Orange County NC Website
Frank Clifton said that his career has not always been with a Board such as this that is <br /> very cooperative and works together. He said that you have to be careful with saying that any <br /> Board member can bring an agenda item because a future Board could be more divisive. <br /> Chair Pelissier said that her concern is that there would be items that two County <br /> Commissioners want that would take up an enormous amount of staff time. It was noted that <br /> perhaps there should be a consideration of whether the request would take more than two <br /> hours of staff time. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that he has no problem going to the Chair, Vice-Chair, and <br /> Manager for review, but he feels very strongly about anything that puts the County <br /> Commissioners to a higher standard than the public. <br /> Commissioner Hemminger suggested having County Commissioners bring up these <br /> items during public comment. <br /> Commissioner Foushee said that it would be helpful to institute a section in the <br /> meetings for the County Commissioners to bring forth petitions as does the public. It would <br /> follow the same process. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz agreed with Commissioner Foushee and Commissioner Jacobs, <br /> but he thinks that the number of petitions that any individual Commissioner can bring at any <br /> one meeting should be limited. He thinks that it should come immediately after the public <br /> comments. <br /> Chair Pelissier asked if there was consensus to create a new item on the agenda that <br /> would be called "Petitions by the Board of County Commissioners", and the same process <br /> would be used that is used for requests from the public, which is to refer it to the Chair, Vice- <br /> Chair, and Manager for review. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked about the form that the County Commissioners would <br /> bring these items forward. She asked when it would be appropriate for a Commissioner to ask <br /> about something that had already been brought up before. She would think that in that case it <br /> would be under Board Comments. <br /> The consensus is that petitions by the Commissioners would be after Public <br /> Comments. The Board agreed that the petition could be either stated orally or in written form <br /> and there is not a vote but it just goes through the process of review by the ChairNice <br /> Chair/Manager. Each Board member will be given three minutes total for petitions. <br /> Commissioner Yuhasz said that he does not want this process to preclude the <br /> possibility of asking for more information on an item. <br /> This new standard will be brought forth in writing to the Board, for the Board's review <br /> and approval. <br /> 4. Discussion on Historic Information for BOCC Meetinq Aqenda Abstracts <br /> Chair Pelissier said that the first question is how far back in history the staff should go <br /> in providing information. The recommendation is that it goes back ten years unless an item is <br /> deferred for further review. <br /> Frank Clifton said that there are a lot of issues that span more than ten years, and in <br /> that case, it could be referred back for further information. He wants to set a standard for <br /> items. He said that whatever the Board wants, the staff will do, but some things cannot be <br /> done quickly and requires a great deal of research. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that at some point he would like to have a discussion with <br /> going to more electronic means of communication and it would be much easier to provide a <br /> link to information. The County Commissioners all have laptops, but no one brings them to <br /> meetings. He said that it is very generous to add a staff person but it is not probable, desired, <br /> or needed. He said that he does have a lot of historical knowledge and just wants the other <br />