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2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />45 <br />46 <br />47 <br />48 <br />49 <br />50 <br />51 <br />52 <br />53 <br />54 <br />55 <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />b. Living Wage Ordinance <br />The Board considered specifics of a potential Orange County living wage ordinance. <br />Director of Economic Development Ted Abernathy briefly answered questions which were <br />previously asked by the County Commissioners. He noted that all County contracts in excess of $25,000, <br />including legal, accounting and construction contracts could be included. <br />For the purpose of the draft ordinance, the Board agreed that $8.00 would be the appropriate <br />living wage for the County. They agreed that the next steps would be to draft an ordinance for public <br />hearing. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Brown to instruct the <br />County Attorney to draft an ordinance for public comment at the next quarterly public hearing. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />C. Computerized Information and Referral System - Orange Resource Connection <br />The Board reviewed the operations of the computerized information and referral system, the <br />Orange Resource Connections, and considered renewing an agreement with Triangle United Way to <br />administer the system. <br />Commissioner Gordon made reference to the survey of the users of this system and noted that <br />they sent out 54 surveys and received 28 responses along with some verbal responses. It seemed that their <br />concerns centered around the use of the software. The survey is included in the agenda. <br />Bill Norcross, program administrator with Triangle United Way gave a brief demonstration of how <br />this system operates. He noted that the demonstration shows information for West Palm Beach, Florida <br />because the triangle system is being updated at this time. They have over 200 agencies from Orange <br />County listed. <br />Susan Mitchell of Triangle United Way went through the goals and objectives of Orange Resource <br />Connection. They have over 1,000 entries in their data base which cover the entire Triangle area. They will <br />be adding Chatham County to their data base in the near future. <br />Commissioner Crowther asked about prior funding and was told that the County contributed <br />$40,000 toward the startup cost and $31,000 in 1996 and set aside $31,000 for 1997. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked about the budget item at the back of the agenda abstract. Susan <br />Mitchell made mention of the options available if the Commissioners did not approve the $31,000. One <br />option cost $35,000 and another option cost $20,000. These are both described in detail in the agenda. <br />Commissioner Carey asked about the performance agreement. He emphasized that the reason <br />we got into this was to improve access for the small organizations who need ready access to information to <br />serve their clients well and he still believes that this is important. He feels that we should support this <br />technology. The issue is what kind of performance we expect to be achieved over a certain amount of time. <br />He believes that United Way is working on the concerns which have been identified. He asked that the <br />County help small organizations with our recycled computers. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis asked why the Partnership for Small Children did not approve funding in <br />1996. Director, Michele Rivist said that they did not approve funding because of performance standards. <br />They could not justify who was using the system. They would need some better documentation and <br />outcomes of the service being provided before they would consider future funding.