment that attracts and retains sustainable and Economy diverse businesses and visitors,employment opportunities. and diversifies our tax base. ORANGE COUNTY 3 NOR-rH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #4 Countywide Financial Performance Audited General Fund Revenues and Expenditures s29a.a sz9�:s ,Jj 1:266.5 ¢284.8 5292.6 {28D.5 9300.0 9271.5 9256,60 4291.2 6269.2 9250.0 ■Revenues Expend itures 5150.0 '$100.0 $50.0 $0.0 FY 2020-21 FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23 FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 Pro], $ ORANHE CCO�IL I QTY 5 6 7 8 14 1 Slide #5 County Revenue Sources ■Property Tax Sales Tax5.1�s Tax . ■Intergovernmental ■Charges for Service P-pany Tax 7.1% ■Other Revenue ■Transfers In krgaa for sanlce 5.2% .1.,R®„ena Approp of Fund Balance Transfers Iia f-VI O.d°/o `..Approp of Fund Balance 2.3% ORANGE COUNTY ., NC)RTI-I CAROLINA Z 3 4 Slide #6 FY 2026-27 Revenue Assumptions FY 2026-27 Property Tax Assumptions -Value of One Penny-$3.37 million based on $33.9 billion tax base Still finalizing FY 2026's tax base through the appeal process If tax base is reduced by less than 3%,budgeted revenue can be increased-each 1%yields —$2 million Final Board of Equalization and Review meeting scheduled for January 22 -2% Natural Growth = $4.3 Million - No Change in collection rates-99.2%for Property Tax, 99.6%for Motor Vehicles. -Total Property Tax Increase=$4.3 Million ORANGE COUNTY u NORTH CAROT.TNA 5 6 Chair Hamilton asked if the $33.9 billion tax base includes 2025 growth. 7 Travis Myren said yes, and that for next year they are projecting an additional 2%. 8 Chair Hamilton asked what the growth was for the current year. 9 Kirk Vaughn, Budget Director, said they don't track growth in the same way in revaluation 10 years. He said instead you use the prior three years' growth. He said they had higher than 2% 15 1 over the three years prior to last year. He said that motor vehicle growth was higher. He said that 2 the prior three-year average was 2.45% growth, but that is not the long-term projection. 3 Commissioner McKee asked what the percentage breakdown is between residential and 4 commercial. 5 Travis Myren said that it is 80% residential, 20% commercial. 6 7 Slide #7 FY 2026-27 Revenue Assumptions FY 2025-27 Sales Tax Assumptions - Projecting$1.7 M increase(3.85%)from FY2025-26 Budget with significant uncertainty. Sales Tax Article FY 2025 Actual FY 2026 Budget FY 2027 Model ARTICLE 39(point of delivery) $ 17,381,317 $ 17,718,846 $ 18,339,006 Percent Change 2.06% 1.94% 3.50 ARTICLE 40(per capita) $ 12,310,617 $ 12,429,442 $ 12,988,767 Percent Change 3,05% 0.97% 4.50 RTI CLE 42(point of delivery) $ 8,6+24,367 $ 8,877,023 $ 9,187,719 Percent Change 1.08% 2.93% 3.50° ARTICLE 44 $ 317,099 $ 320,092 $ 331,295 Percent Change 3.07% 0,94% 3.50 HOLD HARMLESS ARTICLE 44 $ 5,083,984 $ 4,800,000 $ 5,000,000 Percent Change 5.34% -5.59% 4.17 O'TTAL $ 43,717,383 $ 44,145,403 $ 45,845,787 Percent Change 2.5246 0.98% 3.85 ORAR NE COUNTY LINA8 9 Commissioner Greene asked the County Manager if he thinks sales tax will level out and 10 the pandemic increases were just a blip. 11 Travis Myren said yes, he thinks it was an anomaly. 12 Commissioner Bedford asked how Tropical Storm Chantal impacted sales tax collections. 13 Kirk Vaughn said the first three months of FY2026 were above expectations. He said the 14 impact of Tropical Storm Chantal was not evident in sales tax collection. 15 16 16 1 Slide #8 FY 2026-27 Revenue Assumptions Impact of Federal Budget Reconciliation - Federal funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP)will decrease from 50%to 25%of county administrative costs effective October 1,2026 Assuming no additional state support, county will lose$080,000 next fiscal year to support the same number of staff($900,000 annually) December 31, 2026-Medicaid work requirements and more frequent recertifcations May require additional staff • More changes in future years October 1.2027 SNAP benefit cost sharing with States - October 1,2028 Medicaid benefit cost sharing with States ORANGE COUNTY 8 N[)RI'l-t C.AR01ANA 2 3 4 Slide #9 State Impacts due to Medicaid Changes Impact of Federal Budget Reconciliation on State of North Carolina— Medicaid • North Carolina Medicaid estimates that additional administrative funding will be needed to implement and support work requirements and six-month redeterminations $6.5 million in one-time costs needed this fiscal year 57.8 million per quarter($31.2 million annually)to support county eligibility determination functions 53.3M per quarter($13.2M per year)for ongoing state administrative costs - State law fixes the amount of funding that can be used to fund Medicaid Expansion administration — Funding limits would need to be adjusted to account for increased costs of work requirements and more frequent redeterminations and preserve Medicaid expansion Source:NC Medicaid Presentation to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid—January 13,2026 Nos:11webseryices.nole,o.00vNiewDocSiteFile110499[7 pP.,q,NGE COUNTY 9 NORTH CAROIANA 5 6 7 17 1 Slide #10 State Impacts due to SNAP Changes Impact of Federal Budget.Reconciliation on State of North Carolina SNAP Benefit Cost Sharing Effective October 1,2027 State benefit cost share based on Statewide error rates . State administrative cost share Benefit Cost Share Payment Error date State&National Error Rates will increase by an estimated for FFY24 $16 annually beginning Oct 0%Cost Share Less than 6% 8 states 2026. 5%Cast Share Between 6%and 8% 6 states . State benefit cost share would 10%Cost Share Between 8%and 10% 16 states be an estimated$420+ million per year based on 10.21% 15%Cost Share Over 10%* 20 states; NC rate is 10.21°1 error rate and benefits of over (National average is%93%) $2.8 billion Source:NC CHHS Presentation to the Jainl Legislative Dwrsight Committee on Health and Human Services—January 13,2026 httos:Ilwe6servlces.nclea:oavNlewOocSlteFlle/144981 QRANtjE C(DuNT-Y 19 NORTI-I CAROLINA 2 3 Commissioner Carter asked what the county-level error rate is for Orange County. 4 Travis Myren said they are tracking a little above 6% 5 Chair Hamilton asked for the definition of an error rate. 6 Travis Myren said it's anything that affects the benefit amount. He said it could be an 7 overpayment or an underpayment, or someone ineligible for receiving a benefit. He said it is 8 anything makes that final benefit amount different than what it should be. 9 Commissioner McKee asked how that is addressed locally. 10 Travis Myren said it is based on a sample from each county. He said only about eight 11 cases are pulled for Orange County. He said the way to drive down error rates is to have 12 employees with a reasonable caseload that are well-trained. He said one issue is that as the 13 county picks up more SNAP administrative costs, it probably can't afford additional staff. 14 Commissioner McKee asked how they determine the breaking point between the cost of 15 additional staff versus the cost of the error rate. He said the error rate would not be perfect, but 16 that county would be well-served to keep this as low as possible. 17 Travis Myren said that's reasonable. 18 Commissioner Bedford clarified that it is based on statewide rates. 19 Commissioner Carter added that's the case unless the legislature changes it. 20 Chair Hamilton clarified that the with the error rate, the cost is currently borne by the state. 21 Travis Myren said yes. He said if the state fails to fund the cost share, the SNAP benefit 22 goes away. He said the benefit is an entitlement and levels are set by the federal government. 23 He said if you can't pay for the benefit as required, you can't run the program. 24 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if it is legal to pull the whole program if it is an entitlement. 25 Travis Myren said it is a state decision to provide the benefit. He said if they choose to 26 not fund the cost share, they can't run the program. 27 Commissioner Bedford asked that this be part of the legislative breakfast agenda. 28 Commissioner Carter said the state budget process is frozen. She asked what the risk 29 timeline is to the program if the budget process isn't resolved. 18 1 Travis Myren said this is a FY 2027-28 fiscal year budget issue. He said he wanted to flag 2 this as a risk that should be discussed. 3 Commissioner Carter said that she is confident this will be discussed by NCACC and that 4 she and Commissioner Portie-Ascott would represent Orange County in those discussions and 5 will provide an update to the Board. 6 7 Slide #11 FY 2026-27 Expenditure Budget Capital Pay-go 3.2% Twslm To 1.5% ■Personnel Services CIP and Expiring Grants - 0.69E 7 Operations Recurring Capital ■Education Transfer to Debt Service Capital Pay-GQ ■Transfers TO GIP and Expiring Grants Recurring Capital 0.1% ORAINGE COUNTY 11 INC,38 9 10 Slide #12 FY 2626-27 Expenditure Budget — Excluding Education F0p,ratIr"­_ —7., F, Ions ■Personnel Services Personnel Servicek ■Operations Y 12 NCWI-H CARC]LINA 11 19 1 Slide #13 FY 202+ -27 Expenditure Budget Personnel Related Cost Assumptions Wage Adjustment-$930,000 for each 1% Merit Performance Awards-$455,000 Increase of Employer Health Insurance Contribution - 13%or$1.7 million Increase of Employer Retirement Contribution Rate-6% per LGERS rate stabilization program -$1 million Increase to Retiree Health-9%at$400,000 Increase to Sheriff Separation Allowance -$250,000 �T — ORANGE COUNTY 13 NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Vice-Chair Fowler asked what the Sheriff's separation allowance is. 4 Travis Myren said it is based on years of service and salary up to age 62. He said it is a 5 state requirement. 6 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if it is only for the Sheriff. 7 Travis Myren said it is for all Sheriff's Office employees. 8 9 Slide #14 FY 202+ -27 Expenditure Budget Health Insurance Cost Drivers Consecutive years of 5%+cost increases with no change in benefits Rate Increases for Health Insurance or costs to employees-premiums,deductibles, ca-pays 915W000 3.15.090.00 Cost drivers for medical benefits 514.00000 51305 Cancer treatment cost increasing 34%-50%based on new 313.00990 treatments being put into use and aging population a 312.900.99 Musculoskeletal surgery cost increasing 11%9 511.0011 00 433 Psychiatry costs increasing 12'%-specialist utilization above �519.090.00 s10.621 industry standard 31°'1$2 � 39.090.W 59.57959.57959.529 S9.136 58.099.00 x Cost drivers for pharmacy benefits 52,0NOD Pharmacy costs up 41% 56.90000 2019 x020 3°21 2022 N71 2034 2025 2026 2922 Use of GLP-1's for weight toss has increased by 5 times-coverage r-A Yee, adds$1.1 million to the cost of the health plan -Employee ONA Tcetlrtwnal hen Gther employers that cover GLP-1's have also required a"catch- up"adjustment due to high demand `^ 14 ORARN HE COUNTY 10 20 1 Travis Myren reviewed some of the methods for reducing health insurance costs, including 2 a direct-to-consumer pharmacy benefit. 3 Vice-Chair Fowler said that the state health plan stopped covering GLP-1 drugs. She said 4 a middle ground option could be considered by the county. 5 Travis Myren said, in theory, they will reduce the county's overall health costs. He said 6 there is also an indication that GLP-1's can affect sleep apnea. 7 Vice-Chair Fowler said it is difficult to stop GLP-1s once you begin taking them. 8 Chair Hamilton asked if the county would put all drugs in the direct-to-consumer plan. 9 Travis Myren said they would start with GLP-1 s and then see if other drugs would be a 10 good fit. 11 Chair Hamilton asked for the tradeoffs for changing co-pays and other health benefit 12 parameters. 13 Travis Myren said the county is in the NC Health Insurance pool, and Gallagher is the 14 administrator. He said they give the county data on the possible disruptions that changes would 15 cause. 16 Commissioner Carter asked if there are other counties that are doing direct-to-consumer. 17 Travis Myren said there are other employers using the direct-to-consumer pharmacy card, 18 but he wasn't sure about counties. 19 Commissioner Bedford said she was glad that the psychiatry costs are up because it 20 indicates that employees are using the benefit. 21 22 Slide #15 FY 2026-27 Expenditure Budget Local Government Employee Retirement System Historic and Projected LGER5 Contributions Both the employee and the employer contributes a percentage of ,,ie.asa salary AM% r1622%A,c Employee contribution is fixed at 6% 15,10% uslx 14.oax 1a.35w County rate is set each year by the LGERS Board 12.62. u esw 12.00x 11.33x County percentage has nearly doubled since 2019 1o.00x sW.ls% FY2026-27 Budget would need$5:5 million less if contributions were at the e.9sx 2019 rates. 6.awc Most recent actuarial estimates project that county contribution will x019 20x0 2021 x022 2023 2024 x025 20x6 2027 x028 2029 2039 continue to increase through FY 2029 Yro; R o' -lOCR3{ontntrutlm =--Projeclyd ©RANGE (ZOUNTY 15 NORTH CAROLINAS 23 24 Commissioner Greene asked what is expected to happen in 2030 that will make the 25 contribution increase go down. 26 Travis Myren said this is based on actuarial studies. He said there is likely something that 27 changes the pool at that time that will make the increase lower. 28 29 21 1 Slide #16 FY 2026-27 Expenditure Budget Modeled New Costs Increased Software as a Service Cost-$525,000 SOL Licenses+New Programs Maintain FY2025-26 support for Longtime Homeowner Assistance program at 25%County tax relief Crisis Diversion Facility start up and operating costs-$800,000 Currently planned to open in the 4'"quarter of FY2026-27 $3,000,000 estimated annualized cost Model includes one quarter of expenses Debt Service—pending sizing of 2026 spring borrowing, could be as high as$9.5 million increase Large 2025 spring financing Sorrowing for the Crisis Diversion Facility and the Durham Tech Community College expansion ORANGE COUNTY 16 Nt712't't-1 CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #17 Projected Future Debt Impact Represents project timing as currently scheduled In the Capital Investment Plan Actual size and timing will be based an project tempo Year Debt to AV D5 to GF revenues Tax Rate Equivalent 2027 1.58% 13.13% 2-534 2028 1.86% 14.40% 1.684 2029 1,80% 17.10% 3.304 2030 1.61% 18.18% 1.344 2031 1.62% 17.86% - 2032 1.76% 17.60% 2033 1.65% 18.50% - 2034 1.42% 18.82% €1.894 2035 1.30% 17.67%n - otalimpact 9.731 17 ORANGE COUNTY NA5 6 Commissioner Carter asked if the increased debt service is due to the amount of debt in 7 service as opposed to an increased cost of debt service. 8 Travis Myren said debt service is like paying off the principal and interest for a mortgage 9 payment. 10 Commissioner Carter said it reflects that the county added to the debt. 22 1 Travis Myren said that was correct. 2 Vice-Chair Fowler said that in the past fiscal year, the Board chose not to do $10 million 3 in pay-go funds, but did $500,000. She said in the original analysis for the bond funding, the debt 4 service to general fund ratio was 19%. She noted that the ratio in slide#17 does not go that high 5 and wanted to understand why. 6 Kirk Vaughn said they are still projecting that they will use the $10 million in the CIP. He 7 said it's not gone, but the revenues are projected to increase 3% each year and so the 8 denominator is higher. 9 Vice-Chair Fowler said the modeling is still assuming a pay-go contribution of$10 million. 10 Kirk Vaughn said yes, it will be phased in. 11 Vice-Chair Fowler said if the county doesn't do that then the numbers would look different. 12 Kirk Vaughn said that was correct. 13 14 Slide #18 FY 2026-27 Expenditure Budget Education Spending Modeling a 3% increase in current expense - $3.3 million Debt service will increase based on increased borrowing in FY2025-26 - $3.3 million Pay-Go phase-in contemplated in Board amendment CIP-814 that limited Pay-Go to$500,000 in FY2025-26 $5.5 million increase in FY2026-27-1.6 cent equivalent on tax rale $4 million increase in FY2027-28 ORANGE COUNTY 18 NC)R-rI-1 C:ARCH INA 15 16 17 18 23 1 Slide #19 i=Y2026-27 Education) Projections Education FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27 Mod.Difference Current Expense $111,328,011 $114,667,851 3.00% Local funding for operating expenses Health and Safety+ One School Nurse per Facility Enrollment Projection One Safety Officer for Middle and Contract $4,160,806 $4,285,630 3.00% High Schools Capital Pay-Go $3,621,200 $9,183,624 153.61% Recurring Capital+New PayGo Principal and interest payments on Debt Service $20,840,115 $24,105,872 15.67% school deb Total K-12 Funding $139,950,132 $152,248,106 8.79% ,g ORANGE COUNTY NOR7CAROLINA2 3 4 Slide #20 Per Pupil Allocation ModeledPer Pupil Allocation - Total Current Expense Budget $114,667,851 Total Countywide Budgeted Students 18,420 Per Pupil Amount $6,225 I Each budgeted student funded at the same per pupil amount Budgeted 9r—countywide ICHCCS 10,677 $+6,225 $66,469,240 S 7,743 $6,225 $48,203,740 ''Assumes no changes in out of district or charter school enrollment ORANGE NTS 20 NORTH CAROLINA 5 6 Travis Myren said that the current student population is split, with 58% in Chapel Hill 7 Carrboro City School and 42% in Orange County Schools 8 9 24 1 Slide #21 Student Enrollment Over Time Enrollment for School Districts 13.004 12.A74 12,448 52,2F� 12,353 12,243. 92,279 12.755 7221 12.529 22,017 12.000 it 686 19,7'40 51'834 11,119. 11,313 1,66 6 11.393 11,219 11,194 11.000 10.773 10,000 C 9.000 5,400 7.272 7.480 7.541 7,888 7,826 7.551 7,544 7.389 7.391 7,445 7599 7.122 5,95q 7.080 7.007 7,192 7,792 6.998 9.815 1.000 8.733 8,000 2007-G9 200889 2004-'10 2410.11 2011.12 2012-13 2013.14 2014.15 2015.1$2018.17 2077.18 201819 2019.21)2020.21 2021.22 2022.75 2023.24 2024.25 2025.29 2029-2✓ budgeted School Year —CHCCS EWdI.001 —OCS C-0—+nt • Budgeted ADM for FY2026-27 is based on best of 20-day and 40-day enrollment in School Year 2026 ORANGE COUNTY 21 • Budgeted ADM will decrease by 523 or 3%in FY2026-27 I CAROLINA 2 3 Vice-Chair Fowler asked where most of the declines are in the student population. She 4 asked if that was in the elementary schools. 5 Travis Myren said the most significant factor is that the school age population in the county 6 is going down. 7 Commissioner Bedford said that Dr. Trice said it is evident in kindergarten enrollment. She 8 said once a student is enrolled, they stay in the district. She said CHCCS is putting together a 9 study group to discuss closing an elementary school. 10 Commissioner Greene asked if it is due to homeschooling. 11 Commissioner Bedford said it is due to birth rates; the children don't exist in the district. 12 Commissioner Carter said they are hearing a lot about housing gaps, and folks not being 13 able to live in the districts. She said they should keep that in mind when discussing the land use 14 plan. 15 Commissioner Bedford said CHCCS does not lose too many children to charter schools, 16 but OCS does. 17 18 25 1 Slide #22 Per Pupil Allocation Over Time County Per Pupil Funding Amount History PAW — — $51M . Ss8x7 S&226 $6, is $s,0a9 7s�5a,3ax— 54.a9e _ __ S3.BG8 53.991 Sa,16S $4,090 52,957 $3,069 $3.206 53.096 53.102 $3,167 �.2 fis h Change in Per Pupil Allocation 5690.00 5539.46 — $500.00 5441.09 $400,00 .09 $a2am ---34°8-00.. 5300.00 - — $200.00 - -541200 $ - 13Y M $170.50 5174.00 $102,0 512a.w 612a.Q0 5100.00 "M —■ ` `i4:75 S $C100.001 ti 1'c y'i 4s�yn �`�4 ti tiw M1� '' 'S $Izoa.oul �oa.uoy�ati: "P�� �]� 4�`� R� �� ��1 -F'� •F'� F'� "F�~ 2 3 4 Slide #23 County Funding Practices County funding practices have not changed amid declining enrollment Currently, continuation estimates are created by taking the amount of funding in the current year and increasing it by an Inflationary factor and accounting for state driven cost increases for personnel As current expense grows and enrollment declines,the per pupil amount increases at a faster rate than total current expenses ICounty-wide Budgeted %Change b Change Per- School Year lEnroltment Enrollment IPer-Pupil Funding �Change Per-Pupilipupil 2020-21 19,702 0% $ 4,367 $ 15 0.34% 2021-22 19,747 0% $ 4,367 5 - O.00% 2022-23 18,648 -6% $ 4,848 $ 441 10.10% 2023.24 18,515 -1% $ 5,346 $ 538 11.19% 5.22% 2024.25 18,209 -2°Jo $ 5,666 $ 320 5,99% average 2025-26 18,029 -1% $ 5,877 $ 211 3.72% 2026-27 Mod. 17,506 -3% $ 6,225 5 348 5.92% Budgeted enrollment has decreased by 2,196 students Countywide since school year 2020-21 Early projections from Carolina demography indicate that declining enrollment will continue over the next 10 years Since Covid,the per-pupil amount has increased an average of 5.22%annually ORANGE COUNTY 3 1VaRTH CAROLINA 5 6 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the per pupil amount is going up because the county 7 has never cut expenses. 8 Travis Myren said the county has never decreased education funding. He said there are 9 years when they had flat funding. 26 1 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the same number of staff are needed even if there 2 are less students. 3 Travis Myren said that's a question for the districts. 4 Commissioner Bedford said that's what Dr. Trice is looking at. 5 Commissioner McKee said it was decreased in the past due to economic conditions. 6 Commissioner Bedford said a decreasing student population is new to commissioners, 7 and changing the funding method is a different idea to consider. 8 Chair Hamilton said in an environment of declining enrollment, does the county want to 9 change its funding practices. She said even with declining students, the schools may not have 10 declining expenses. She said they would want the schools to address how they've right sized 11 their staff to match enrollment, and to express the needs they still have after that process. 12 Vice-Chair Fowler agreed and wanted the schools to show their actual needs in their 13 continuation budget. She said it may not mean giving them an increase of 3% as shown on the 14 slide. 15 Kirk Vaughn said staff have had preliminary conversations with school staff. He said there 16 are fixed costs for operating a school. He said much of this will come down to communication 17 about the actual needs for the student, not for their expenditure base. 18 19 Slide #24 County Funding Practices In order to capture enrollment trends,the continuation budget could be calculated based on an increase to the per pupil amount instead of the prior year current expense Wlil6ndr-L-11� Por Pupil Approach Prior Year Current Expense $111,328,011 Prior Year Per Pupil $5,877 3%Increase $114,667,851 3%Increase $6,053 Total Budgeted Students 78,42(] Total Budgeted Students 18,420 Total Per Pupil Amount $6,225 Total Current Expense $111,496,260 Changing the calculation does not have to change the amount that the county funds The model currently assumes that the budget will include a 5.92%m per-pupil cost increase for the school districts ORANGE COUNTY 24 NORTH CAROLINA 20 21 22 27 1 Slide #25 Long Range Financial Model GENERAL FUND SUMMARY FORECAST Actual Original Projected projected projected 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 ($in Thousands) Property Tax 205,344 212,897 217,198 221,634 226,163 Sales Tax 43,717 44,145 45,847 47,406 49,026 otergovernmental 21,184 22,314 22,286 22,718 23,383 Charges for Service 15,594 15,970 16,249 16,535 16,839 Other Revenue 5,579 2,989 2,966 2,974 2,982 Transfers In 1,150 666 114 117 121 pprop of Fund Balance - 7,056 7,056 7,258 7,486 Total Revenues 292,568 306,037 311,716 318,873 326,217_ ersonnel Services 101,973 108,603 114,350 118,628 123,081 perations 36,327 36,541 37,471 38,397 39,351 ecurring Capital 1,417 184 188 192 195 ducation 109,118 116,502 119,999 123,597 127,303 ontribs.to OtherAgencies 2,256 2,331 2,352 2,374 2,396 ransfers To(Including Debt) 39,020 41,877 57,458 68,786 82,100 8M Impact from CIP - 0 1,347 4,319 5 161 Total Expenditures 291,420 306,037 333,166 356,293 379,587 et Annual Rev(Exp) 1,148 (0) (21,450) 37,_640) 53,696 pap to Close 0 21,450 Initial Model expects a$'21,5 million gap to solve for the FY2026-27 budget. ORANGE COUNTY 25 NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Commissioner McKee asked if the cost of closing the gap is 7 cents. 4 Travis Myren said yes. 5 Commissioner McKee said there may a need for across-the-board reductions. 6 Travis Myren said the county will need to balance the benefits of non-mandated services 7 with mandated services. 8 9 Slide #26 Other Funds Funds to watch outside of the General Fund • Community Development Fund - $900,400 gap in unreimbursed HOME expenses from prior fiscal years Solid waste Draws on fund balance following reduction of program fee - Fee reduction may need to be reversed Visitor's Bureau - $300,OD0 lost revenue from Town of Chapel Hill in FY2025-26 - Reduce use of fund balance in operating budget - Flattening occupancy tax revenue growth ORANGE COUNTY 26 NORTH CAROLINA 10 28 1 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if the Town of Chapel Hill still contributes to the Visitors Bureau. 2 Kirk Vaughn said the base contribution is $200,000. 3 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if restoring the solid waste fee to $146 would cover the need. 4 Kirk Vaughn said the fee doesn't grow as quickly as inflation, but they will have to balance 5 the fee against costs. He said that the solid waste fund has a healthy cash balance. He said it's 6 a capital-intensive program, and part of the use of fund balance is making sure that they are not 7 borrowing as much so there isn't as much debt service in the solid waste funds. 8 Commissioner Bedford said they've bought a lot of heavy equipment in the past year. 9 Kirk Vaughn said it is an expensive enterprise to manage. 10 Commissioner Carter asked if it is possible to share some of the cost impacts of changes 11 to SNAP and Medicaid with the municipalities. 12 Kirk Vaughn said in general towns can't give funds to the county for a service that towns 13 aren't allowed to do. 14 Travis Myren said staff would research the question. 15 Commissioner Greene asked about the unreimbursed HOME expenses. 16 Kirk Vaughn said it is a balance over 30 years. He said over 30 years they have not been 17 filing correctly with HUD to the tune of about $30,000 a year. He said there is a period that can't 18 get reimbursed for anymore, and that is a loss of$600,000. He said there are more recent years 19 that Housing can still file reimbursement for and that's about $300,000. 20 Commissioner McKee asked how this was allowed to happen and what we are going to 21 do to prevent it in the future. 22 Travis Myren said losses precede the current staff and that the Budget Director is aware 23 and paying attention. 24 Kirk Vaughn said Housing staff said that HUD said the county has smaller staff support for 25 the HOME program than other similarly sized programs. He said if they add staff, they may be 26 able to include, but it would be an additional county cost. 27 Commissioner Bedford asked if closing capital funds that have been sitting on the books 28 is still in process. 29 Kirk Vaughn said they were doing this for multiple funds, and they identified a surplus of 30 $300,000 in the county capital fund. 31 Commissioner Bedford asked if the CIP document will have fewer funds. 32 Kirk Vaughn said they identified that they could close them, but an action must be taken 33 in the ERP so that the report does not include those. 34 35 Slide #27 Orange County FY 2026-27 Budget Guidelines • Alignment with Strategic Plan priorities and performance measures Additional expenditure requests will require reallocation of existing funds or new revenues Analyze current service levels,cost recovery, and staff alignment Continue Long-Term Financial Planning Department Reviews • Continue Interdepartmental and Intergovernmental collaboration initiatives ORANGE COUNTY 27 MIR 9'F1 UAR[II.INA 36 29 1 Commissioner McKee requested staff review the FY 2010-11 budget to determine what 2 strategies staff used to balance the budget gap during that fiscal year. 3 Kirk Vaughn said one strategy they used at that time was to focus on mandated services. 4 Commissioner Bedford noted that reducing library hours does not save much money. 5 Chair Hamilton said she would like to see the breakdown of personnel by department, and 6 mandated versus non-mandated services. 7 Travis Myren said some of the non-mandated services include much of the services 8 provided by DEAPR, the library, and the Department on Aging. He said some of what Housing 9 does is non-mandated. 10 Vice-Chair Fowler asked what the assumed wage increase affecting the $21 million gap. 11 Travis Myren said 2%. 12 13 Slide #28 FY 2026-27 Calendar of Events FY 2026-27 BUDGET TIMELINE DATE Department Director Guidelines Presentation January 8 Operating Budget Kickoff meetings January 8-9 FY2026-27 Budget Submission Deadline February 20 Meeting w/Outside Agencies and Related Mid to Late-March Department Directors County Manager Meeting w/Department Directors Mid-March to Early April County Manager Meeting w/Fire Districts Early April BOCC Joint Meeting w/Boards of Education April 30 County Manager presents FY2026-27 May 5 ORANGE COUNTY 14 Recommended Budget NORTH CAROLINA 15 16 Slide #29 FY 2026-27 Calendar of Events BUDGET PUBLIC HEARINGS DATE Budget and Capital Investment Plan(CIP) May 12&May 28 BUDGET WORK SESSION SCHEDULE DATE Schools and Outside Agencies May 14 Fire District, Public Safety,and Human Services May 21 Support Services, General Government, May 26 Community Services,and Durham Tech Budget Amendments and Resolution of Intent to June 4 Adopt BOCC REGULAR MEETING FY2026-27 Operating and CIP Budget Adoption June 16 � ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 17 30 1 At 11:32 a.m., a motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Vice-Chair 2 Fowler, to recess until 11:37 a.m. 3 4 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 5 6 A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford, seconded by Vice-Chair Fowler, to 7 reconvene the meeting at 11:37 a.m. 8 9 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 10 11 5. Board Functioning 12 a. Petition Process 13 Public Petitions 14 15 Chair Hamilton introduced the item and referred to the BOCC Rules of Procedures on 16 page 14. She read the following statement from the Rules of Procedure: 17 "Petitions/Resolutions/Proclamations and other similar requests submitted by the public will not 18 be acted upon by the Board of Commissioners at the time presented. All such requests will be 19 referred for Chair/Vice-Chair/Manager review and for recommendations to the full board at a later 20 date regarding a) consideration of the request at a future business meeting; or b) receipt of the 21 request as information only. Submittal of information to the board or receipt of information by the 22 board does not constitute approval, endorsement, or consent." 23 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if anyone responds to the public petitioner with information on 24 any actions or follow-up. 25 Chair Hamilton said it's not clear. She said the definition of a "petition" is not clear. 26 Vice-Chair Fowler said if a member of the public is asking for specific actions or 27 discussions that would be a clear petition. 28 Commissioner Bedford said for resolutions or proclamations they do get back to the 29 petitioner. 30 Commissioner Portie-Ascott gave an example of a member of the public who invited the 31 Board to visit her neighborhood. She asked if that is a petition. 32 Commissioner McKee said that was a request of individual board members. He said he 33 didn't know how one would determine if someone speaking was a comment or request or a 34 petition. He said he is leery of trying to interpret any implied request as a petition as it would take 35 up an enormous amount of staff time. He said sometimes people are just speaking their minds 36 or venting. 37 Commissioner Greene said she doesn't think it's very complicated. She said the language 38 comes from the First Amendment, which states, everyone has the right to petition the government 39 for a redress of grievances, and she takes that very broadly. She thinks that's why historically 40 government boards have used that word because it's a fundamental right. She said perhaps the 41 Chair could say, "I'm going to take that as a petition and ask staff for follow-up." She asked if this 42 has been a problem for staff. 43 Commissioner Bedford said the reason it's being discussed is due to Board petitions. 44 Chair Hamilton said public petitions don't automatically mean for the staff to do anything. 45 She said they come to the Chair and Vice-Chair to determine what happens with it. She said she 46 wanted to consider staff time and the other things they are working on. She said it is appropriate 47 for the Chair, Vice-Chair, and County Manager to review for follow-up. She said if something is 48 critical, then it should be assigned for staff to follow-up on and then come back to the Board as 49 either as an information item or as an agenda item. She said Commissioner Greene was correct 50 that they want to give the public the opportunity to address the governing body. She said Vice- 51 Chair Fowler's question about following up is a good point to consider. 31 1 Commissioner Bedford said a resident came several times to request changes in 2 communication with the public, which was also petitioned for by two commissioners. She 3 described how the management team reviewed the request, then developed next steps. 4 Vice-Chair Fowler said the most important thing with a public petition is that the Board 5 doesn't always hear the result. 6 Travis Myren the language is likely antiquated and was written before email. 7 Commissioner Bedford said emails always get an answer. 8 Commissioner Carter asked if email responses are practice or policy. 9 Commissioner Bedford said she did not know. 10 Travis Myren said it's not documented, but it's not been a problem. He said staff and the 11 chair always respond. 12 Commissioner Portie-Ascott noted that when commenters come to a meeting, the Board 13 tells them that they won't receive a response that night. 14 Commissioner Bedford said that the response depends on the subject of the comment or 15 petition that is made at a meeting. 16 Chair Hamilton asked that the Board pay attention to the kind of requests or petitions that 17 come at a meeting and how those are handled either through staff or on future agendas. She 18 asked that Greg keep track of requests. 19 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if she was suggesting that the Board respond to a 20 public comment with a request by getting back to them at another meeting rather than by email. 21 Commissioner Bedford said sometimes its appropriate for staff to respond to them directly 22 by email or telephone. 23 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said her interest is what the formal process should be for 24 acknowledging public requests. 25 Chair Hamilton agreed that is something the Board needed to think about. 26 Laura Jensen said that public commenters sign in at the beginning of the meeting to make 27 comments, and they are asked to put their contact information. She said many do not do so, even 28 if encouraged. She asked the Board to emphasize that if a commenter would like a response, 29 they should provide an email address or phone number for staff to follow-up with them. 30 Commissioner Carter said that was a good point. 31 Vice-Chair Fowler said the Board should formalize what the procedure is at a future 32 meeting. 33 34 Board Member Petitions 35 36 Chair Hamilton reviewed the language on page 13 of the Board of Commissioners' Rules 37 of Procedure. She read the following statement in part A: 38 "Any board member may petition the board to have an item placed on the agenda." 39 She read a statement farther down page 13 in Part C: 40 "The board may, by approval of a majority of its members, i.e. an affirmative vote equal to a 41 quorum, add an item at the meeting that is not on the agenda." 42 Commissioner McKee said that the Board follows that policy. 43 Chair Hamilton said that latter sentence is what the Board does at meetings. She said 44 they also have a comment and petition time for Board members. She said it's not petitioning to 45 add it at that meeting, but for a future meeting. She said the question is the process afterward 46 and how they want to handle Board member petitions. 47 Commissioner McKee said he's never considered a petition as a guarantee, but as a 48 proposal for consideration by the Chair and Vice-Chair. He described the process for adding an 49 item to the agenda by a motion and a second if a petition is not added by the Chair and Vice- 50 Chair. 32 1 Commissioner Greene concurred with Commissioner McKee. She referred to part A on 2 page 13. She said that it should be decided by the Chair and the Vice-Chair. 3 Commissioner Bedford said it refers to the "Board," and asked if it should really be the 4 Chair and the Vice-Chair deciding. She related some instances when she was Chair and needed 5 to decide if a commissioner petition was going on the agenda or could be addressed by staff or if 6 it wasn't going any further. 7 Commissioner McKee asked if a petition that didn't move forward if it was brought up 8 again. 9 Commissioner Bedford said if they weren't sure they put it on a work session. She gave 10 examples of different scenarios during her time as Chair. 11 Commissioner McKee said he wasn't sure this was at the level to require adding language 12 to the Rules of Procedure. He said if a commissioner makes a petition that is not put on an 13 agenda, the commissioner could potentially get it addressed by getting four votes to add it. 14 Commissioner Greene said Rule 8.a could be more explicit, but she agreed with 15 Commissioner McKee. She said any four commissioners have the ability to add something 16 through the agenda. 17 Commissioner Carter said she agrees with Commissioner McKee and Commissioner 18 Greene and that the current process provides flexibility. She said if a petition is brought up and 19 the Chair believes it is not the right time to address the issue, the Chair and Vice-Chair can bring 20 it up during agenda review. She said if a commissioner feels strong and has the votes, it can be 21 addressed at that time. 22 Chair Hamilton said one consideration is staff capacity. She said she would want to know 23 if there is support on the Board for a petition before staff begins working on the topic. 24 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if her petitions should have included getting other 25 commissioners to support her request prior to making them. She said that wasn't clear to her. 26 She asked how the Chair and Vice-Chair let commissioners know that their petitions weren't going 27 to be addressed. 28 Commissioner Bedford said that the Chair and Vice-Chair get back to commissioners. 29 She said sometimes they've considered petitions at work sessions if they are unsure of Board 30 member support. 31 Commissioner Greene said there was a time when she was told ahead of time that a 32 planned petition would not be put on an agenda, unless she found the additional votes to add it, 33 which she did. 34 Commissioner Bedford said she didn't consider that a formal petition at the time, which is 35 why it was not put on a work session. 36 Commissioner Greene said she didn't understand what the problem is. 37 Commissioner Bedford said it isn't a big problem, but they are trying to be better at 38 communicators. 39 Chair Hamilton suggested that if Board members petition at the formal time during a 40 business meeting, it will go to the Chair and Vice-Chair at agenda review. She said if it is not 41 going to be put on an agenda, they will let that commissioner know. She said then, if that 42 commissioner wants to bring it back to the Board, they can, and the Board will vote on whether to 43 pursue the petition. She said at that point, staff will be assigned to research and the topic will 44 need to be put on a future agenda. 45 Commissioner McKee said he thought that was the current process. 46 Vice-Chair Fowler said she thinks that Board members were not all sure of the process. 47 Commissioner McKee said he doesn't see a difference between what the current process 48 is and what Chair Hamilton described. He said he feels like he can get his petitions addressed 49 one way or another 33 1 Chair Hamilton said when she first started as a commissioner, it was not clear to her. She 2 said it is not clear in the Rules of Procedure. She said having this discussion will help her and 3 future Chairs. 4 Commissioner Carter said the current language is maximally flexible. 5 Commissioner McKee said he would prefer not formalizing it to the point that it is inflexible. 6 He said this Board is cooperative, but it could be a problem in the future. 7 Chair Hamilton said this Board gets a long pretty well. She said the goal is to put down 8 what they are already doing. 9 Commissioner Greene said with previous Boards, there were several requests from 10 individual commissioners to staff. She said her memory is that they agreed that if it took a staff 11 member more than an hour on the request, then it would need to go to the full Board for a vote. 12 Commissioner McKee said she was correct in her memory. 13 Commissioner Bedford also agreed with Commissioner Greene's recollection. She said 14 Greg Wilder keeps track of all petitions for commissioners to review. 15 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if she needs to make a motion to add something to the 16 agenda if she should do it during commissioner comment time. 17 Commissioner McKee said she could do it at any time, and there is no prohibition. He 18 said the most collegial way is to do so during commissioner comment time. 19 Commissioner Bedford said it would be best to it at that time and not in the middle of 20 another agenda item, although technically they could. 21 Commissioner Greene said in the Suggested Rules of Procedure for Boards of County 22 Commissioners published by UNC School of Government, motions do not require a second for 23 small boards. She said she did not want to suggest changing the rule for Orange County, but it 24 was something to think about. 25 Vice-Chair Fowler said she thought a second was required for discussion. 26 Commissioner Greene said not according to the document from the School of 27 Government. 28 John Roberts clarified in the Orange County Board of Commissioners Rules of 29 Procedures, rule 14 requires a second for motions. 30 Vice-Chair Fowler stated that if a local board has rules, they must follow them. 31 John Roberts said that was correct. 32 Commissioner Greene said that she was pointing out that they don't have to have that 33 rule. She noted that commissioners can also be compelled to attend meetings, and that a Sheriff 34 can take an absent member into custody. 35 Commissioner McKee observed that an absence could be used strategically. 36 Chair Hamilton said she plans to formalize the petition process in the Rules of Procedure 37 because it is important for commissioners to know what happens once they've made a petition. 38 She said that the Chair will make sure the petitioner receives a response in a timely fashion. 39 Commissioner Carter said petitions appear in the agenda packets. 40 Commissioner Bedford said there is a live document that shows the result of past petitions 41 and that she emailed the link to the Board. 42 43 At 12:19 p.m., a motion was made by Commissioner Carter, seconded by Commissioner 44 McKee, to recess for lunch until 1:15 p.m. 45 46 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 47 48 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Carter, to 49 reconvene the meeting at 1:15 p.m. 50 51 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 34 1 b. Discussion on Advisory Board Policy 2 • Volunteer Board Service, Engagement,Absences, and Removal Protocol 3 4 Tara May, Deputy Clerk to the Board, presented on volunteer board service, engagement, 5 absences, and removal protocol. She reminded the Board that there was a memo from her 6 included in the agenda packet for the retreat, and shared that a few slides were prepared to help 7 facilitate the conversation. 8 9 Slide #1 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA BOCC Discussion on the Advisory Board Policy Board Retreat January 16, 2026 10 11 12 Slide #2 Advisory Board Policy (last revised May 6, 2025) Section III(H)(3) 3."...the Orange County Board of Commissioners may remove any member of an advisory board for neglect of duty or nonparticipation that becomes problematic to the advisory board's functioning and purpose. Neglect of duty and nonparticipation are defined as follows: a.Missing three(3)consecutive meetings;or b.Missing twenty-five percent(25%)of meetings within any twelve (12)month period. 4.The advisory board Chair or staff liaison shall notify a member if the member is at risk of being removed pursuant to section III(H)(3). 5.The advisory board Chair or staff liaison shall notify the Clerk to the Board of Orange County Commissioners if a member has violated section III(H)(3)." ter, ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 13 14 Tara May explained that the current policy requires removal for missing 25% of meetings 15 within a 12-month period and suggested changing this to "across 12 meetings" rather than 12 16 months to accommodate boards meeting less frequently than monthly. 35 1 Commissioner Portie-Ascott sought clarification about counting cancelled meetings. She 2 shared that she is aware of concerns from Planning Board members who worried that cancelled 3 meetings would count against them if they'd already missed meetings. 4 Tara May explained the suggested change would base calculations on meetings actually 5 held. 6 Chair Hamilton noted the policy language that states the Board "may remove" members 7 for "neglect of duty or non-participation that becomes problematic to the advisory board's 8 functioning and purpose." She questioned whether the board wanted hard rules or to maintain the 9 qualifying language about problematic impact. 10 Commissioner Bedford said she raised the issue about attendance after noticing Planning 11 Board members with poor attendance during important votes. She said she then requested 12 attendance records for the Planning Board and saw multiple violations of the current policy. She 13 argued against discretionary removal to avoid perceptions of favoritism. She said that in cases 14 where members have a temporary issue, they are always able to reapply, citing an example of a 15 member who resigned due to health issues and then successfully reapplied when he was able. 16 Tara May explained staff's current practice when attendance violations are noticed. She 17 said that staff reach out to members who have not had satisfactory attendance to identify any 18 potential barriers and offer solutions like virtual attendance options, transportation, etc. She said 19 in most cases, when a member is unable to improve attendance with a county-offered solution, 20 they accept the opportunity to resign instead of being removed. She sought clarity on whether the 21 Board preferred automatic removal or continued flexibility. 22 Discussion revealed split opinions on "may" versus "will" remove, with some preferring 23 flexibility and others wanting consistency. 24 Commissioner Carter suggested formalizing a grace period process where staff engage 25 members at risk of removal, offering an opportunity to comply before removal. 26 Tara May said that she would be happy to suggest some wording to capture that 27 suggestion if the Board agreed. 28 The board reached consensus on changing "may remove" to "will remove," removing the 29 qualifier, "that becomes problematic to the advisory board's functioning and purpose," modifying 30 the attendance requirement to 25% of meetings held over a 12-meeting period (excluding 31 cancelled meetings), and formalizing staff engagement when members are at risk with a grace 32 period before removal. 33 Commissioner Portie-Ascott raised whether the Board cared only about members' 34 attendance or also engagement when present. 35 Commissioners McKee, Fowler, and Greene agreed that engagement was too subjective 36 to define or enforce, with people having different styles of participation. 37 The Board concluded that attendance and voting constituted sufficient engagement, and 38 identified reappointment decisions as the appropriate time to consider broader participation 39 through recommendation letters and review of meeting minutes. 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 36 1 Slide #3 Paints for Clarification 1. Should an opportunity be given to members who have violated the attendance requirements in the Advisory Board Policy to continue, or should the Clerk's Office simply inform them they will be removed? 2. Should provisions be added to the Advisory Board Policy that speak to the expected engagement of members as a requirement for continued service in addition to the attendance expectations? 3. Should there be language added to the Advisory Board Policy that defines and allows for excused absences that would not count against a member? ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Tara May said points 1 and 2 on the slide above were addressed. She asked if there 4 should be a provision for excused absences. She noted that previous versions of the policy 5 included excused versus unexcused absences but did not define the distinction. 6 Commissioner Bedford strongly opposed differentiating between excused vs. unexcused 7 absences. She felt the reasons behind absences were irrelevant because members' presence is 8 still needed to do the work. 9 Others agreed, and the board decided against distinguishing excused and unexcused 10 absences. 11 12 6. Discussion on Housing Advisory Boards 13 Blake Rosser, Housing Director, made the following presentation: 14 15 Slide #1 ORANGE COUNTY HOUSING DEPARTMENT Overview of Housing Advisory Boards January 16,2026 • Affordable Housing Advisory Board • Local Govemment Affordable Housing Collaborative • Orange County Housing Authority Board • Change County Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Team • Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness Executive Team 16 37 1 Blake Rosser reviewed the names of the five Housing "advisory boards," noting that only 2 one is truly advisory while the others serve different functions. 3 4 Slide #2 Affordable Housing AdvisoryBoard a Established in 2001 by OC BOCC,, after recommendation by a • . • - Housing Task Forcelil 0 15 members representing county demographics, appointed by BOCC • Purpose is "to investigate, analyze and prioritize affordable a • and for recommendation to :OCC Comments• on : ■ • scores,, a recommendation to BOCC • Not • . • Aaron Rimmler-Cohen ORANGE COUNT Community Development Manager HOUSING DEPARTMENT acohen @a Oran gecou ntync.gov 5 6 Blake Rosser indicated that the Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) is truly an 7 advisory board to the Board of County Commissioners. He said the board has been working on a 8 comprehensive report on affordable housing, reviewing HOME fund investments since the 1990s. 9 Commissioner Greene asked about the scope of the upcoming report. 10 Blake Rosser clarified that it surveys all HOME fund spending historically, tracking 11 investments, changes over time, and the status of the projects now. 12 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if other boards have input on the spending of the 13 HOME Funds. 14 Blake Rosser said the Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative (the 15 Collaborative) is the federally mandated board, made up of elected officials from the county and 16 each municipality in the county, that reviews and recommends the Annual Action Plan (report to 17 HUD) and the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). 18 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if this board is also working on what the county can do 19 to create the conditions so that affordable housing can be developed here, like zoning regulations, 20 for example. 21 Blake Rosser said the Land Use Plan touches on that more in describing what land will be 22 available and what parts of the county will be available for development. He said the AHAB 23 touches on broader strategies through the CAPER, which informs what the county's priorities are, 24 and includes feedback from the public. He said the Collaborative also touches on broader county 25 strategy, mostly through funding emphasis, not zoning changes. 26 Commissioner Carter asked if there is any collaboration between the AHAB and the 27 Collaborative. 28 Blake Rosser said there is minimal collaboration between the two groups. 29 Commissioner Carter asked about the AHAB's intended role. 38 1 Blake Rosser answered that it was meant to create a community voice for Orange County 2 residents to guide County Commissioners on affordable housing needs. 3 Commissioner Carter asked which board examines housing gaps over time. 4 Blake Rosser said none of the boards do currently, though the AHAB could if directed. 5 Commissioner Bedford asked which boards looked at the $5 million CIP funds for 6 affordable housing. 7 Blake Rosser said the CAPER mentions the CIP funds because they are an available 8 community resource. He explained that the purpose of the CAPER is to summarize all the 9 information about all the resources available in order to strategically decide where HOME Funds 10 should be invested. 11 12 Slide #3 Local Government Affordable Housing # b • • Local a Consortium • Made up of one - • official from HOME Consortium • . total) • Oversees federali program planning, spending a ■ reporting • Recommends Annual Action Plans (AAPs) and Consolidated a BOCC Urban• Mandated by U.S. Department of Housing and Development Aaron Rimmler-Cohen ORANGECOUNTY Community Development Manager � HORSING DEPARTMENT acohen@orangecountync.gov 13 14 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if this group could include people who are not elected 15 officials. 16 Blake Rosser said that 4 elected officials are required per the Interlocal Agreement that 17 created this board. 18 Commissioner Greene provided historical context, explaining the elected official 19 composition exists because HOME funding goes to the county but can be distributed to 20 municipalities, requiring representation from each government. She distinguished this from CDBG 21 money going only to municipalities. 22 23 39 Slide QC Housing Authority Board Alycia Brown HCV Program Manager • Established in 2009 sa that BQCC would not have to continue searing as Hauling Authority Board • Consists of semen (7} QC residents, including at least one HCV participant, appointed by BQCC • Qversees the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV/Section 8) program, funded by HUD • Monitors all HCV processes and approrres major policy changes and updates • Mandated by HUD ORANGE COUNTY albrown@orangecountync.gov Blake Rosser explained most • • authorities standalone but Orange authority4 County's operates within county government. Previously, the BOCC itself served as the housing ••. • adjourning regular meetingsto convene as the housing authority. In 2009, Slide6 established a separate seven-member board, including at least one Section 8 participant, all 7 appointed by the BOCC. I (�CPEH Leadership Team Danielle Butler • Established in 2007 by Interlocal agreement with the four municipalities of Qrange County • Made up of 15 community-appointed members funder advisement from HUD Technical Assistance, governance structure currently in transition} • Develops and implements policy to prevent and end homelessness in orange County • Mandated by HUD far receipt of Continuum of Care (CaC) funding THUD CaC Prc+gram interim rule {24 CFR Part 578) 1' � COUNTY O ,A, dabutler@orangecountync-gov HOUSING 10 40 1 Blake Rosser reviewed the information on the slide above and noted that this board is 2 being restructured and will soon have 19 members for HUD Compliance. 3 Chair Hamilton asked if there were other changes that were necessary to comply with 4 HUD requirements. 5 Blake Rosser explained they're out of compliance primarily because they lack the required 6 broader continuum of care (COC) membership of dozens or hundreds of community members; 7 the leadership team currently serves both functions. He said a September town hall attempted to 8 reinitiate membership discussions. 9 Commissioner Greene provided historical context, explaining that the Partnership 10 predated becoming the COC, originally created by a large collective to develop the first 10-year 11 Plan to End Homelessness. The group filling the room decided the membership structure with no 12 initial concept of being the COC,which was combined later. The steering committee was renamed 13 "leadership team" by a previous Partnership Coordinator. She questioned whether partnerships 14 typically serve as COCs in this state. 15 Blake Rosser said there is a decent chance of the name of this group changing. 16 17 Slide#6 EstablishedOCPEH Executive Team • Chapel. . Hillsborough • Made up . elected official Overseesmunicipality • as well as execution of OCPEH 10-year/Strategic Plan • Mandated by Interlocal • Danielle Butler ORANG OUNTY OCPEH Manager HOUSING DEPARTMENT dabutlerc@orangecountync.gov 18 19 Blake Rosser reviewed the information on the slide above. 20 Vice-Chair Fowler pointed out that "Leadership" and "Executive" sound similar. 21 Blake Rosser said that is part of the issue that will likely lead to the names of the groups 22 changing. 23 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how much staff time each board takes up. 24 Blake Rosser estimated that the Affordable Housing Advisory Board and Collaborative 25 each require 3-4 hours monthly; Housing Authority 5-6 hours; Leadership Team 12 hours (most 26 time-intensive with four staff attending); Executive Team about 30 minutes monthly, given 27 quarterly meetings. 28 29 41 1 Slide #7 LGAHC am (HOME) Fq== Established 2001 1992 2009 2007 2015 7 resident 15 resident Membership 5 resident 4 elected volunteers(at volunteers(in 4 elected volunteers officials least 1 officials participant) transition) Advise Administer Administer Administer Supervise BOCC on HOME HUD Section Continuum of OCPEH Affordable Investment 8/Housing Care,develop manager and Work monitor Housing Partnership Choice and oversee progress toward priorities and federal grant Voucher homelessness homelessness strategies program program strategic plan strategic plan Mandated? No Yes Yes Yes Yes (HUD) (HUD) (HUD, Interlocal) (Interlocal) ORANGE COUNTY O HOUSING DEPARTMENT 2 3 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the mandated boards must remain separate or if any 4 could be consolidated. 5 Blake Rosser indicated that the Housing Authority must remain separate. He said the 6 Executive Team could potentially combine with the Collaborative given similar composition, 7 though he expressed concern about mixing affordable housing and homelessness missions. 8 Commissioner Bedford noted practical challenges if combined, requiring the same person 9 to attend Partnership meetings. 10 Vice-Chair Fowler asked about Mebane's involvement, as they are a naturally occurring 11 option for affordable housing. 12 Blake Rosser acknowledged they've operated independently with limited substantive 13 engagement, though initial conversations have occurred regarding certain developments and 14 planning issues. He agreed there seemed to be opportunities for greater incorporation. 15 Commissioner Bedford asked for clarity on the purpose of this presentation at the retreat 16 and questioned the next steps for this conversation. 17 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she asked for this presentation to understand what 18 groups are working on housing issues in the face of an affordable housing crisis, and how they 19 are advising the Board on what needs to change. 20 Blake Rosser said the inherent limitation is that the boards that would most logically be 21 able to advise the Board are the Collaborative and the AHAB, but they are made up of people 22 who are not experts in this topic. He explained that it leaves staff to inform them, however, staff 23 are busy operating programs without time for thorough research, literature reviews, or data 42 1 compilation. This capacity issue often leads to hiring outside consultants or relying on work from 2 groups, raising questions about which experts to trust. 3 Commissioner Greene said the Collaborative used to have a broader mission but was 4 grafted onto serving as the HOME Consortium based on a former Chapel Hill Town Manager's 5 suggestion. She said the Collaborative was meant to foster an understanding of what each 6 jurisdiction is doing to work on affordable housing. She recalled unsuccessful attempts to fund a 7 consultant for a "strategic housing plan" that would have created a coordinated vision. 8 Blake said that staff can do a better job of bringing that perspective when preparing the 9 meeting agendas. He acknowledged there is an opportunity for more collaboration and 10 conversation between municipalities in these meetings. 11 Commissioner Carter said, given the need to understand the various efforts and plans 12 happening in each municipality and the county, and how each is addressing the continuum of 13 housing needs and identifying where the gaps are, the Board should take another look at the 14 purpose of the AHAB and reorient it around the mission Commissioner Greene articulated. She 15 asked if the Board thinks it is the right time to do that and if it would be valuable. 16 Commissioner Bedford pointed out that the members of the AHAB don't have the expertise 17 needed to start or complete that work. 18 Commissioner Carter said part of the reorientation could be looking at the skill sets that 19 are needed. 20 Chair Hamilton said she'd like the Board to look at the AHAB's mandate and decide what 21 to do differently. She agreed with Commissioner Bedford that having non-experts do the work 22 would not be successful, and she pointed out that staff have already done a lot of work on 23 affordable housing issues that could be leveraged. She agreed with looking at how to use the 24 AHAB and the other boards most effectively, acknowledging that other elected bodies would have 25 to weigh in on changing the structure of the other boards. She asked if other board members were 26 interested in exploring other options. 27 Commissioner Greene said she is not in favor of combining the Executive Team with the 28 Collaborative because the purposes of each group are distinct and important. She said the 29 Executive Team was created as a "watchdog" over the larger Partnership to End Homelessness 30 project, and the elected officials who make up that body represent the four funders of the project. 31 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she understands that point somewhat but is supportive 32 of looking at how things are done and why they are still done the same way, and if there are better 33 ways to do it. 34 Commissioner Bedford said the Board needs to have a systems-level discussion about 35 housing in Orange County, and even regionally. She suggested thinking bigger picture about 36 integrated approaches, like the behavioral health task force model, and asked staff to explore 37 that. She said right now, the approach to affordable housing is piecemeal. 38 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said part of what she hoped to learn from this presentation 39 was which board could move forward with the work identified by James Bryan, staff attorney in 40 the County Attorney's Office, which would allow affordable housing to happen here. She said this 41 information was shared by the County Attorney, John Roberts, with the Board in an email. 42 Blake said the AHAB could do some of that work if given specific instructions. He said 43 there are other ways to do this work, but he warned that experts can be found to confirm any point 44 of view. 45 Chair Hamilton said there are economists and urban planners who go back and forth on 46 this issue. She said she hopes the person who is scheduled to come to the half-day retreat on 47 Planning will talk about housing and will be able to answer some of the Board's big questions. 48 She reiterated her concern about tasking general advisory boards with questions requiring 49 expertise, suggesting the board itself needs sufficient understanding to provide direction. 43 1 Commissioner Carter emphasized needing both short-term answers for land use planning 2 and ongoing information about housing production, programs, and gaps across all jurisdictions, 3 including Mebane. 4 Chair Hamilton reiterated the need to review the charge of the AHAB and modify it. 5 Commissioner Greene said that if the AHAB is going to be the body that addresses the 6 broad mission on affordable housing, it needs to have designated representatives from different 7 municipalities and fields to ensure collaboration between jurisdictions and the needed expertise. 8 Commissioner Bedford acknowledged that this work is important but may not be worth 9 doing without money to fund affordable housing. 10 Commissioner Greene said that she would like to see a plan even if there's no money. 11 Commissioner Bedford said some elected members of various jurisdictions feel this is the 12 purview of the county and are not inclined to work together on this issue. 13 Vice-Chair Fowler said the Towns are doing housing-related work. She said she doesn't 14 want to duplicate efforts, but doesn't think work on affordable housing can ever be overdone. She 15 mentioned that there was a gaps analysis done within the past few years, and there were gaps in 16 every part of the continuum of housing needs, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to fix them. 17 She expressed appreciation for this conversation and thoughts about how to make the AHAB 18 more useful. 19 The conversation concluded with recognition that the boards need clear direction from 20 commissioners, structures may need modification for effectiveness and efficiency, and ongoing 21 discussion would continue as the board addresses housing as a strategic priority. 22 23 Slide#8 Orange County • Department 11 W. Tryon Street Hillsborough and 2501 Homestead ` . . . Chapel Blake RosserQRANGE CUIJNTY Director,oc Housing Q HOUSING DEPARTMENT brosser@orangecountync.gov 24 25 26 7. Final Comments/Wrap-Up 27 Commissioner Carter expressed appreciation for the puzzle activity. 28 Chair Hamilton thanked staff for their support in making the retreat happen, and members 29 of the public who attended. She thanked commissioners for their valuable input throughout the 30 day and observed that she had heard cooperation, collegiality, collaboration, and community 31 demonstrated throughout their discussions. She wished everyone a good weekend and 32 meaningful celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, sharing a quote she 33 had used in a WCHL interview: "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same 44 1 boat now." Chair Hamilton reminded commissioners that the next board meeting would be on 2 Tuesday. 3 4 Adjournment 5 6 A motion was made by Commissioner Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Greene, to 7 adjourn the meeting at 2:50 pm. 8 9 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 10 11 Jean Hamilton, Chair 12 13 14 Recorded by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board, and Tara May, Deputy Clerk to the Board 15 16 Submitted for approval by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board 17 Attachment 2 1 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 4 BUSINESS MEETING 5 January 20, 2026 6 7:00 p.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, January 9 20, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. 10 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jean Hamilton, Vice-Chair Amy Fowler, and 12 Commissioners Jamezetta Bedford, Marilyn Carter, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, and Phyllis Portie- 13 Ascott 14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. 15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: Deputy County Manager Caitlin Fenhagen and Clerk to the Board 17 Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) 18 19 Chair Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.All commissioners were present. 20 21 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 22 There were no changes to the agenda. 23 Chair Hamilton read the public charge. 24 25 2. Public Comments (Limited to One Hour) 26 a. Matters not on the Printed Aqenda 27 Carol Conway expressed concerns about oversight for the Department of Social Services. 28 She said that if there is a case that is not about discrimination and is bungled, there is no recourse. 29 She said that disability is mentioned in the strategic plan, but not in the outcomes. She had three 30 recommendations: 1) fund an independent ombudsman, 2) agency-wide training on facts about 31 intellectual and developmental disabilities, and 3)hire more disabled workers in the county system 32 and consider how volunteers with more severe disabilities can contribute to the county with 33 supervision. 34 Gary Linz expressed concerns about procedures at land records at the Register of Deeds 35 and clerical errors that resulted in his property being transferred to another individual without his 36 knowledge or consent. He said that he has not been given satisfactory answers from the County 37 Manager and that the Sheriff does not appear to be interested in investigating any crimes related 38 to these errors. He said he wants answers to his questions and will continue to speak at 39 commissioners' meetings. 40 41 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 42 (These matters will be considered when the Board addresses that item on the agenda below.) 43 44 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members 45 Commissioner McKee said that at the retreat the Board heard disturbing news about the 46 possible budget shortfalls and encouraged the community to pay attention. 47 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she attended multiple NAACP events in relation to the 48 observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. She said she attended the NCACC General 49 Government Steering Committee, where they focused on the lack of affordable housing in North 50 Carolina. She said the NC Housing Coalition presented housing strategies that work across North 51 Carolina. She said they are fighting to remove eviction filings on a tenant's record even after 2 1 outstanding balances have been paid and before the eviction has happened. She said if it is 2 taken off their record, it is easier for them to move somewhere new in the future. She said the 3 second strategy was evaluating local barriers to constructing affordable housing. She said that 4 government regulations can account for, on average, 25% of the cost of a new home. She said 5 Chatham County said they were only 10%. She would like to know what percentage of the cost 6 of a home in Orange County is due to government regulations. 7 Vice-Chair Fowler congratulated Betty Curry for receiving the 2026 Martin Luther King, Jr. 8 Award from the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP. She highlighted the inclusion of the Holocaust 9 proclamation on the agenda and said it is important to remember history and to not repeat it. She 10 said she attended the county quarterly transportation meeting where they heard updates from 11 municipalities and NCDOT local projects. She said she will attend the Triangle West TPO meeting 12 and later in the week, the GoTriangle Special Tax Board meeting. 13 Commissioner Bedford said that Commissioner Portie-Ascott gave the keynote address 14 at the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP event and did a wonderful job. She said she enjoyed several 15 events over the weekend including a banquet with retired Judge Fox. She said she attended the 16 DSS Board meeting earlier in the day where they went over the budget and adopted the workplan 17 for the coming year. 18 Commissioner Greene said she attended the Northern Orange NAACP Martin Luther 19 King, Jr. event. She said there will be a panel presentation on January 26 at the Chapel Hill 20 Library about Congressman George White and the politics of the early 201h century. She said the 21 panelists include Tim Tyson, former Congressman GK Butterfield, Hillary Harris Klein of the 22 Southern Coalition for Social Justice, and Commissioner Greene. 23 Commissioner Carter thanked all the employees who retired in 2025 and for all those who 24 continue to serve. She said she attended the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP event. She said she 25 attended the NCACC General Government Steering Committee, and they stated that water and 26 sewer capacity is critical to housing. She said in the North Carolina Select Committee on Property 27 Taxation, they discussed various property tax exemptions. She said she'd reflected on the 28 challenges of 2025 and that she was committed to working with fellow commissioners and staff 29 to find solutions and new approaches to solving problems. 30 Chair Hamilton said the county is facing challenges and encouraged the community to pay 31 attention as they go through the budget season. She expressed admiration for Commissioner 32 Portie-Ascott's address at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. She said she attended the 33 quarterly Advisory Council on Aging, where they had a presentation on Medicare and the Senior 34 Health Information Insurance Program (SHIIP), which is one of the best programs the state has 35 for seniors to get unbiased information about Medicare. She said there is a program to help 36 catch Medicare fraud and abuse by talking to beneficiaries and helping them understand what to 37 look for. She hopes that the Department on Aging Director will consider ways to help people fight 38 Medicare fraud and abuse. She said there's a NC Partnership to Address Adult Abuse with a 39 website people can visit: NC3pa.org. 40 41 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations 42 a. International Holocaust Remembrance Day Proclamation 43 The Board approved a proclamation acknowledging January 27, 2026 as International Holocaust 44 Remembrance Day. 45 46 BACKGROUND: The United Nations has declared January 27th as International Holocaust 47 Remembrance Day, a solemn occasion to honor the memory of six million Jews murdered in the 48 Holocaust, and millions of other innocent victims who perished for failing to conform to Nazi 49 ideology. 50 51 Chair Hamilton introduced the following proclamation and the Board read it in turn: 3 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 2 3 Proclamation 4 International Holocaust Remembrance Day 5 January 27, 2026 6 7 Commemorating the Past, Confronting Hate, and Committing to a Just Future 8 9 WHEREAS, the United Nations has declared January 27th as International Holocaust 10 Remembrance Day, a solemn occasion to honor the memory of six million Jews murdered in the 11 Holocaust, and millions of other innocent victims who perished for failing to conform to Nazi 12 ideology; and 13 14 WHEREAS, we also honor the strength and resilience of the millions who survived Nazi 15 persecution, enduring unimaginable trauma and loss — including many who have recorded their 16 personal testimony in books, videos, and personal diaries; and 17 18 WHEREAS, we pay tribute to the courageous individuals, groups, and countries — both Jewish 19 and non-Jewish — who resisted, physically and spiritually, to stand against injustice and protect 20 those targeted for extermination; and 21 22 WHEREAS, we remember that the Holocaust did not start with gas chambers — it began with the 23 erosion of rights and legal protections coupled with state-sponsored propaganda, bigotry, and 24 dehumanization targeting Jews and others, and which escalated to mass murder and genocide; 25 and 26 27 WHEREAS, we unequivocally denounce all forms of discrimination, violence, murder, and 28 genocide against any people, and reaffirm our condemnation of antisemitism, racism, and any 29 form of bigotry directed at culturally, politically, socially, or ethnically distinctive communities; and 30 31 WHEREAS, we value a community where diverse cultural and religious traditions are honored 32 and woven into the rich fabric of community life; and 33 34 WHEREAS, in conjunction with the nationwide Light Up in Yellow Campaign. 35 (https://www.Iightupamericayellow.com/), the State of North Carolina will light up the State Capitol 36 in yellow on January 27, 2026 in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Orange 37 County can join in recognition and remembrance by lighting up select County buildings; 38 39 NOW, THEREFORE, let us unite in remembrance and resolve — committing ourselves to the 40 creation of a world that is safe, inclusive, and welcoming to all. Let the lessons of the Holocaust 41 guide us as we foster empathy and justice, speak out against hate in every form, and uphold the 42 dignity and human rights of every human being. 43 44 On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pledge our shared responsibility to build 45 communities built upon respect and mutual understanding so that"Never Again" is not a promise, 46 but a lived reality for generations to come. 47 48 This the 20th Day of January, 2026. 49 50 51 Jean Hamilton, Chair 4 1 Orange County Board of Commissioners 2 3 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Vice-Chair Fowler, to approve 4 and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. 5 6 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 7 8 PUBLIC COMMENT: 9 Sharon Halpern thanked the Board for the Holocaust Remembrance proclamation during 10 the observance of Auschwitz-Birkenau's liberation anniversary. Sharon shared she keeps a 11 photograph in her office that symbolizes indifference, reminding her of the world's inaction during 12 the Holocaust. She travels to visit Holocaust-related sites worldwide and sees the proclamation 13 not as a personal honor, but as a collective promise to the 6 million Jews and others persecuted. 14 She emphasized the ongoing fight against antisemitism and hatred, urging education and moral 15 clarity to protect the vulnerable and inspire actions preventing future atrocities. 16 Chair Hamilton thanked Sharon Halpern and Bonnie Hauser for bringing the 17 proclamation to the Board's attention. 18 Commissioner McKee said it is important to realize that if we don't remember what 19 happened we might repeat it. 20 21 b. Presentation of Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for FYE 6/30/2025 and 22 Approval of Audit Services Contract Amendment 23 The Board: 24 1) Received a presentation on the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the 25 fiscal year ended June 30, 2025; and 26 2) Approved an Audit Services Contract Amendment for Fiscal Year 2025. 27 28 BACKGROUND: The ACFR reports on all financial activity of the County for the fiscal year July 29 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Mauldin and Jenkins, LLC, a firm of Certified Public Accountants, 30 audited the County's financial statements. The financial statements and audit are required by 31 Chapter 159-34 of the North Carolina General Statutes.The financial report for the Orange County 32 Sportsplex, as required under the management contract, is included in the County's ACFR. 33 34 The County received an unmodified (clean) audit opinion on the financial statements received 35 from the audit. The financial audit results indicate compliance with County financial policies. The 36 Chief Financial Officer and representatives of Mauldin and Jenkins, LLC, will cover highlights of 37 the report and answer any questions. The County's Unassigned fund balance remained in 38 compliance with the 16% County policy at 16.9% of General Fund expenditures. 39 40 Under North Carolina General Statute 143-129(e)(2), certain professional services including 41 audit, legal and consulting are not subject to the same competitive bidding requirements as goods 42 and construction contracts. Mauldin and Jenkins incurred $15,000 in additional expenses due to 43 the requirements of the Uniform Guidance and State Single Audit Implementation Act and major 44 program selection for FY 2025. Below are the programs required for the Single Audit: 45 1. Medicaid 46 2. Child Support Enforcement 47 3. Housing Section 8 48 4. Opioid Settlement 49 5. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TAN F) 50 6. Public School Capital Outlay 51 7. Juvenile Crime Prevention Council 5 1 2 The number of major programs subject to audit varies each year based primarily on (1) the 3 composition of the County's federal awards and (2)the composition of the County's state awards. 4 Staff will review further with the auditors the estimated programs to be audited to meet audit 5 thresholds and standards. 6 7 For the current audit year, these requirements resulted in a higher number of major programs 8 than anticipated when the original $135,000 contract amount was established, leading to the 9 additional cost. This increase was not the result of missed requirements or a change in audit 10 standards adopted after contract approval. The auditors expect the number of required major 11 programs — and associated costs — to decline in future years due to the expiration of COVID- 12 related funding and the planned increase in federal and state threshold levels to $1,000,000. 13 14 The attached Audit Services Contract Amendment increases the FY 2025 cost from $135,000 to 15 $150,000. The FY 2026 and 2027 audit budgets are expected to be $140,000 and $145,000 16 respectively. Staff will present the required annual Local Government Commission audit contracts 17 for those years at a future Board Business meeting. 18 19 Gary Donaldson, Chief Financial Officer, introduced the item and Tim Lyons and Chad 20 Jackson from auditor Mauldin and Jenkins. 21 Tim Lyons made the following presentation: 22 23 Slide #1 ORANGE COUNTY N0R-"'r. H A AT Presentation of Audit Results June 30, 2025 24 25 26 Slide #2 6 NA T Orange County,North Carolina Agenda Engagement Team Overview of: Audit Opinion Financial Trends Compliance Report Required Communications Accounting Recommendations and Related Matters Answer Questions Auditor's discussion&Analysis(AD&A) 1 June 30,2025 2 3 Slide #3 AA-1 L Orange County,North Carolina 300+ y C i i I •. !� IIIf � f f ; = SINGLE AUDITS PERFORMED LAST B YEAR COVERING OVER$5.3 BILLION OF FEDERAL GRANTS CONSISTENTLY RANKED AS A TOP ACCOUN71NG FIRM IN THE U.S. TEAM MEMBERS DEDICATED 1 + TO SERVING INDUSTRY ! 156,000 GOV€ THE 100+ year 1 HOURS ANNUALLY HISTORY PROVIDED TO OF QUALITY SERVICE - w' """'• GOVERNMENTAL CLIENTS ,Mf CURRENT CURRENT CLIENTS AWARDED Serve 700+ MAULDIN ENKI\3 = 175+ THE GFOA CERTIFICATE OF GOVERNMENT CLIENTS � EXCELLENCE GOVERNMENTALQ " 6 14 PARTNERS 18 STATES OFFICES Engagement Team Leaders Tim Lyons, Engagement Partner i Brian Nicholson,Quality Review Partner i Chad Jackson,Manager Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) 4 June 30,2025 5 6 1 Slide #4 1\ /f T Orange County,North Carolina Audit Opinion Our Responsibility Under Auditing Standards Generally Accepted in the United States of America(GRAS) we considered the internal control structure for the purpose of expressing our opinion on orange County,North Carolina's (the"County")basic financial statements,not for the purpose of providing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal controls. Our audit was performed In accordance with GAAS and Government Auditing Standards. Our objective is to provide reasonable—not absolute—assurance that the basic financial statements are free of material misstatement. .. The basic financial statements are the responsibility of the County's management. We did not audit the financial statements of the Orange CountyABC Board. The financial statements of the ABC Board were audited by other auditors whose report was furnished to us,along with certain other required communications. Our opinion on the County's financial statements is based solely on the report of the other auditors who performed the audit of the ABC Board.The financial statements of the ABC Board were not audited In accordance with Government Auditing Standards. • Report on Basic Financial Statements Unmodified("clean")opinion on basic financial statements. Presented fairly in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Our responsibility does not extend beyond financial information contained in our report. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 2 3 4 Slide #5 IxAT Orange County,North Carolina Compliance Reports • Government Auditing Standards("Yellow Book')Report The financial report package contains a report on our tests of the Countys internal controls and compliance with laws,regulations,etc. The report is not intended to provide an opinion on internal controls nor is it intended to provide a legal determination on the Countys compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This reportand the procedures performed are required by GovernmentAuditing Standards. • Compliance Reports We were required to perform Single Audit procedures on seven(7)major programs(4 Federal and 3 State of North Carolina programs). We issued a report on the County's federal programs in accordance with the Uniform Guidance. That report contained an unmodified opinion on compliance. We issued a report on the County's state programs in accordancewith the State of North Carolina Single Audit Implementation Act. That report contained an unmodified opinion on compliance. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 5 6 8 1 Slide #6 NAT Orange County,North Carolina Financial Trends- Composition of Fund Balance Fund Balance Categories-General Fund Trends from 2024 to 2025 so,o0o,000 2024 Fund Balance:$77.72M 45.OW,090 40,000,000 2025 Fund Balance:$78.36M 35,000,00D Changes in unassigned fund 30,000,000 balance: 25,000,000 2024:$39.78M 20,00,000 2025:$42.85M 15,000,000 Unassigned fund balance as 10•000,0°0 l of June 30,2025,is 16.9%of General Fund expenditures which is compliantwith 16% 2023 2024 2025 County policy disclosed in ■Nonspendable ■PestriUed ■Committed ■Assigned EUnaesigned Note 1 to the F/5. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 3Q 2025 Z 3 4 Slide #7 Orme CountL�North Carolina Financial Trends-General Fund Revenue Chargestor services,4.9% Other,1 9% Inter®ovemrnentai,6 9% 6elas Taxes, 151% Properly Taxes, 71.2% 2026-Actual 2025-Budget Diff Property Taxes 206,488,649 203,205,934 3,282.,715 Sales Taxes 43,717,364 44,139,012 (421,628) Intergowrnmental 20,140,939 21,892.072 (1.751.133) Charges for services 14,173,742 13,816,624 357,118 Other 5,455,949 13,346,457 (7,851,408) 289.975,763 296,360.099 (6,384,336) Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 5 9 1 Slide #8 /]\A TT� 4 1 Orange County,North Carolina Financial Trends-General Fund Expenditures 2025-Actual 2025-Budget Diff %age Community services $ 15,845,035 $ 16,822,295 $ 977,260 6% General government 13,152,231 13,923,838 771,607 5% Public safety 40,129,493 41,217,286 1,087,793 14% Human Services 47,987,431 52,835,889 4,848,458 17% Education 113,122,510 113,159,588 37,078 39% Support services 20,031,716 29,136,667 9,104,951 7% Debt service O 36,868,612 35,636,656 (1,231,956) 13% $ 287,137,028 $ 302,732,219 $ 15,595,191 100% *Debt service expenditures includes approximately$19.1 million of principal and interest payments on school-related debt for the fiscal year ended June 30,1015. When the balance of those payments is added to non-debt service, total expenditures for education total approximately$131.2 million or 46%of total General Fund+Debt Service Fund expenditures. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 2 3 4 Slide #9 T\ AI Orange County,North Carolina Financial Trends- Proprietary Funds Solid Waste Enterprise Fund 2025 2024 Change Operating revenues $ 10,847,396 $ 11,093,956 $ (246,560) Operating expenses 13,754,493 11,903,792 1,850,701 Operating income (2,907,097) (809,836) (2,097,261) Unrestricted net position 6,128,359 8,857,525 (2,729,166) Operating cash flow 392,924 1,264,554 (871,630) Overall cash flow (3,017,611) 467,457 (3,485,068) SportsPlex Enterprise Fund 2025 2024 Change Operating revenues $ 5,956,282 $ 5,497,730 $ 458,552 Operating expenses 5,534,000 5,889,969 (355,969) Operating income 422,282 (392,239) 814,521 Unrestricted net position 1,251,011 318,997 932,014 Operating cash flow 1,174,893 257,861 916,952 Interfund transfers 799,669 746,694 52,975 Overall cash flow 2,842,604 (381,919) 3,224,523 Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 5 10 1 Slide #10 Orange County,North Carolina Required Communications • Significant Accounting Policies Management is responsible for the selection and use of appropriate accounting policies. The significant accounting policies used by the County are described in Note 1 to the basicfinancial statements. Do ring the current year,the County was required to implement the provisions of GASB Statement No.101, Compensated Absences and GASB Statement No.102,Certain Risk Disclosures. The policies used by the County are in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. In considering the qualitative aspects of its policies,the County is not involved in any controversial or emerging issues for which guidance is not available. • Management judgment/Accounting Estimates Accounting estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are based on management's knowledge and experience about past and current events and assumptions about future events. The County uses various estimates as part of its financial reporting process-including actuarial assumptions. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 Z 3 4 Slide #11 Orange County,North Carolina Required Communications(Continued) • Relationship with Management We received full cooperation from the County's management and staff, There were no disagreements with management on accounting issues or financial reporting matters. Management Representation We requested,and received,written representations from management relating to the accuracy of information included in the financial statements and the completeness and accuracyof various information requested by us. • Consultation with Other Accountants To the best of our knowledge,management has not consulted with,or obtained opinions from,other independent accountants during the year,nor did we face any issues requiring outside consultation. • Significant Issues Discussed with Management There were no significant issues discussed with management related to business conditions,plans,or strategies that may have affected the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 5 11 1 Slide #12 /T\ATT� J Orange Count}, North Carolina Required Communications(Continued) • Audit Adjustments Several adjustments were required during the conduct of the audit;these adjustments have been provided to management and theyhave provided us with representations that the adjustments have been posted to the County's general ledger. We did not have any passed audit adjustments. • Financial Statement Disclosures The footnote disclosures to the financial statements are also an integral part of the financial statements and the process used by management to accumulate the information included in the disclosures was the same process used in accumulating the statements. The overall neutrality, consistency, and clarity of the disclosures was considered as part of our audit. • Information in Documents Containing Audited Financial Statements Our responsibility for other information in documents containing the County's basic financial statements and our report thereon does not extend beyond the information identified in our report. Ifyou intend to publish or otherwise reproduce the financial statements and make reference to our firm,we must a provided with printers' proof for our review and approval before printing. You must also provide us with a copy of the final reproduced material for our approval before it is distributed. • Auditor Independence In accordance with AICPA professional standards, M&J is Independent with regard to the County,its component unit,and its respective financial reporting processes. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 2 3 4 Slide #13 4'000� Orange County,North Carolina Audit Findings • 2025-001 Accounting for Lease Activity Issue: We noted that the County did not record the current year lease activity required under GASB 87. A new material lessor lease executed during the fiscal year was not recorded in the County's financial statements,as well as the current year additions for lessee leases were not recorded. As a result,both lessee and lessor lease activity for the fiscal year was incomplete in the accounting records and thus audit adjustments of approximately$7.3 million were required to properly reportthe County's leasing activity in accordancewith GAAP. • 2025-002 Reporting of Accounts Payable and Related Balances Issue: During our search for unrecorded liabilities,we identified multiple vendor invoices relating to goods and services received prior to year-end that were not accrued to the appropriate fiscal year. These invoices were instead recognized in the subsequent fiscal year when processed,resulting in a misstatement of accounts payable and expenditures. As a result,audit adjustments totaling approximately$700,000 were required to properly report the County's liability for accounts payable and the related expenditures/expenses for fiscal year 2025. • 2025-003 Prior Period Adjustment Issue: We noted that the County retarded sales and use tax refund receipts after year-end as revenue,despite the related receivable and revenue having already been recognized in prior fiscal years. This resulted in duplicate recognition of revenue and thus audit adjustments were required to properly reduce outstanding receivable balances and to restate beginning fund balance of the County's General Fund to address the errors in revenue recognition that occurred in previous years. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 5 12 1 Slide #14 AAT ` Orange County,North Carolina Management Letter Comments (Recommendations) • Accounting for Special Revenue Funds During our review of the County's financial statements,we noted the DSS Payee Fund did not have any revenue or expenditure activity(outside of a journal entry writing off liabilities)for the fiscal year under audit. Based on our review of the general ledger activity,it appears the County is still accounting for this fund as If it was still a custodial fund of the County where all amounts are received as cash and offset with a corresponding liability. With the change in accounting standard that was brought about by GASB Statement No.84,Fiduciary Activities,this fund was reclassified to a special revenue fund in previous years and should be reflecting the inflows it receives during the fiscal year as revenues and conversely,the outflows as expenditures. Due to the fact that the activity for the fiscal year ended June 30,2025,was not material,an audit adjustment to reclassify the activity was not required. However,we recommend County staff implement additional internal controls or additional annual closeout procedures to the ensure the amounts are properly recorded in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles(GAAP). • Lack of Annual Budget Adoption-Special Revenue Fund During our audit,we noted that the County did not adopt an annual budget for one of its Special Revenue Funds for the fiscal year ended June 30,2025. North Carolina General Statutes and the County's budgetary policies require that all funds subject to budgetary control have a formally adopted annual budget.Without an adopted budget,expenditures and revenues in the Special Revenue Fund were not subject to formal budgetary control, increasing the risk of unauthorized spending and noncompliance with state law and County policies. We recommend that management ensure all Special Revenue Funds are reviewed annually during the budget process and that an adopted budget ordinance is approved for each fund,regardless of the activity level. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 2 3 Vice-Chair Fowler asked about concerns of the failure to adopt a DSS budget and 4 insufficient internal controls, and absence of formal budgetary oversight. She asked for more 5 detail on how the DSS Payee Fund should be managed. 6 Tim Lyons said that these types of funds used to be called agency funds, and that's how 7 every county government in North Carolina accounted for DSS payee funds. He said GASB 84 8 changed the definition of what are now known as custodial funds and the payee funds does not 9 meet the definition of a custodial fund. He said now the DSS Payee Fund is considered a Special 10 Revenue Fund, and it reports an income statement. He said the difference is how it's set up in 11 the general ledger system with cash flowing in and going to a liability account, then the cash gets 12 paid out of the account. He said that activity must be reclassed to an income statement. He said 13 the accounting system is doing one thing and then manual adjustments must be made. He said 14 it would be better to have it accounted for in the accounting system rather than relying on manual 15 processes. 16 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if DSS has fixed the issue. 17 Tim Lyons said no, not to his knowledge. 18 Chair Hamilton asked what the definition is of a custodial fund vs. a special revenue fund. 19 Tim Lyons said there are a couple of accounting standards within the GASB literature that 20 defines what a special revenue fund is. He said special revenue funds at a minimum must have 21 a revenue stream that is restricted for a purpose. He said there are a lot of things that go into what 22 can and cannot be a custodial fund. He said there are several significant elements that GASB 23 lays out about control and who the beneficiary of the fund is and if it is outside of the government. 24 He said they question if the activity of the fund is being derived from the government's sole source 25 revenues. He said there are a lot of criteria of what can and cannot be a custodial fund. He said 26 when GASB 84 came out, the LGC said DSS Payee Funds do not meet the definition of a 27 custodial fund. He thought this changed in 2021. He said that it needs to be accounted for in the 28 accounting system from the beginning rather than making it a manual adjustment process. 13 1 Vice-Chair Fowler clarified that nothing nefarious happened, the accounting method just 2 needs to be fixed. 3 Gary Donaldson said staff was in the phase of implementing the fix and it will be corrected 4 by the end of the fiscal year. 5 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the invoice that wasn't accrued in the correct fiscal 6 year was due to staff turnover or a need for training. She asked how that will be prevented in the 7 future. 8 Gary Donaldson explained the fiscal year-end financial procedures with departments. 9 10 Slide #15 AAT + 1 Orange County, North Carolina New Accounting Pronouncements • New GASB Pronouncements for Future Years Statement No. 103, Financial Reporting Model Improvements was issued in 2024 and is effective for fiscal years beginning after June 15,2025,which means the Countys fiscal year ended June 30,2026. This new standard will change a few things in the County's ACFR (Management's Discussion and Analysis; presentation of budgetary comparison schedules;and the statement of revenues,expenses and changes in net position for the County's enterprise funds). Statement No.104,Disclosure of Certain Capital Assets,clarifies information that is required to be disclosed in the capital asset footnote and roll-forward. With the introduction of a new class of assets in recent years (right-to-use assets),the GASB has clarified how those items need to be presented in the County's footnotes. In addition,this new Standard will require the County to separately disclose the historical cost and accumulated depreciation (as of the financial statement date)for any capital assets that are held for sale. The requirements of this Standard are effective for fiscalyears beginningafterjune 15,2025,which rneansthe Countysfiscal year endingjune 30,2026. Auditor's Discussion&Analysis(AD&A) June 30, 2025 11 12 13 14 14 1 Slide #16 Orange County,North Carolina Govt. Clients - Free Quarterly Continuing Education Since March of 2009- For Over 12 Years !! Mauldin&Jenkins provides free quarterly continuing education for all of our governmental clients. Topics are tailored to be of interest to governmental entities. In an effort to accommodate our entire governmental client base,we offer the sessions several times per quarter at a variety of client provided locations resulting in greater networking and knowledge sharing among our governmental clients. We normally see approximately 180 people per quarter. Examples of subjects addressed in the past few quarters include: • Accounting for Debt Issuances GASB Projects&Updates(ongoing&several sessions • Achieving Excellence in Financial Reporting Human Capital Management • Best Budgeting Practices,Policies and Processes Grant Accounting Processes and Controls • Budget Preparation Internal Controls Over Accounts Payable,Payroll and • ACFR Preparation(two(2)day hands-on course) Cash Disbursements • Capital Asset Accounting Processes and Controls Internal Controls Over Receivables&the Revenue Cycle • Collateralization of Deposits and Investments IRS Issues,Primarily Payroll Matters • Component Units Legal Considerations for Debt Issuances&Disclosures • Cybersecurity Risk Management Policies and Procedures Manuals Evaluating Financial and Non-Financial Health ofa Govt. Segregation of Duties • Financial Report Card-Where Does Your Govt.Stand? Single Audits for Auditees • Financial Reporting Model Improvements Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax(SPLOST) • GASB Nos.74&75,OPEB Standards Accounting,Reporting&Comphance • GASB No.77,Tax Abatement Disclosures Uniform Grant Reporting Requirements and the New • GASB No.84,Fiduciary Activities Single Audit Auditor's Discussion&Anafysis(AD&A) June 30,2025 2 3 Slide #17 Questions & Comments ORANGE COUNTY NORTH �AR+C�L.INA )4-1 Thank You for the Opportunity to Serve 4 15 1 Commissioner Carter said she would like to receive information on future classes offered 2 by Mauldin and Jenkins. She thanked the Finance staff for their work in delivering a clean audit. 3 Commissioner Bedford asked if opioid funds are special revenue funds. 4 Tim Lyons said that was correct. 5 Chair Hamilton asked what the interfund transfers were for the Sportsplex. 6 Tim Lyons described how interfund transfers work between the Sportsplex and other 7 county funds. 8 Chair Hamilton said it's activity between the general fund and the Sportsplex. 9 Tim Lyons said there was more information on transfers in footnote #7 in the ACFR. 10 Chair Hamilton thanked the presenter. She said minimizing errors that become material 11 gives the Board confidence that they are being good stewards of the public's dollars. 12 13 A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford, seconded by Commissioner Carter, to 14 approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Audit Services Contract Amendment for the Fiscal 15 Year 2025 audit services. 16 17 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 18 19 5. Public Hearings 20 None. 21 22 6. Regular Agenda 23 a. Community Climate Action Grant (CCAG) — FY 2025-26 Project Selection 24 The Board: 25 1) Received the grant project funding recommendations from the Commission for the 26 Environment (CFE) and the overall scores and comments from the CFE and Human 27 Relations Commission (HRC) for the FY 2025-26 Orange County Community Climate 28 Action Grant Program; and 29 2) Approved funding for the recommended Community Climate Action Grant projects for 30 FY 2025-26. 31 32 BACKGROUND: As part of the FY 2019-20 budget, the Orange County Board of Commissioners 33 (BOCC) established the Orange County Community Climate Action Fund to accelerate climate 34 mitigation efforts. The Fund supports the Board's commitment to ambitious targets, including a 35 transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050. The Climate Action Plan further builds on this 36 commitment by defining additional targets and identifying the actions and strategies needed to 37 achieve them. 38 39 For the FY 2025-26 funding cycle, $267,750 was allocated to general applicants to support climate 40 action projects designed to benefit Orange County residents both socially and financially. The 41 Board did not approve any climate funding for schools this year. In alignment with BOCC direction, 42 the selection process for awarding funds was conducted through the Community Climate Action 43 Grant program. 44 45 Sixteen (16) applications were received this year from applicants representing nonprofits, small 46 businesses and public organizations whose total requests add up to$619,095. Grant applications 47 were completed over the summer and reviewed by both the Commission for the Environment 48 (CFE) and the Human Relations Commission (HRC) in fall 2025. 49 50 The following is a rank-order summary table of the combined project scoring and 51 recommendations for funding. More details on each project are available in Attachment 1. 16 Total Applicant Amount Recommended Score Rank Name Project Name Project Summary Requested Funding (out of 26) A partnership between Wildflower Lane Farm and Table to use unused land at Table Twin Creeks an undeveloped Orange Ministries, Inc. Farm Expansion County Park(Twin Creeks)to $50,000 $30,000 21.57 increase locally sourced, nutritious food to feed children served by Table. Installation of sustainable stormwater management measures in historically Urban High-School underserved communities Students utilizing public HS teachers 2 Sustainability Installing Riparian and students in a certified $52,000 $38,000 21.35 Solutions, Inc. Buffers green infrastructure training program to implement these measures, especially in areas affected by tropical storm Chantal. Habitat for Weatherization & Humanity of Weatherization repairs for 11 S Orange County, Disaster Resilient homes $150,000 $0 20.56 NC Housing This initiative reduces energy burdens in Carrboro by providing residents with Carrboro Energy education, home energy 4 Town of Efficiency audits, energy-saving kits, and $29,145 $29,145 20.31 Carrboro Program guided access to rebates and electrification upgrades through trained community leaders, resulting in lower bills for over 230 households. The project will plant 200 trees, distribute 2,000 seedlings, and offer workshops on climate-resilient Trees for the Tree Planting and tree care to expand the native 5 Triangle Education tree canopy in low-equity, $50,000 $30,000 20.10 climate-vulnerable neighborhoods through a Pay- What-You-Can planting program. Renewable 52-acre organic farm Red Hawk Energy supplying high-quality produce 6 Infrastructure for year-round using soil-based $30,000 $30,000 19.74 Farm, LLC the Future of greenhouse production and Farms technical growing strategies seeks funds to transition from 17 Total Applicant Amount Recommended Score Rank Name Project Name Project Summary Requested Funding (out of 26) fossil-fuel dependence to renewable energy systems by replacing single phase with 3- phase power to enable solar installation. I Upstream Works—on Carolina Supplies, services, outreach 7 behalf of Community materials and labor to expand $30,478 $21,300 19.70 Carolina a compost program into 7 new Community Compost neighborhoods and 1 church Compost Weaver Energy Efficient Replacement of windows in 7 Community $ Housing Windows residential units with energy $61,352 $61,305 18.64 Association Installation efficient models Solar-powered well on nearby Hillsborough Solar powered church property to provide 9 Community community sustainable, cost-effective $18,000 $0 18.27 Garden garden irrigation irrigation that remains functional during drought or emergencies Installation of a 23.4kW solar Solar Equity St. Joseph's CME array on the roof of St. 10 Inc. Church Solar Joseph's CME Church, $28,000 $28,000 17.83 Project located in Chapel Hill's Northside Neighborhood Native focused Native, climate-resilient 11 Pee Wee landscaping for 10 dignified and landscaping for 10 affordable $4,000 $0 17.68 affordable tiny Homes tiny homes of formerly homeless residents homes Extension of a previously Town of Chapel Extension of E- successful E-bike program for 12 Hill Bike Lending an additional 8-12 months to $25,920 $0 16.58 Library Program offer E-bike experiences to more residents and staff. Pilot program to provide 20 Town of E-Bike Voucher income-eligible residents with 13 and Education vouchers for free e-bikes, $33,400 $0 16.09 Carrboro Program reducing transportation insecurity and emissions. Installation of highly efficient 14 The Arts Center Cellular Blinds for interior cellular shades on $21,800 $0 15.73 The Arts Center windows to boost the energy performance of the building 18 Total Applicant Amount Recommended Score Rank Name Project Name Project Summary Requested Funding (out of 26) Introductory climate health Carolina education sessions for health 15 Advocates for Climate-informed professionals to reduce $10,000 $0 15.29 Climate, Health, Prenatal Care climate-related pregnancy and Equity risks,with a focus on extreme heat. Rooftop Solar Installation of a 9.628 kW Bluestem Installation for solar array with battery 16 Community NC Bluestem backup on a new barn $25,000 $0 14.67 Community NC extension to move toward net- zero energy use Total $619,095 $267,750 1 2 Amy Eckberg, Sustainability Manager, made the following presentation: 3 4 Slide #1 s- ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA Community Climate Action Grant (COAG) Project Selection FY25-26 January 20, 2026 5 6 7 19 1 Slide #2 CCAG Background Community Climate Action Grant: •Established in FY 2019-20 to support community led climate action •In its sixth year, with increasing impact, demand, and community engagement •Complements and advances ©range County's Climate Action Plan by funding projects that reduce emissions, build resilience, and deliver community co- benefits -Board-approved scoring and eligibility guidelines •Projects prioritized for social justice and racial equity benefits z 3 4 Slide #3 CCAG Eligibility Guidelines • Non-profits, public entities, and small businesses • All funds spent in Orange County • Must have legal standing to receive funds • Ongoing projects eligible if expanding or accelerating • Replacement and repair projects are eligible if not likely to be funded within 5 years 5 6 7 20 1 Slide #4 CCAG Scaring Criteria • 26-point scale • Social Justice and Racial Equity (6pts) GHG emissions reduced (4 pts) • Efficient use of Funds (4 pts) Capacity of Applicant (3 pts) • Local Economic development (3 pts) • Amount and Duration of Engagement (3 pts) • Time to complete (3 pts) *Alf applications are reviewed and scored by the Commission for the Environment and the Human Relations Commission 2 3 4 Slide #5 New This Year • Community Outreach Af Community Climate APPLY T00A{ — Signage I action Grant Program — Promoted at Ag Summit � 1' .• �,� n«�Ka�„ 11 :m,.,;r.,oq maxymanm Nfl [a nn Applications must AN.bb.W -PO,M nn,da licvk R he received by — Targeted email last `rj°'A°"r August t5,2is2s. N'e ue'�e[�l 1:r qmR O'sm1den[4II MIP nd;Hgnm.�kn .., ma-..w, — V7FIQLPs media Inh • New Grant Portal Launched — 16 applications! _ ^ ,^ •,^+�- ;r • Diverse and Innovative Projects — solar, nature-based, energy efficiency, micro-mobility $619;095 in grant funding requested ($267,750 available) 5 6 7 21 1 Slide #6 Advisory Board Recommendations: • S projects recommended for full/partial funding • Partial funding was applied when projects: • Were designed to be scalable • Could leverage other funding sources • Applicants indicated they could successfully proceed with partial funding 2 3 4 22 1 Slide #7 Rank Applicant Name Project Name Amount Recommended Total $core Requested Funding out of 26 1 Table Ministries, Inc. Twin Creeks Farm Expansion $50,000 $30,000 21_57 Urban High-School Students Installing 2 Sustainability Solutions, Riparian Buffers $52'000 $38'000 21.35 Inc. 3 Habitat for Humanity of Weatherization&Disaster $150,000 $0 20.56 Orange County,NC Resilient Housing 4 Town of Carrboro Carrboro Energy Efficiency $29,145 $29,145 20°31 Program 6 Trees for the Triangle Tree Planting and Education $50,000 $30,000 20.10 Renewable Energy 6 Red Hawk Farm,LLC Infrastructure for the Future of $30,000 $30,000 19.74 Farms Upstream Works—on 7 behalf of Carolina Carolina Community Compost $30,478 $21,300 19.70 Community Compost s Weaver Community Energy Efficient Windows $61,352 $61,305 18.64 Housing Association Installation 9 Hillsborough Community Solar powered community $18,000 $0 18.27 Garden garden irrigation 10 Solar Equity Inc. St.Joseph's CME Church Solar $28,000 $28,000 17.83 Project Native focused landscaping for 11 Pee Wee Homes 10 dignified and affordable tiny $4,000 $0 17.68 homes 12 Town of Chapel Hill Extension of E-Bike Lending $25,920 $0 16.58 Library Program 13 Town of Carrboro E-Bike Voucher and Education $33,400 $0 16.09 Program 14 The Arts Center Cellular Blinds for The Arts $21,800 $0 15.73 Center 16 Carolina Advocates for Climate-informed Prenatal Care $10,000 $0 15.29 Climate, Health,and Equity 16 Bluestein Community NC Rooftop Solar Installation for $25,000 $0 14.67 Bluestein Community NC Total Amount Total Amount Total Requested Recommended $619,096 $267,750 2 3 4 23 1 Slide #8 2025 Project Highlights Drakeford Library Urban Sustainability Solutions Rooftop solar&educational signage Green infrastructure &workforce development Expanding renewable energy while creating learNng Partnering with schools to manage stormwater and build opportunities career pathways Trees for the Triangle Binkley Baptist Church Tree planting in schools Rooftop solar Increasing tree canopy and engaging students Advancing clean energy through on-site renewable generation y. J' 2 3 Commissioner Bedford asked how projects are going at the schools. She said Orange 4 County Schools are doing solar panels for powering electric school buses. She said Chapel Hill 5 Carrboro City Schools completed Northside Elementary and were working leverage. She asked 6 what direct-pay is. She asked if that was the tax program and if it had been cut. 7 Amy Eckberg said direct-pay is the tax program where you can get back 30% on a clean 8 energy project. She said they are trying to see if they can leverage those funds to do another 9 solar installation at Morris Grove Elementary. She said the one at Northside Elementary is up 10 and running. 11 Commissioner Bedford asked if they are student demonstration installations or if they can 12 power a wing. 13 Amy Eckberg said they are mainly going to power the charging stations. 14 Commissioner Bedford said she would like to take a tour of the school. 15 Commissioner Carter commended the applicants for their ideas. She highlighted the idea 16 of Urban Sustainability Solutions and students getting experience in riparian buffer management. 17 Vice-Chair Fowler said she was happy to see the ongoing interest and the diversity of the 18 projects. 19 Commissioner Greene said Amy Eckberg signaled how hard it was to make decisions with 20 the projects. She said it's not a bad thing to have twice as much interest in terms of dollar amount. 21 She appreciated how staff prioritized different projects in different ways. She said Amy Eckberg 22 went through the process in a thoughtful way. 24 1 Chair Hamilton said she appreciated the projects. She said there may be a desire to give 2 funding to new applicants, but that she would prefer that the county use the scoring rubric, even 3 if it means certain projects get funding for multiple years. 4 Amy Eckberg said she would take that feedback to the Commission on the Environment. 5 Commissioner Bedford suggested that staff introduce Urban Sustainability Solutions to 6 Pee Wee Homes staff and Master Gardeners because they might be able to do some of the Pee 7 Wee Homes work. 8 Amy Eckberg agreed. 9 10 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Fowler, seconded by Commissioner McKee, to approve 11 funding for the recommended Community Climate Action Grant projects for FY 2025-26. 12 13 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 14 15 b. Condominium Agreement with the Town of Carrboro for the Operation of the 16 Drakeford Library Complex 17 The Board reviewed the Condominium Agreement, Deeds, Plat, and Survey for the Drakeford 18 Library Complex and authorized the County Manager to sign the documents upon final approval 19 of the County Attorney. 20 21 BACKGROUND: At its Business meeting on January 21, 2025, the Board of County 22 Commissioners approved a temporary Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between Orange 23 County and the Town of Carrboro to operate the Drakeford Library Complex until a condominium 24 agreement could be finalized. The Condominium Agreement, Deeds, Survey, and Plat have been 25 finalized by staff for approval by the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Carrboro 26 Town Council. 27 28 At its Business meeting on July 8, 2025, the Board reviewed the condominium documents and 29 asked for several changes to those documents. The County and Carrboro have worked through 30 those requested changes, and the final copy is provided as Attachment 2. The changes between 31 the July 8th version and the current final version (Attachment 2) are detailed in the red-lined 32 version of the agreement provided in Attachment 1. 33 34 The following outlines the major changes between the original version presented to the Board on 35 July 8, 2025 and the current final version the Board is being asked to approve tonight: 36 • WITNESSETH —The new version explicitly recognizes the MOU and outlines the purpose 37 of the MOU, including further defining and delineating the roles and responsibilities of the 38 parties operating the Condominium. 39 • Article I — Section 11 —Allows for disputes not resolved by the association to go through a 40 mediation process. 41 • Article II — Section 3 — Establishes that if either party charges for parking, the parties shall 42 establish rules and regulations which must be approved by the Executive Board, and any 43 rules and regulations shall be documented in the MOU. It also specifies that at no time 44 will there be a charge for parking for spaces designated for Library patrons. 45 • Article VI — Section 4 — Outlines the provision of custodial and security services and that 46 further details will be provided in the MOU. 47 • Article VI I I —Section 8 — Details that the Drakeford will be available as an election site, as 48 detailed in the MOU. 25 1 . Bylaws — Article II — Sections 1, 2 — The Executive Board will be made up of four (4) 2 members, up from two (2). The 4 members would be the Town Manager and County 3 Manager, and a designee appointed by each manager. 4 • Bylaws —Article II — Section 2 — Outlines the appointment of an interim member to the 5 Executive Board given the death, resignation, or removal of a Town or County Manager. 6 • Bylaws - Article IV — Section 2, Subsection I — Establishment of the Drakeford Facility 7 Operations Committee to be detailed in the MOU. 8 • Bylaws -Article IV— Section 2, Subsection j — Establishes the use of dispute resolution. 9 10 The Carrboro Town Council approved the prior Condominium agreement and related materials at 11 its meeting on June 17, 2025. If the Board of Commissioners approves the condominium 12 agreement as currently drafted, the Carrboro Town Council will consider re-approval in February. 13 14 Memorandum of Understanding 15 As described in the Condominium Documents, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between 16 Orange County and the Town of Carrboro will provide additional details about the operation of the 17 Drakeford Library Complex. A version of the MOU was provided to the Board of Commissioners 18 at the July 8, 2025 Business meeting. However, based on the changes in the Condominium 19 Agreement, the MOU is currently being reviewed by Town and County staff and will be presented 20 at a later date to both governing boards for final approval. 21 22 Alan Dorman, Asset Management Services Director, made the following presentation: 23 24 Slide #1 -.WW_ GRANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA. Drakeford Library Complex Condominium Documents: Differences between the version presented on July 81 2025, and the current version 1 -20-2026 25 26 27 26 1 Slide #2 TIMELINE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS • July 8th - Condominium documents and MOU were presented to the Board for comment • Fall 2025 — The Town of Carrboro and Orange County worked to update the documents based on comments by the Orange County Board • January 20th, 2026 — Orange County Board to review and approve the Condominium Documents • Feb 2026 — Carrboro Board will approve condominium documents • Spring 2026 — Town and County staff will update and present to the County Board and Town Council the updated Memorandum of Understanding ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 4 Slide #3 RELATIONSHIP BETWEENTHE CONDOMINIUM AGREEMENTAND MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING • The condominium agreement establishes the legal basis for the joint ownership of the property. Once approved by both jurisdictions, it will be recorded as part of the official record. There will be little need to change this document going forward. • The Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") establishes the principles for the joint operation of the facility outside of those stipulated in the condominium agreement. Both jurisdictions approve the MOU, which may be amended as needed and re-approved by both jurisdictions. X11 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 5 27 1 Slide #4 UPDATES TO THE CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS • Explicitly recognized the MOU and outlines the purpose of the MOU, including further defining and delineating the roles and responsibilities of the parties operating the Condominium. • Allows for disputes not resolved by the association to go through a mediation process • Establishes that if either party charges for parking„ the parties shall establish rules and regulations, which must be approved by the Executive Board, and any rules and regulations shall be documented in the MOU. It also specified that at no time will there be a charge for parking for designated Library patrons. -- - ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 2 3 Slide #5 UPDATES TO THE CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS • Details the provision of custodial and security services and outlines that further details for their operation will be provided in the MOU • Details that the condominium will be available as an election • The Executive Board will be made up of 4 members, up from 2. The 4 members should be the Town Manager and County Manager, and a designee appointed by each manager. OKANGE COUN i Y NORTH CAROLINA 4 5 28 1 Slide #6 UPDATES TO THE CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS • Outlines the appointment of an interim member to the Executive Board given the death, resignation, or removal of a Town or County Manager • Establishment of the Drakeford Facility Operations Committee to be detailed in the MOU. ORANGE COUNTY NORTI i CAROLTNA 2 3 Commissioner Carter asked if the condominium document includes a reference to the 4 executive board and if it is articulated further in the MOU. 5 Alan Dorman said yes to both questions. 6 Commissioner Carter asked if there's an articulated mediation process in the 7 condominium agreement and the MOU if there is a tie between the executive board members. 8 Alan Dorman said it is in the condominium document and will be included in the MOU. 9 Commissioner Carter asked if he could describe the process to the Board. 10 Alan Dorman said he would send that to the Board. 11 Chair Hamilton said page 60 of the agenda discusses dispute resolution. She read a 12 portion of the agreement and said that seems to address the issue. 13 Alan Dorman said yes. 14 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the site will be used for parking during elections and 15 will parking be free. 16 Alan Dorman said right now anyone can park for free and a change would have to be 17 approved by the executive board. 18 Commissioner McKee asked how parking is enforced for library use only. 19 Alan Dorman said right now parking is not an issue and there has been plenty of space. 20 Commissioner McKee said that parking availability may become an issue and should be 21 addressed. He referred to parking issues at the Hillsborough parking deck. 22 Alan Dorman said if it does become an issue, they will need to come up with a way to 23 protect library parking, but they haven't had any resident complaints. 24 John Roberts said this agreement is substantially different than the Hillsborough parking 25 deck, which was between the county and a private individual. 26 Commissioner McKee said he has concerns about future parking space needs. He asked 27 how it could be determined that people were in the deck for library use. 28 Alan Dorman said that would be complicated to do so, because there are several 29 departments operating in the building from two jurisdictions. He said as of now, there haven't been 30 any issues with parking. 29 1 Vice-Chair Fowler said there was one instance where there was not enough parking that 2 she experienced, but there was availability in three other local lots. 3 Commissioner Greene said she uses the deck frequently. She said it is a great benefit for 4 the community that the spaces aren't marked. 5 Chair Hamilton asked about the "meetings for members." She asked if the members are 6 the county and the Town of Carrboro. 7 Alan Dorman said yes. 8 Chair Hamilton asked what a meeting of members would be. 9 Alan Dorman said that would be the executive board, which would be the town manager, 10 county manager, and each of their designees. 11 Chair Hamilton said it is not clear. She said the association is made up of members, which 12 is the town and the county. She said the members then have an executive board, which is the 13 town manager, county manager, and designees. She said they aren't one in the same. She said 14 it's important that the executive board is not the members. 15 John Roberts said that can be made clearer. 16 Commissioner Bedford said in could happen in the future that there are additional 17 members. She said there could be a third member that is not on executive board. She said a 18 meeting of the members could be separate from the executive board. She suggested that be 19 noted in the definitions. 20 Chair Hamilton said it's important to make the distinction between the executive board and 21 the members. 22 John Roberts said that can be clarified in the agreement. 23 The Board indicated that they would approve the agreement with a clarification of 24 members and the executive board. 25 Commissioner Bedford thanked Alan Dorman for his work on the condominium 26 agreement. 27 28 A motion was made by Chair Hamilton, seconded by Vice-Chair Fowler, to approve and 29 authorize the County Manager to sign the Condominium Agreement, Deeds, Plat, and Survey for 30 the Drakeford Library Complex with the clarification of Article 1, Meeting of Members, Section 1 31 about who the members are that need to meet annually, and upon final approval by the County 32 Attorney 33 34 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 35 36 7. Reports 37 None. 38 39 8. Consent Agenda 40 41 • Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda 42 . Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda 43 • Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda 44 45 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Fowler, seconded by Commissioner McKee, to approve 46 the consent agenda. 47 48 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 49 50 30 1 a. Minutes for November 14, 2025, November 18, 2025, November 21, 2025, December 1, 2 2025, and December 9, 2025 Meetings 3 The Board approved the draft minutes for the November 14, 2025, November 18, 2025, 4 November 21, 2025, December 1, 2025, and December 9, 2025 meetings. 5 b. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Releases/Refunds 6 The Board adopted a resolution to release motor vehicle property tax values for four(4)taxpayers 7 with a total of four (4) bills that will result in a reduction of revenue. 8 c. Property Tax Releases/Refunds 9 The Board adopted a resolution to release property tax values for fourteen (14) taxpayers with a 10 total of sixteen (16) bills that will result in a reduction of revenue. 11 d. Late Applications for Property Tax Exemption/Exclusion 12 The Board approved sixteen (16) untimely applications for exemption/exclusion from ad valorem 13 taxation for sixteen (16) bills for the 2025 tax year. 14 e. Advertisement of Tax Liens on Real Property 15 The Board received a report on the amount of unpaid taxes for the current year that are liens on 16 real property as required by North Carolina General Statute 105-369, and approved on or about 17 March 25, 2026, as the date set by the Board for the tax lien advertisement. 18 f. Extension of 2026 Tax Listing Period 19 The Board approved a resolution extending the 2026 Tax Listing Period until February 13, 2026. 20 g. Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget Amendment#6 21 The Board approved budget, grant, and capital project ordinance amendments for Fiscal Year 22 2025-26. 23 h. Ordinance Execution for Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendments — 24 Impervious Surfaces, Watershed Protection Overlay Districts, and Stream Buffers 25 The Board adopted an ordinance approving text amendments to the Unified Development 26 Ordinance (UDO), as required by North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 160D-601(c), based on 27 the Board's public hearing and approval at the November 18, 2025 Business meeting. 28 L Revised Opioid Settlement Fund Spending Authorization Resolution and Approval of 29 Budget Amendment #6-A 30 The Board approved a resolution for the final opioid settlement fund spending authorization for 31 FY 2026, and approving Budget Amendment#6-A. 32 j. Purchase of Equipment for Solid Waste Management 33 The Board approved and authorized the Orange County Solid Waste Management Department 34 to purchase two (2) pieces of equipment. 35 k. Reiection of Bids and Authorization to Re-advertise— Electric Vehicle Charging Station 36 (EVCS) Installation Project at the Orange Transportation Services Facility 37 The Board: 38 1) Rejected all bids received for the Electric Vehicle Charging Station (EVCS) Installation 39 Project at the Orange Transportation Services Facility; and 40 2) Authorized staff to revise the project scope and re-advertise for bids, or pursue an 41 alternative procurement method, as appropriate. 42 I. Contract Award for Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installation at Justice Facility & 43 Hillsborough Commons Facilities 44 The Board: 45 1) Approved the County entering into a service contract with Brady Trane Service, Inc. for 46 the purchase of services to install Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at the Justice Facility 47 and Hillsborough Commons Facilities; and 48 2) Authorized the County Manager to execute the Agreement, subject to final review by the 49 County Attorney, and any subsequent amendments for contingent and unforeseen 50 requirements up to the approved budget amount on behalf of the Board. 31 1 m. Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with ICF for the Electric Vehicle (EV) 2 Fleet Transition and Charging Infrastructure Study 3 The Board reviewed a cost proposal submitted by ICF Incorporated, LLC (ICF)for services related 4 to the completion of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Fleet Transition and Charging Infrastructure Study, 5 and approved and authorized the Manager to sign the Agreement after final review by the County 6 Attorney. 7 8 9. County Manager's Report 9 Caitlin Fenhagen said that the emergency operations center team was meeting the 10 following day and that they were actively monitoring the winter weather. 11 12 10. County Attorney's Report 13 John Roberts said he would share information with the Board related to Gary Linz's 14 comments at the beginning of the meeting. He said he listened to the legislative committee 15 hearing on property taxes. He said a couple of the things that jumped out to him were discussions 16 about limiting annual property tax increases to 2-3% and evaluating how counties conduct 17 revaluations. 18 19 11. Appointments 20 a. Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees —Appointment Discussion 21 The Board discussed an appointment to the Durham Technical Community College Board of 22 Trustees. 23 24 BACKGROUND: Durham Technical Community College is governed by a Board of Trustees. Four 25 (4) members of the Board are appointed by the governor, four (4) are appointed by the Durham 26 County Board of Commissioners, four (4) are appointed by the Durham Public Schools Board of 27 Education, and two (2) are appointed by the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Trustees 28 serve four-year terms and set local policy for the College. 29 30 The following individual is recommended for Board consideration: 31 NAME POSITION TYPE OF EXPIRATION DESCRIPTION APPOINTMENT DATE TERM Emilee Collins BOCC Appointee Partial Term 06/30/2028 32 33 If the position listed above is filled, no vacancies remain. 34 35 Tara May introduced the item. 36 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Bedford, to 37 appoint Emilee Collins. 38 39 Vice-Chair Fowler said there were many qualified and competent applicants, but it 40 sounded like the board was looking for a specific skillset and someone has demonstrated 41 competency and engagement. She said she was supportive of Emilee Collins. 42 43 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 44 45 Chair Hamilton noted the quality of the applicants and hoped that they would apply for 46 other advisory board vacancies. 47 32 1 12. Information Items 2 • December 9, 2025 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List 3 • Tax Collector's Report— Numerical Analysis 4 • Tax Collector's Report— Measure of Enforced Collections 5 • Tax Collector's Report— In-Rem Foreclosure Progress Report 6 • Tax Assessor's Report— Releases/Refunds under $100 7 • Memorandum — Pending Amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance 8 Memorandum — Update on Orange County School Food Share Pilot Project 9 • Memorandum — Recognition of County Employee Retirements from October 1, 2025 10 through December 31, 2025 11 • Appeals and Neighborhood Reviews Update Reports 12 13 13. Closed Session 14 None. 15 16 Adjournment 17 18 A motion was made by Vice-Chair Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Bedford, to adjourn 19 the meeting at 8:43 p.m. 20 21 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 22 23 Jean Hamilton, Chair 24 25 26 Recorded by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board 27 28 Submitted for approval by Laura Jensen, Clerk to the Board