Orange County NC Website
permanent. He said that he respects the concerns of the public and they do not have the luxury <br />of going through applications for 2-3 months because they have to be transitioned by July 1St <br />Commissioner Brown asked if they have a process so that this type of dog cruelty <br />can be observed and reported as soon as possible. John Link said that people make mistakes <br />and if someone works for Orange County government then they will be accountable to the <br />County and the expectations will be clear. Commissioner Brown said that if a citizen wants to <br />make a complaint, there needs to be a process now. John Link said that the public should call <br />the Manager's office at 245-2300 or Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey. The entire <br />management team is working hard on this transition. <br />Chair Jacobs said that he has asked Personnel Director Elaine Holmes and John <br />Link to send the County Commissioners a memo to re-outline the proposed approach to the <br />transition. He thinks that the process that is proposed will give the opportunity for the truth to <br />surface. They have confidence in the Manager to recognize good employees from bad <br />employees. He also thinks that the staff should go back and review the HSUS report in the <br />interim, and they can start to put together a system for tracking citizen concerns. <br />Commissioner Carey said that he shares the concerns, but he reiterated that the <br />employees that are transitioned to the County would get six or mare month's probationary <br />status. He said that they could determine in less than six months whether the employee is <br />suitable for the job. John Link said that every new employee is evaluated for six months. <br />Geof Gledhill said that people could be let go sooner, but could not become <br />permanent employees until at least six months. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is comfortable with letting people go earlier, and <br />he has enough faith in Jahn Link to get the job done. <br />Chair Jacobs asked staff to come back before the break with some proposed <br />procedures for customer service and animal service at the shelter. <br />Chair Jacobs spoke to Mr. James Ward and told him that they refer these items to <br />staff and Greg Wilder would speak with him. <br />b. Matters on the Printed Agenda <br />(These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda <br />below.} <br />3. Board Comments <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that sometime in the future he wants to know about <br />subdivision proposals because he has not seen any in months. He finds it hard to believe that <br />they have stopped happening. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that Sheriff Pendergrass is making available, through <br />Project Child Safe, a variety of gunlocks. He is giving these away for free at the Sheriff's office. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis introduced his mother, Kay Halkitois, who was visiting from <br />Florida. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that the High School #3 advisory group met yesterday and <br />they spent a lot of time on the media center. She said that the County Commissioners want to <br />know how they are planning for generator readiness for emergency shelters, the plans for <br />athletic fields, and how the school will come back within the budget. There will be a final "large <br />group" (advisory group) meeting on June 7t" and the high school #3 plans will go to the school <br />board for approval sometime in June. After that, the plans will be presented to the Board of <br />Commissioners. <br />Commissioner Gordon made reference to TTA and said that they talked about air quality <br />and more cooperation with the other bodies. They sent a letter to the two Transportation <br />