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`Z+~~ MINUTES OF THE ORANGE COUNTY
<br />BOARD pF COMMTSSTONERS
<br />January 29, 1975
<br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Wednesday, January 29, 1975,
<br />at 8 P.M. in the Commissioners Room at the Courthouse in Hillsborough, North
<br />Carolina.
<br />Members Present: Chairman Flora Garrett, Commissioners Norm Gustaveson, Jan
<br />Pinney, Norman Walker, and Richard E. Whitted.
<br />Members Absent: None.
<br />S. M. Gattis, County Administrator, Neal Evans, Fiscal Officer, and Betty June
<br />Hayes, Clerk, were also present.
<br />Chairman Garrett announced that the purpose of this meeting was a work session
<br />of the Board, however, there were persons who were present who requested permission
<br />to speak before the Board.
<br />Chairman Garrett recognized Mark Burnham.
<br />Mr. Burnham made the following presentation:
<br />"We have a table that is about this wide and this high, with columns
<br />for each Town, an unbelievable complication, but the basis for that whole
<br />procedure is a formula which is included in the Housing Act, that Community
<br />Development procedure is under, that gives the basis for distributing the
<br />funds. Now we have been given to anticipate over the SMSA as the three (3)
<br />counties, Wake County, Durham County, and Orange County, areas outside of
<br />the municipalities. We have been given to expect the total of $447,000 the
<br />first year. Now there is a formula given in the Housing Act for the
<br />distribution of that money within areas and we have applied that formula
<br />the best we can to that $447,000, with appropriate figures for Wake County,
<br />for Durham County, and Orange County. The last time I was here, you will
<br />remember, there was some thought on Durham County coming fn. Durham County
<br />did npt respond until late in the game, but they have finally responed and
<br />they will be applying for their portion of the funding. So they will be a
<br />part of this formula. 5o the formula is based on population. Basically, the
<br />formula uses 1970 Census data and definitions. Three (3) ratios which
<br />measure each County's relative share of population, poverty and substandard _
<br />housing or overcrowded housing. Each one of the ratios is weighed, the weights
<br />are: the population has the weight of one (1), poverty is counted as being two
<br />(2), and substandard housing has the weight of one (1), so there are four (4)
<br />factors, the poverty being two (2) and the others having one (1) each. The i
<br />final number is the percentage of Community Development money each county may
<br />receive. Then it goes through the calculations and there is a table here of
<br />the population. Wake County, of course, outside of the municipality, has 106,000,
<br />Durham has 37,000, and Orange has 32,000.. T'm rounding off. Then the poverty
<br />figures for the three (3) counties have 3,300 and some for Wake Gounty, 843 for
<br />Durham County, and 1,038 for Orange County. The crowding factors are close to
<br />3,000 in Wake County, 516 in Durham County, and 901 in Orange County. So when
<br />you apply the formula as they say of the four (4) factors, one of them being
<br />poverty doubled, twice, you come up with percentages for the three (3) counties.
<br />We have Wake County, of course, having the larger population and the larger
<br />figures to deal with, we come up with 64% of the $447,000, Durham Gounty, we come
<br />up with 17%, and despite the fact that Durham County's population outside bf-the
<br />city limits is larger than Orange County's population outside the city limits,
<br />Orange County comes up with a larger percentage than Durham, because of the
<br />difference in poverty, so those are the figures that we propose to use in
<br />working out the amount of money under that $447,000, that would appropriately
<br />be Orange County's. Under that skeem of things Orange County would come in
<br />with a figure of $84,930 for the first year, Durham would be $75,990, and Wake
<br />County would be $286,080."
<br />Mr Gattis asked, "The most important thing in this formula is the percent-
<br />age and not the dollar because the dollar is still indefinite. Is that right2"
<br />Mr. Burnham replied, "The dollar is very indefinite, as I read to you last
<br />time, .the urban counties nationally are applying at a higher rate than
<br />anticipated by the people that wrote the act. So this whole thing might be an
<br />exercise in futility and it might get eliminated, but I doubt very much if it is.
<br />Tt might be lessened and it might be lessened considerably or just a little, but
<br />this is what we have been given to work with at first and we have no other word to
<br />go on and feel this is appropriate."
<br />Chairman Garrett asked, "Will the monies be increased next year?"
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