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Commissioner Jacobs asked about the rate of growth of the County's revenue this year. Budget Director Donna Dean said it is somewhere between 3-3112 %. Commissioner Jacobs said that he always feels conflicted at this time of year. He said that the County employees are not at these meetings advocating for themselves. He said that even though it may be frowned upon in North Carolina for employees to bargain, they should be at the table. He thinks that the spending in the last few years on employee benefits reflects the financial constraints that the County Commissioners have felt. He thinks the 401 {k} contribution looks low on the report, but that is just one aspect. He thinks Orange County is a lot more generous than the State. He cautioned the Board not to feel guilty without looking at the full picture. He feels proud of how the County treats its employees. Commissioner Foushee said that she has met a lot of County employees and she is proud of what she has learned from them. She said that in order to sustain the workforce, there has to be a set of incentives to keep employees here. It is na secret that pay is the ultimate incentive. She agrees that the in-range salary increases must be implemented. Regarding 401 (k}, it is dismal to her to see that Orange County pays $20, given what is paid in this area. There is also an equity issue because sworn law enforcement officers receive 5%. She believes that other employees perform just as well as officers. She would like to bring this contribution more in line. She urged the Board to consider all of the recommendations brought forward by the staff. She said that she does this in her day jab and she knows that what she sees here is not the kind of situation that will retain good employees. Chair Carey asked if the County made any other retirement contributions for employees. John Link said that 401 (k} is important as we each face uncertainty of what social security will provide. He said that they could be proud of the retirement benefits of the State and the local governments. It is one of the benchmark retirement systems in the country in terms of benefits. Cost-of-living and in-range are key components to one's long term security in looking at retirement. He said that they have not emphasized 401 (k) because the base salary is the most important factor. He still thinks that 401 (k) is important, but the other two are more important, especially the base salary. He said that the intent is not to make the Board feel bad about where the County is on 401 (k) contributions in comparison with other entities. Commissioner Gordon would like to see what the State provides in terms of retirement. Elaine Holmes said that she would provide examples. The retirement formula is based on the highest 4 years of final compensation, the years of service, age, the amount of sick leave, etc. She will put together some scenarios. Commissioner Halkiotis assured the Board that his guilt has been lifted. He commended Elaine Holmes for this report. He wants to see the complete package of the comparison to State employees. He said that there are some instances where County employees have far better benefits than State employees. He is supportive of increasing the 401 (k}. Commissioner Jacobs said that he is intrigued by the idea of following the rate of increase in the County's revenues and the rate of increase in employee salary. He would like to look into this further. He would like to hear, even if it is a written comment, from the Employee's Consortium, what their highest priorities are. This will guide him in making a decision. He wants to encourage more communication. Commissioner Foushee also supported increasing the 401 {k} plan. 2. Recreation and Parks (a) Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan -Progress Report Recreation and Parks Director Lori Taft introduced Recreation and Parks Advisory Council member Tony Britt and Parks Services Director Dan Girby. These individuals served on the committee along with Commissioner Jacobs, Commissioner Halkiotis, John Link, and Gwen Harvey in working on this report about the strategic plan for park facilities and personnel for those facilities.