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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20080605APPROVED 9/16/2008 Orange County Board of County Commissioners WORK SESSION June 5, 2008 7:30 pm Link Government Services Center, Hillsborough, NC The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses Carey, Jr., Valerie Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geof Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE Chair Jacobs said that there is an addition to the agenda, which was leftover from June 3~d. The Board agreed to add this item concerning the Housing Board Program. 6-b. Housing Bond Program The Board considered awarding housing bond funds in the amount of $1,000,000 to the TBLF Eno Haven LLC to assist in the construction of Eno Haven, a 76-unit multi-family rental complex in Hillsborough and authorizing the Manager in consultation with the County Attorney to enter into a Development Agreement detailing the conditions of the award. Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes introduced this item. This property is 11 acres on US 70A, very close to the Central Orange Senior Center site. The developer plans to apply to the State of North Carolina for low-income housing tax credits. Of the 76 units, 44 will be one-bedroom units and 32 will be two-bedroom units. They will all be affordable housing, serving families at 60% of median income and below. The project cost is $8.9 million. She provided financial information at the request of Commissioner Nelson. This application is from afor-profit organization and is the first application that the County has received from afor-profit organization since the Board changed its policy last fall. This sponsor has carried out approximately eight projects in the state, utilizing a variety of federal, state, and local private funding sources. The Project Review and Selection committee has spent a considerable amount of time reviewing this application and it is recommended that the Board award the request of $1,000,000 for this project, contingent upon receiving tl~e low-income housing tax credits. Commissioner Nelson asked about the reputation of this firm. Tara Fikes said that she is not aware of any problems. Most of the other projects done by this firm received housing tax credits, and this is one of the most heavily regulated programs. This facility will be secured to remain affordable for 99 years. The investment will be secure. This will be the first tax credit project in the northern part of the County for elderly and disabled. Commissioner Carey said that this firm appears to have the capacity to do this type of project. Chair Jacobs said that he shares Commissioner Nelson's concerns about the County's investment. Commissioner Gordon agreed. A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Nelson to award housing bond funds in the amount of $1,000,000 to TBLF Eno Haven LLC to assist in the construction of Eno Haven, a 76-unit multi-family rental complex in Hillsborough and authorize the Manager in consultation with the County Attorney to enter into a Development Agreement detailing the conditions of the award. Commissioner Nelson said that when the County is giving money to a private company, he would like an executive summary of the firm. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 1. FY 2008-09 Recommended New Staff Resources Laura Blackmon pointed out Appendices C-1 and C-2 as well as the spreadsheet in the packet. Budget Director Donna Coffey made one change to the spreadsheet, Appendix C-1, under Parks and Recreation. The amount included for Technician I is supposed to be $48,822 under Salary and Benefits. Commissioner Foushee made reference to the Sheriff, and accepting grant-funded positions as it relates to the additional deputies request. She asked about the County's responsibility for these additional officers. Sheriff Pendergrass said that the responsibility would be for the County to retain these deputies. Commissioner Foushee said that, in terms of any grant-funded positions, if the Board knows that they are accepting grant positions and the County is expected to retain those positions after the grant period, then this is a factor that needs to be considered in terms of costs. Commissioner Gordon asked clarifying questions about the Solid Waste item in Category 5. She clarified that the Board only approved the program and not the budget. Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that the enforcement position does not have anything to do with the new program, but it has to do with increasing enforcement education. Chair Jacobs suggested that whoever puts together the budget documents, that it would be nice to indicate the grant source of the grant-funded positions, since this information is also being provided to the citizens. Chair Jacobs said that he thought the County had converted past Cop Fast positions to deputy positions and the Sheriff said that this was done for the school systems. Commissioner Gordon asked what the 911 charge on telephones was used for in Emergency Services. Emergency Services Director Frank Montes de Oca said that the funds were used for anything that is related to 911 emergency dispatching (equipment, software, consoles, radios, etc.). Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-59 about telecommunications. He read, "the increase in operations for the fiscal year includes $50,000 to cover the annual wireless contract for 911 radios that can no longer be paid with 911 funds." He asked what changed and Frank Montes de Oca said that he recently received some documentation from the 911 Board. There were some questions as to what the funds could be used for, and there were some clarifications. Donna Coffey said that all of the monies from the provider go to the state and then it is funneled to the counties. Chair Jacobs said that the net effect of the change is that it is going to cost the County an additional $50,000 to the general fund. He asked if there could be an appeal. Frank Montes de Oca said that there was some clarification on this and he can see if there can be a recouping of some funds. Chair Jacobs asked that this be done via a letter from the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner Nelson said that he feels obligated to talk about the number of positions recommended. The Board has not discussed what an acceptable tax rate would be. He said that his inclination is not to support any new positions at this time. The County Commissioners need to discuss this. Chair Jacobs said that the Board should have that discussion now. Laura Blackmon said that a couple of the categories are ones that the Board needs to discuss regarding how to handle the service load. Category one is for staff needed to open new facilities and a lot more were on the original list for new facilities. Regarding the change in funding status, the Health Department is on the list for cutting. The one in Housing is a misuse of funds. Chair Jacobs suggested talking about a goal for a tax rate. Chair Jacobs said that he does not believe that the County should go to one dollar for the tax rate. Commissioner Carey said that he does not want to go over one dollar. He said that he recognizes that some positions need to be added for public safety issues and statutory requirements, but overall, everyone will have to take some tough hits, including education. Commissioner Foushee said that the Housing and Community Development position is a change in the way it is funded and not a new position. Commissioner Foushee said that she too wants to keep the tax rate under a dollar. Commissioner Nelson said that he is comfortable with the tax increase that was explained to voters that would come along with not approving the land transfer tax, which was 2.75 cents. He knows that he is not comfortable going to a dollar. Regarding the schools, he said that OCS set the tone in terms of the budget and showed some leadership, as did CHCCS. He said that he would not agree to cutting the schools' budgets, and the leadership should be rewarded. Commissioner Gordon said that she will not go on record one way or the other about the tax rate other than to say that it cannot be as high as what is currently recommended. She does not believe that the County can fund almost 24 new candidate positions. She said that OCS cut six positions and CHCCS also cut some positions. To make the cuts, she would first look at not funding new positions. She said she is concerned about debt service and school growth. Chair Jacobs said that there are four Commissioners that are determined to keep the tax rate under a dollar. He does not want all of the cuts to come from County government. He said that the County departments and outside agencies are being funded in the Manager's proposal at 96.3% and the schools at 98.5%. He wants all to share the burden. He agrees that the schools did a good job, especially OCS, of trying to point out the minimum that it can get by with. Chair Jacobs said that when the Mayor of Chapel Hill came and asked the County Commissioners to raise the funding of the Chapel Hill Library he thought just the opposite, that maybe the County should stop funding it and try and put some money into one of the two Carrboro library branches, and just have Orange County residents buy a library card at the Chapel Hill library. This would save Orange County $200,000. Commissioner Carey agreed that the County should share the burden with everyone. He also agrees that both school systems should be rewarded for coming with a lower increase. He said that the County staff should be rewarded too and the County needs have been neglected for too long. He said that the schools need to share in the burden too. He said that he would rather invest in the Orange County libraries rather than Chapel Hill's library. Commissioner Gordon said that she would not vote to decrease funding to the Chapel Hill library. The County Commissioners just received the Library Services Task Force report, which suggested more collaboration between the two library systems, not less. Chair Jacobs said that maybe some of the capital projects should be spread out more. He is just saying that the County is going to have to look at larger ticket items and projects and see how they can be shifted around. Just cutting new positions will not make much of a difference. Commissioner Nelson said that there have been a number of requests from community groups that are not in the budget. His inclination is just to say that this is not a year that the County can fund additional requests and not make any exceptions. Commissioner Foushee said that she shared some of that sentiment as she was looking at outside agency requests and that many have requested increases. She said that if the County has to cut, then everyone should take cuts. Chair Jacobs agreed with not increasing outside agency funding. 2. FY 2008-09 Recommended Operational Costs Associated with Opening New County Facilities This information was in Appendix F-8. Commissioner Carey asked if this was for a full year and Donna Coffey said that some are for a full year and some are starting from when the facility opens up. She said that she put this all on one spreadsheet since some are spread out over several departments. Chair Jacobs said that it is confusing because there is no way to differentiate when a facility will open or is funded for less than a year. Donna Coffey said that she could update this sheet to indicate the opening date. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like to know how much of a year will be funded and the opening date of each new facility. Commissioner Nelson said that the County Commissioners have had discussions about old facilities and the possibility of divesting of them. He said that this might be a good year to do that. He asked about the Court Annex on Churton Street and the possibilities of letting go of that building. Purchasing and Central Services Director Pam Jones said that when the justice facility opens, then the building will be vacant. The proposed date for the justice facility is the end of 2009. Chair Jacobs said that when Emergency Services moves, the 911 center will be available but the County Commissioners have not had that discussion yet. Phis topic should be on a work session. Commissioner Nelson said that if there is anything that can be sold, then it should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Commissioner Gordon asked what is left to be done on the capital budget on June 24th Donna Coffey said that the Board of County Commissioners approved the County and School Capital Project Ordinances for 2008-09. She said that she would have to work with each department to see if any funds have been encumbered so far for the next fiscal year. She distributed a spreadsheet that identifies pay-as-you-go money that was included in the FY 2008- 09 budget. This information was approved by the Board on May 1St 3. Departmental Budgets by Exception Aging: Commissioner Gordon asked about OPT and status of that budget ar~d if the budget covers the necessary funds to operate public transportation. Chair Jacobs said that he still wants to know when the County will separate Aging and OPT. Chair Jacobs asked what happened to the rent money that was saved from not having to rent the Central Orange Senior Center. Donna Coffey said that it is under community-based services. Chair Jacobs asked about the contract to print and distribute the Senior Times. Donna Coffey said $35,000, which includes some mailings and inserts in the paper. If someone does not get the paper, then the publication is mailed to them. Aging Director Jerry Passmore said that he did a cost analysis of this and it was recommended to continue to use the Durham Herald for this. Chair Jacobs asked how else the price could be reduced and Jerry Passmore said that it could go to a quarterly publication instead of bi-monthly. Chair Jacobs said that OCS was discussing having a printing program and asked that Aging talk to the schools about this to help. save money. Chair Jacobs said that members of the Central Orange Senior Center came to the budget public hearing to talk about reassigning people instead of funding new positions. Laura Blackmon said that those positions were not recommended for funding, so the department was looking at reallocating personnel and shifting staff around to cover evenings and Saturdays at the senior center. Jerry Passmore said that he is looking to use volunteers in the evenings. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-13, and VITA Tax Supervisor for $9,500. He asked about this. Jerry Passmore said that they have the second largest tax assistance program in the state with 73 volunteers. It has reached a point where staff are being pulled to work with the volunteers, and a seasonal person to supervise these volunteers is needed. It is a tremendous service. Donna Coffey made reference to the RSVP program and said that it is covered by grant money. Animal Services: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-17 about accruing $25,000 by the end of the fiscal year to address spaying and neutering. Animal Services Director Bob Marotto said that they will not expend it in the current fiscal year, but are working with one of the committees of the ASAB to develop a set of programs for the coming year. He will be coming to the Board of Commissioners with contracts with non- profits that coordinate spay and neuter programs for low-income people. There will also be other targeted activities through the staff. It is expected that $25,500 will be accrued this fiscal year and more in the coming fiscal years. Chair Jacobs made reference to the last bullet about petitioning the courts to recover the costs incurred for sheltering of animals that had been seized and asked about the status of this. Bob Marotto said that there was an amendment in the legislature two years ago, which says that it would be possible for jurisdictions like Orange County to go to court to require that the owner of an animal that had been seized for animal cruelty or neglect to post a bond to cover the costs of keeping the animals for the duration of the criminal process so that the costs were not incurred by the jurisdiction. This is now part of the statute. Orange County has been able to collect $15,000 in one large case that went through district and superior court. The money is fed back into the costs associated with caring for these animals for extended periods of time. Chair Jacobs asked if some of the monies could be realigned and pui into building the new facility, since there will be a spay and neuter clinic as well as more space to care for these animals involved in the court cases. Laura Blackmon said that she would check on the feasibility of this. Bob Marotto said that currently Animal Services is paying for the pre-adoption sterilization of animals that are adopted from the facility through contracts with community clinics. He expects that these monies will be realigned to support the spay/neuter surgical suite in the new facility. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-21, and identifying follow-up procedures for license renewal, but the ratio of registrations to applications on page 3-19 is virtually unchanged. Bob Marotto said that these procedures have not been implemented yet. Staff has had conversations with the County Attorney about what would constitute a legally cogent document that could be used easily in the follow-up to increase registration. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-3 and asked about the reclaim rate and the percent of animals that were reported lost and then were reclaimed. Bob Marotto said that he would get the Board that information. Arts Commission: Chair Jacobs said that he would rather award Orange County artists, and not those outside of the County. He wants to have a conversation about this. Laura Blackmon said that Chair Jacobs is referring to commissioned arts, where an artist is commissioned to make a piece that will be installed in an Orange County facility. This is not about the arts grants. Board of County Commissioners: Chair Jacobs said that there is a search the Board will need to fund next year and the Board of County Commissioners' Contingency will need to come into play. Laura Blackmon said that she was looking to see if this could be funded out of attorney's costs. Board of Elections: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-33 and asked about federal money available for computerization. It was answered that the County requested and qualified for ten laptops in this current year. She had asked for 18 laptops. She is asking for half of the laptops in this fiscal year and the remaining in the next fiscal year. Commissioner Gordon asked about the cost to run a special election and it was answered $75-78,000. Economic Development: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-47, "increased advertising and contract service expenses of $22,000 for website redevelopment and new marketing initiatives to attract prospective businesses to Orange County." He asked what was meant by this. Economic Development Director Brad Broadwell said that it is imperative that Orange County have a better portal to the global business community to look at Orange County and the opportunities. He said that Orange County must rethink how it presents itself. The website is the one marketing tool that will brand the County and it is a critical element. Efland Sewer Fund: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-49 and the rate study. He said that it is such a small system, and the County has spent millions of dollars to upgrade the system, and it should not wait another fiscal year to start recouping some of the funds that are going to be required. He said that the taxpayers are subsidizing because of the reduced rate. He does not know what is taking so long. He would like to budget $61,000 as a subsidy and not $122,000. Commissioner Gordon supported this. She remembers discussing this and she wants to take a position on this and recoup some of the money. Laura Blackmon said that she can look at when the rate study was supposed to be done. Emergency Services: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-54 and the replacement of three response vehicles. He asked if there was a plan for replacing vehicles with fuel-efficient vehicles, alternative-fueled vehicles, lower horse-powered vehicles, etc. He asked if there was a plan to purchase these vehicles from Orange County dealers. Pam Jones said that she has explored this, but it is difficult because there is no way that the local dealers can compete with the state contract. The warranty work is done with Orange County dealerships. Chair Jacobs made reference to Appendix F and said that the type of vehicle is not indicated. He would like to know the type of vehicle. Environment and Resource Conservation: Chair Jacobs said that he would like to continue to use both names far Twin Creeks because the Board did approve both names. Health Department: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-78, the Smart Start Dental Screening Program. He asked why this was being coordinated with County dollars. Wayne Sherman said that traditionally a grant was received, and the hope is to continue this coordination of screening and also do a follow-up with families. This position would also provide prenatal patients at the Health Department with dental hygiene. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-96, Senior Public Health Educator/Volunteer Coordinator position. He asked if this was recommended. Laura Blackmon said that she is recommending this position, but the Board talked about cutting it. It was started with a grant, and last year the Board funded it. Human Resources: Chair Jacobs said that he wanted to flag page 3-106 and the money for temporary employee needs. Laura Blackmon said that she is pulling temporary funding out of departments. Chair Jacobs asked if this was the total of temporary funds identified. Donna Coffey said that this is only a portion of the temporary funds. Some of the money is allocated to specific departments, and a pot of money is set aside in HR for staff to administer. Commissioner Foushee asked about Appendix A-2 and overtime pay. She said that the overtime pay recommendation has increased by 30%. Donna Coffey said that a lot of this comes from the public safety function. She can provide more detailed inforrriation. Commissioner Foushee would like to see this detailed information. Chair Jacobs said that the Board already decided to look at the temporary to permanent positions as new positions. He suggested looking at the $220,000. He said that the County should treat people fairly instead of having then long-term temporary, but he thinks that department heads have added positions without asking the County Commissioners. Human Resources Director Michael McGinnis said that the temporary positions are a reaction of not getting FTE's and this is an attempt to bring that under control. This information will be brought back at a subsequent meeting. Information Technologies: Commissioner Gordon asked how a strategic plan would interact with this budget. Chief Information Officer Todd Jones said that there is a strategic plan that is being finalized by the Information Technology Advisory Committee that speaks to a lot of the ongoing initiatives and looking at some automation opportunities. A lot of this is just continuation of services from previous years. Commissioner Gordon said that the budget is based on the old plan and asked how the new plan would affect the budget. Laura Blackmon said that a good new strategic plan will most likely double or triple what the budget is now. The new plan will have to be spread out over the next few fiscal years. Todd Jones said that half of the $700,000 is earmarked for central permitting and a significant amount is earmarked for networking equipment, the majority of which will go into the new facilities to bring them online and into the network. Another portion is for server replacement. A fairly modest amount is for PC replacement, and a small amount to provide the two additional County Commissioners with technology packages. Commissioner Foushee would like to see the draft strategic plan. Library Services: Chair Jacobs asked if the Town of Hillsborough made a contribution this year and Library Services Director Brenda Stephens said yes, at the same level. Orange Public Transportation: Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 3-121 and asked if what is happening with the budget affects the service of OPT. Jerry Passmore said that the $41,000 in the temporary account is the most dramatic impact in providing continued service. He has been hiring two or three retired drivers on a temporary basis rather than hiring a permanent person. This is the most critical thing that affects him. More and more people want to use this service rather than drive cars because of the gas costs. He is trying to be efficient. He needs the flexibility of having several temporary drivers. Commissioner Gordon asked how much was cut out of the temporary funds budget and Jerry Passmore said $40,000. Chair Jacobs asked if the fee increases proposed would offset some of the $40,000 and Jerry Passmore said that it would offset some, but he is anticipating an increased demand. Commissioner Gordon asked about the OPT-TTA route and how long ago it has been since the hourly cost has been evaluated and how much he charges Triangle Transit. Jerry Passmore said that he evaluated it last year, but he can reevaluate it. Commissioner Gordon said that the hourly rate that OPT is charging is a lot less than anyone else, <~nd it should be evaluated. Parks and Recreation: Chair Jacobs said that he does not see RPAC in the list. Parks and Recreation Director Lori Taft said that it is not in there because there are no costs associated with it. Chair Jacobs said to list it because every other department lists the advisory board that it works with. Chair Jacobs said that there is no money associated with any of the festivals. He asked for a list of all of the festivals, the attendance, and how much they cost to implement. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-124, "provide in-house mowing and/or operations at New Hope, Millhouse, Twin Creeks, River Park, and Hollow Rock properties." He would like to see if the farmers would want to mow the properties in exchange for the hay. Lori Taft said that this is already done. The County only does mowing around the housing and grounds only. Public Works: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-143 and the buildings with increases in operations. He asked about the Solid Waste Operation Center. Public Works Director Wilbert McAdoo said that this operates out of the enterprise fund, and there is no budget for it. Chair Jacobs asked about mowers and if fuel-efficient mowers are considered. Wilbert McAdoo said that they look at the demands of projects. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-145 and asked if there is a strategic plan for Public Works and vehicles and maintenance. Wilbert McAdoo said that there is a plan for vehicle replacement and maintenance, but there is not a comprehensive plan. Chair Jacobs said to work on one over the next fiscal year. Sheriff: Commissioner Foushee made reference to the $100,000 grant and asked if it had already been accepted or if there was a matching contribution. Sheriff Pendergrass said that both grants have been awarded. Commissioner Foushee said that if the County has already accepted the grant, then it has already approved the matching contribution. Sheriff Pendergrass made reference to temporary personnel and said that he has last minute needs for retired police officers or deputies for the court, and he gets these from the temporary pool. He said that he needs his temporary personnel. Social Services: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-170 and asked about the status of all of the child care subsidy funds. He asked Social Services Director Nancy Coston to bring in this information. Nancy Coston said that last year the General Assembly gave the County some additional one-time money to clear the waiting list and she is waiting to find out what happens this year. Chair Jacobs said that if the $25,000 were taken out, then there would still be money in the Social Services Safety Net in case it were needed. Commissioner Nelson left at 10:02 pm. Solid Waste: Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-179 and the $195,000 to remediate the soil for the new Solid Waste Operations Center. He asked what this was for. Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that this involves correcting improper soils and raising the elevation of the building and parking lot by eighteen inches. Commissioner Gordon asked what was wrong with the soil. Gayle Wilson said that it does not have the proper compaction properties, it holds moisture too much, and for 80% of the site, the-soils were not usable. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 3-189, the second bullet of the budget highlights where it says that the elimination of the lunchtime closure "increases" the hours. It should say "decrease". Tax Assessor: Chair Jacobs asked about page 3-190 and how much it costs for printing 58,000 tax bills. Tax Assessor John Smith said $20,000, plus the postage of $15,000. Orange County Visitor's Bureau: Chair Jacobs asked Brad Broadwell to bring in a trend line for Orange County for revenues generated by visitors in the last five years. Commissioner Gordon said that the Board needs to address fire districts at the next meeting. Commissioner Foushee said that it would be helpful, where departments have applied for grants and the Board of Commissioners has approved them, that there be an understanding that there may be a match for subsequent years. Regarding contracts for subsequent years, the Board approved those contracts, many of which have budget implications. She said that the Board needs to know if there are projected increases with these contracts and if the contracts can be renegotiated. Chair Jacobs reiterated that the schools, Pay Plan and Compensation, fire districts, and outside agencies will be discussed on June 12tH A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Carey to adjourn the meeting at 10:14 pm. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 4. FY 2008-09 Employee Pav and Compensation Plan Deferred 5. Alternative Scenarios For Possible Modifications to the FY 2008-09 Recommended Budget Deferred Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board