Orange County NC Website
Commissioner Gordon said that her recollection was similar to Commissioner Jacobs'. <br /> She said that the Commissioners have not addressed this yet. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said that she has heard that some entities are hiring a <br /> coordinator through stimulus funds. She would like to see the feasibility of this. Commissioner <br /> Gordon supported this suggestion. <br /> • Social Services <br /> Social Services Director Nancy Coston said that economic recovery is not happening <br /> with their department yet. She said that until the State finishes its budget, the DSS budget is up <br /> in the air. On a good note, the At-Risk Case Management program, the Social Workers of the <br /> Orange County Schools, survived the federal changes. This can still be supported without <br /> County costs. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked if there would be consequences for DSS if the State keeps <br /> inmates in the County jail for longer periods. Nancy Coston said that Medicaid does not pay for <br /> those that are incarcerated anyway. <br /> • Soil &Water <br /> Gail Hughes said that a lot of the programs are administered through State and Federal <br /> funds. She said that there might be a decrease in those funds. <br /> • Solid Waste <br /> Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that they are very grateful to be in their new <br /> building and they are now more efficient because Solid Waste is all in one building. <br /> Commissioner Hemminger made reference to the Solid Waste Convenience Centers <br /> and asked for Gayle Wilson's opinion about the reduction of hours. Gayle Wilson said that there <br /> was a concern about closing on Sunday afternoons. His recommendation is to leave the SWCC <br /> open on Sundays because it is so busy during this time. If the County Commissioners agreed <br /> to leave the SWCC open on Sundays, $34,400 would have to be brought back into the budget. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that he thought one of the County Commissioners stated that <br /> they were not going to raise any taxes. The 3-R fee is proposed to go up, but it did not occur to <br /> him about this fee. He said that the County Commissioners also said that they would not cut <br /> employees but one employee is scheduled to be cut because of a closing of a SWCC. Gayle <br /> Wilson said that there is one full-time position that will be eliminated if the recommendations are <br /> pursued. It was indicated that this person would be employed in another job with the county. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 39-6 (Potential Change in County <br /> Service Delivery), item #4 (Closure of Bradshaw Quarry Road SWCC and Reduction of <br /> Operational Hours at SWCC), and said that there were a bunch of recycling programs that were <br /> proposed to be cut. Gayle Wilson said that the department did consider a number of reductions <br /> in the preliminary discussions with the Manager, and they did not make it through to the <br /> Manager's Recommended Budget. For the most part, the recycling programs will stay the <br /> same. No major programs will be eliminated. On page 39-4, it shows the miscellaneous <br /> reductions for the recycling program. <br /> Rob Taylor explained these reductions and said that a lot of the savings are associated <br /> with controlling program growth, such as not expanding the rural curbside program outward. He <br /> said that all current recycling services will be maintained in the next year's budget. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked about the increase in the 3-R fee and Gayle Wilson said <br /> that the Board of County Commissioners added cardboard curbside recycling and the 3-R fee <br /> increase is related to this. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that some citizens have been asking about recycling <br /> fluorescent light bulbs. He asked if this was feasible. Gayle Wilson said that this has not been <br /> discussed. It will require some additional resources. He can prepare a proposal. <br />