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APPROVED 9/17/2013 MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION June 6, 2013 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Work Session on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jacobs and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Mark Dorosin COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, Assistant County Manager Michael Talbert and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) Chair Jacobs said he wanted to have a discussion beforehand to give the Board an opportunity to express their concerns and questions about the schools' budgets. Commissioner Rich said she has heard a lot of passion during the public hearings, and she hopes the Board can be responsive to that. She said one request that has stayed with her was the request from the Jackson Center. She said this center has not requested funding before, and this is a small request for an organization that does a lot of good. Commissioner Gordon said she hopes something can be done about teacher assistants in both school systems. She said that she has looked at information from CHCCS regarding the opening of Northside. She said that the Board has historically used the district funding to fund the opening of new schools, so this needs to be looked at. She said it is a very challenging year, and there is no way to know all that the state legislature will do. She said the Board just needs to do the best possible job with this budget. Commissioner Price said she has heard a lot about the schools, and she would like to provide as much funding as possible for both teachers and facilities. She is concerned about some of the non-profit support services that are supplementing the work for the county, such as Brush with Kindness (Habitat), after school programs, the Arts Center, and the Jackson Center. She would like to see how some of these things can be supported. Commissioner Pelissier said everyone is concerned with the state budget cuts, but the county can't fill in all of the gaps from the state and federal governments. She feels that the whole spectrum of education needs to be considered, including pre-k. She is not happy with what is happening at the state level. Chair Jacobs said it seems clear that the board wants to do more to support public education, within certain means. He said the Board used to have a social safety net fund to supplement state cuts to essential programs. He said this is what the state is doing, yet again. He hopes that the Board can look at setting aside some funds to target places where people will be hit hardest by changes taking place, such as the poverty levels for child care subsidies. Chair Jacobs noted that Commissioner McKee will arrive late. He also noted a change to the order of the agenda to accommodate commissioners who need to leave early. He referred to page 122 in the Budget book as the start to the schools budget discussion.