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Commissioner Carey asked about the status of the ruggedized laptops that other <br /> departments can use. Laura Blackmon said that this has continued, and positions and <br /> departments are being added into that system. The other side is that, every time something is <br /> added, staff has to be added to service it. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that this discussion pre-dates Laura Blackmon's arrival and the Board <br /> found that there were 2.5 positions in one department that were responsible for just transcribing <br /> data. One of the thrusts of using the laptops was to try and save in terms of efficiency and in <br /> terms of positions. He thinks that the Board tried to set some priorities for efficiency, and the <br /> Board would like to have a better picture of what is going on. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that she does not have a clear idea of the schools' needs. <br /> Laura Blackmon said that this year, the staff is providing information in a different <br /> sequence than last year. She said that the staff meets regularly with the schools to talk about <br /> updated numbers. <br /> Commissioner Foushee said that since these are the most recent figures supplied by the <br /> schools, then both school boards should bring the reasons for the new figures when all three <br /> boards meet next week. <br /> The Board agreed. <br /> Donna Coffey said that the staff would ask the schools to bring this with them to the <br /> meeting since the agendas are going out tomorrow. <br /> Commissioner Foushee said that it just needs to be a brief summary. <br /> 2. Human Services Advisory Commission (HSAC) Recommended Outside Agency <br /> Emily Adams, Chair of the HSAC, introduced Vice Chair Vivette Jeffries-Logan, Michael <br /> Owen, and Jerry Passmore. She thanked County Commissioner liaison Valerie Foushee and <br /> various staff. She said that the HSAC brought in Margaret Henderson from the School of <br /> Government, who is a specialist in working with non-profit funding and non-profit government <br /> relations, to help with this process. She said that the Board of County Commissioners has <br /> received the recommendations and the process was different this year. The HSAC did an in- <br /> depth review of all applications and weighted the outcomes. There were 52 applications. The <br /> HSAC also worked with the Triangle United Way to help train board members, etc. Not all <br /> applications were human services related. She was impressed with the quality of proposals. <br /> Commissioner Nelson said that a few proposals that caught his attention were the <br /> Historic Hillsborough Commission, Piedmont Wildlife, and others that are not really human <br /> service needs. He does not understand how things will be different next year. He would hate to <br /> see money that is supposed to be set aside for human services going to things that are not <br /> human services, even though these are really worthy causes. <br /> Laura Blackmon said that, in the future, the staff needs to see the amount of money the <br /> Board of County Commissioners wants to provide for non-profits and categorize them. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that he would defer to Commissioner Gordon and Commissioner <br /> Carey, but he remembers that the funding was not earmarked for only human services, but was <br /> under the umbrella of all non-profits that were requesting monies from the County. It was just <br /> funneled through human services. He noticed that the only three organizations that got less <br /> money than requested did not fit under human services, except for Orange Enterprises. He <br /> wants the Board to think about whether it should separate some of these entities. He does not <br /> think that the Board has had this conversation yet. <br /> Commissioner Carey agreed and said that the category is called Outside Agencies, <br /> which is general. <br />