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department has brought about a lot of changes and one of those is that someone will be <br /> assigned to put together the sustainability program. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that there are some good opportunities for <br /> videoconferencing and carpooling and this would help save in the mileage line item. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked about custodial services and Pam Jones said that the <br /> custodians in Orange County are some of the best. She said that the custodians came up with <br /> a plan to take on the buildings on their own, but this is predicated on staying fully staffed in this <br /> department. She said that the custodians have agreed to pick up the slack of losing the <br /> custodial contract and they have refused to have a decreased level of service in this area. <br /> • Board of Elections <br /> This was on page 7-1. The total expenditure budget is $445,000, which is a decrease <br /> of approximately $185,000. Most of this is attributed to only having one election in 2010-11. It <br /> includes reducing one-stop voting from four locations to two locations. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked if the Elections Director would be opposed to having four <br /> one-stop voting locations if there was enough money and Tracy Reams said no. <br /> • County Attorney <br /> This is a new department. Last October, the Board hired a County Attorney. There are <br /> only a few changes since then. The Civil Rights Specialist moved from the County Manager's <br /> Office to the County Attorney's office. <br /> There were no questions. <br /> • Emergency Services <br /> This was on page 16-1. The total expenditure budget is $6.6 million, which is an <br /> increase of $400,000. This is a very large department and budgeting 100% salaries has an <br /> impact on the total budget, including the increase in the retirement leave percentage. These <br /> two items alone account for$220,000 of the $400,000 increase. There has been some <br /> reorganization in the department. The department has reclassified vacant Deputy EMS <br /> Director positions and Staff Officer positions to six FTE positions for paramedics. There are <br /> some decreases in non-permanent personnel, training, and telephone expenses. There are <br /> some increases in the contract service line item, mostly related to the Code Red notification <br /> system. He continued going through the various increases. <br /> Frank Clifton said that the State is proposing legislation that will modify how 9-1-1 is <br /> used. It can only be applied to receiving the call and not sending a dispatch. The State has <br /> reduced the amount of the fee, so there may not be a huge amount of money available. <br /> Secondly, there is nothing budgeted to increase communication services and he believes it is <br /> time to open up discussions with the towns about assuming some of these costs. He said that <br /> improving EMS is going to be a long-term, phased issue. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier asked about the times when no ambulances would be <br /> available, as projected, and why this would increase substantially. Emergency Services <br /> Director Frank Montes de Oca said that the numbers of calls will continue to go up, so this <br /> balances up the number that he would like to go down. Also, it takes awhile to hire <br /> paramedics. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs asked about the structure fires doubling and what this means <br /> and Frank Montes de Oca said that they need to do a better job of fire prevention education <br /> and outreach. <br /> Frank Clifton said that the Planning department is now doing fire inspections with <br /> certified inspectors. <br />