Minutes - 20070531 - Laserfiche WebLink

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- June 14 -Southern Human Services Center - June 18 -Link Government Services Center - June 21 -Southern Human Services Center Budget Adoption - June 26 -Southern Human Services Center ~ All meetings start of 7:30 p, m, Commissioner Jacobs said that Orange County, since 1997, has funded schools at the highest levels of any county in N.C. He said that the Board of County Commissioners does not make allocations to specific programs or does it cut programs, but gives a lump sum to the school boards. He said that the Board asked the Chair to send a column to the paper about the real estate transfer tax. The legislature does not allow the County to charge other taxes, so if this real estate transfer tax does come to fruition, then that will help the budget situation. Chair Carey said that there are six counties that have been approved to levy the real estate transfer tax, and they are all on the east coast of the state. 3. Public Comment Anissa Vines is one of the community representatives on the Board of Health. She thanked the County Commissioners far their support of Health services in Orange County. She spoke of the needs at the Health Department. She said that the County Manager is recommending three pasitions to provide mandated services in the Food and Lodging program. She said that it is estimated that about 40°~ of a family's food week's budget is spent in restaurants and on carry-out foods, however the overall inspection compliance has fallen to 85°!0, and for restaurants it has fallen to 77°~. These positions are essential. In terms of staffing, the Board of Health wholeheartedly supports the Manager's recommendation on pay and benefit improvements far County staff. The Health Department is also faced with serious salary compression issues, limiting the ability to hire qualified staff. She spoke about two programs that the Board of Health wishes to maintain. The first is the Families in Focus and Intensive Home Visiting program. This program is not mandated, but it provides young families that have risk factors for child abuse services to prevent child abuse and promote healthy families. Reduction in this program will mean that families will no longer have these services available in Orange County. The Board of Health is asking for supplemental funding for the staff person in this position. The second program includes the Medical Reserve Corps and the Community Emergency Response Team. These programs have successfully recruited 200 volunteers to assist in the event of a disaster or emergency situation. Without the support of the Volunteer Coordinator, the County will not be equipped to respond. She made reference to primary care services and said that because of the temporary health personnel, they are unable to provide adequate services to the patients. Despite some grant funding that the Health Department has received, this program will require County funds to sustain it. She urged the County Commissioners to consider the needs of the Health Department. The patient numbers are limited by the facilities and not by the number of residents who need services. Sherron Leplin spoke in support of full funding of the OCS budget. She told a story about a child at Grady Brown Elementary that did not speak or know any numbers, letters, etc. The child had never been in school. She said that in kindergarten, the staff and teachers worked with him, but he still did not speak at the end of the year. He is now in the second grade, and he is making major progress by smiling and playing with his peers. She said that he would not be ready to be a third grader had appropriate intervention not taken place early on from the school staff that was there. She asked the County Commissioners to remember this child as they think about funding the schools.