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<br />you define e-government. There is already a list of interactive services where people can <br />engage in the website. Commissioner Foushee said that an example is central permitting. She <br />said that when there is discussion about bringing commerce to Orange County, she hears most <br />that the permitting process does not have a lot of opportunity online. <br />Todd Jones invited the County Commissioners to look at some of the newly defined <br />pages that have e-government links. He feels like there is a strong foundation now. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he did not understand under accessibility, "Information <br />can be translated from English to other languages efficiently when citizens use third-party <br />automated translation tools." Tadd Jones said that there was a report from HRR in the past <br />year regarding providing multi-lingual services. The position that HRR took was to avoid the <br />temptation of looking into automated translation services that the County endorses. However, <br />there are people that have these translation services and they can use them. <br />Commissioner Jacobs suggested asking departments for basic guideposts on <br />departmental issues to put up on the website in Spanish. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that there have been requests to put up audio of the County <br />Commissioners' meetings. Also, regarding catastrophes (i.e., an epidemic}, if the government <br />wanted to keep functioning, there has to be a way to teleconference and the public needs to be <br />able to see it. He asked if there was capability to do this. Todd Janes said that this has not <br />been discussed. He said that the site is largely hosted in Raleigh, and if there are emergencies <br />and information must be uploaded, as long as there is an Internet connection, the information <br />can be updated. <br />Todd Jones said that they have talked about streaming capabilities, but it is very <br />expensive. <br />Commissioner Jacobs thanked the staff for the progress that has been made on the <br />website. <br />8. Board Comments <br />Commissioner Nelson -none. <br />Commissioner Jacobs commended the people responsible for the deconstruction of the <br />Southern States building. <br />Commissioner Jacobs congratulated staff for the Caal Jazz Festival. <br />Commissioner Jacobs reported that the Animal Shelter Design Committee has made <br />some major revisions of the design, which should be forthcoming before the summer break. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he had an auto accident on a Wednesday and by <br />Saturday he had received five letters of solicitation from attorneys. On Monday, he got a letter <br />from a chiropractor. He said that when he had to find out how to get in touch with the offending <br />party's insurance company, he had to call the Department of Insurance and the number was 1- <br />800-JIM-LONG. He suggested that Orange County have similar contact numbers such as 1- <br />800-MNELSON, etc. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that the first meeting of the Special Transit Advisory <br />Commission will be May 2"d. She will keep the Board pasted on this. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked the Manager to write an op-ed piece to the paper to <br />explain the real estate transfer tax and why the County Commissioners are looking into this. <br />The Commissioners are trying to find other sources of revenue besides the property tax. <br />She suggested that a letter explain County finances in general and how growth does not pay far <br />itself and how the County Commissioners have gone to the legislature and are trying to think of <br />other funding mechanisms, with an emphasis on how they are trying to save the taxpayers' <br />money. The Board agreed. <br />Geof Gledhill said that the Homebuilders and Realtors Association are spending millions <br />doing something from the apposite point of view. <br />Commissioner Foushee - no comments. <br />