NA ORD-2002-003 Budget Amendment #3

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County Commissioners approved an appropriation of $30,000 from fund balance for the Department of Social Services to help address emergency needs of low- income families. Twenty -seven thousand dollars would provide direct assistance to these families. The remaining $3,000 would be placed in a special fund and provide a "guarantee" to utility companies should a client fail to make their regular utility payments. The Department would use the County funds in situations where it would not, be appropriate to use Work First or Crisis Intervention funds. This amendment provides for the appropriation from the County's fund balance. (see column 3, attachment 1) Register of Deeds 4. On December 3, 2001, the Board of County Commissioners approved a Uniform Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2002, for Register of Deeds as mandated by North Carolina General Statute 161 -10 (a). In addition, on that same date, the Board created an Automation Enhancement and Preservation Fund in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 161 -11.3. The monies that accumulate in the Automation Enhancement and Preservation Fund would be an additional revenue source for the County's long range Capital Investment Plan (CIP) and offset a portion of the costs associated with record conversion and maintenance. Budgeted revenues in the current fiscal year for the Register of Deeds total $1,184,579. Based on average monthly transactions, staff estimates the fee increases to generate approximately $124,000 in additional unbudgeted revenue for the remainder of fiscal year 2001 -02. Of this total, the Budget Office estimates that approximately $25,000 (this assumes that the level of activity for the last six months of the fiscal year is consistent with the first six months) would transfer to the new Automation Enhancement and Preservation Fund. The remaining $99,000 would remain in the County's General Fund to offset expenditures in the Register of Deeds office. This additional General Fund revenue would bring the total budgeted Register of Deeds revenue to $1,283,579. (see column 4, attachment 1) Health Department 5. The North Carolina Division of Public Health recently awarded the Orange County Health Department (OCHD) $9;500. These supplemental. funds from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention are available to fund specific educational programs for area wide medical providers and local health department staff. The funds would allow OCHD to provide tuberculosis education for its staff, host a tuberculosis workshop for area medical providers and purchase educational materials and storage cabinets for supplies. This is a one -time award for fiscal year 2001 -02 and does not require additional County funds as a match (see column 5, attachment 1). 6. As required by the federal government, each state "sets aside" a portion of annual Medicaid earnings as a contingency to avoid over expenditures. The funds are referred to as "federal cost settlement funds" or "Medicaid maximization funds ". Should the federal government not need to use the withheld funds, it reimburses the funds to the State on an annual basis. In turn, the State passes these funds along to Health Departments. There are several requirements regarding the use of the funds: • Funds are required to be budgeted and expended to further the objectives of the program that generated the receipts;