Minutes 02-16-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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functions — human rights and relations and women's rights. He said that he has tried to find similarities throughout the County in order to merge some departments and he found similarities in these two departments. He said that this department has had little or no oversight. This reorganization would put four Human Rights and Relations employees under Tara Fikes and one position focused on women's rights issues under the County Manager. He said that his preferred process is to make sure to take advantage of all of the talents, expand opportunities to provide partners, and make use of the resources to the best of the County's ability. Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes said that there would be no proposal to change any of the functions of the two departments. Frank Clifton reviewed the recommendations. He said that there are a couple of amendments to the by-laws of the advisory boards as it relates to personnel. PUBLIC COMMENT: Carolina Asurla is the current Vice-Chair for the Commission for Women (CfW) and she said that the Commission for Women did not have much information coming forth tonight. She said that she is concerned about these changes and how they could affect the Commission for Women, the Human Relations Commission, and the Office of Human Rights and Relations. She asked the County Commissioners to not support these changes, which she believes will limit the responsibilities and effectiveness of the CfW. She said that after 34 years, the CfW is still a necessary commission. She said that women and girls are still not equal to men and boys and examples are everywhere. She said that she feels that this issue has already been decided since one staff person has already been moved to the County Manager's office. She said that the CfW and the HRC have been kept out of the loop on this matter. As far as she is aware, no member of either commission was approached about the proposed changes. Jennifer Frye said that she is the immediate past Chair of the Commission for Women. She agreed with Carolina Asurla's comments. She said that she wrote an email to the County Commissioners. She said that the CfW did not have much time to think about this or respond. She agrees that some decisions do not require the input of volunteers, however, the commissions were established with the direct purpose of getting citizen participation, involvement, and input back to the government. It is important to recognize that these two bodies are probably the most active in Orange County and involved in social justice issues and issues that affect women. She also has concerns about transparency because the staff liaison has always been involved. She thinks that the commissions could be stronger and serve their functions better with better leadership and direction from County staff. Shannon Jackson is the current Chair of the CfW. She said that she eagerly serves the CfW and has for over three years. She said that this is a unique forum. She said that the CfW provides advocacy and community services to the entire County. Girl Talk is a mentoring program that is very successful in the school system. She listed other community services. She said that there are some very important issues to consider before moving forward with this reorganization. She asked that the CfW be part of these negotiations. She is afraid that the CfW will be disbanded. She asked that the County maintain the annual funding level in order to keep with the mission. She said that if the CfW becomes part of an existing non-profit, then it should not affect the capabilities in lobbying for women's issues and rights. She said that these volunteers passionately and willingly dedicate themselves to Orange County to make it a better place to live. Bryant Colson is Vice-Chair of the Human Relations Commission. He said that many of his colleagues who wanted to be here could not be because of prior commitments and they did not know about this until yesterday. He said that the HRC has had a lack of input into this