Minutes 05-22-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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education. She said Compass Center has never asked for an increase in funding. She said when the Family Violence Prevention Center and the Women's Center merged, the agency programs remained the same, and this came with the same amount of funding. She said the merger has been a great success, and capacity has grown and so has the ability to serve domestic violence victims. She said the center is losing $85,000 in funding from both the state and United Way. She said she is asking the County for an increase of$10,000 in funding. She said this funding is to help prevent the police departments, legal systems, and towns from doing the job that the center can do. She said this saves the County money, and reduces police domestic violence calls and employee absences for business owners. She said the center gives back to the County and leverages $600,000 back in revenue from stated other resources. She thanked the Board for their help, and asked for an increase in funding from $59,500 to $69,500. Ashley Desena said she just moved to Orange County about a year ago. She referred to County employee salaries and said there is a growing disparity between private and public employee salaries. She said it is estimated that public workers now make an average of 30 percent more than private sector workers. She said this figure has increased when you count the benefits received by public employees. She said the register of deeds, which is an elected position, makes a salary of$76,000. She said county employees need to absorb more of increased health care costs. She does not think the government should be in the business of funding non-profits, especially to the tune of$2 million. She said it is impossible to appropriate tax payer money and process it through the inevitable administrative process and expect the same amount of money to come out on the other side. She said it is just common sense that the amount received by the non-profit will be less than what was appropriated. She cited a study that showed non-profits receiving government funding reduced how aggressively they pursue outside money through fund raising. Gary Wallach said he is here to support fully funding the schools. He said this year is different, since the CHCCS has gone through all of their rainy day funds, and it is still raining. He said he knows the County cannot make up for state cuts, but it is a bit direr for their school systems this year. He said his son has a disability and has managed to survive this long in the school system because he has had superb help. He said his son is a junior, and he got this far with so much support. He said when assistants are taken away, it is critical for someone like his son. He said the district is down to the bare bones and he hopes the Board will consider this. Marie McAdoo is from Elfand, and she is a member of United Voices. She said she stands on behalf of the school boards and she asked the Board of County Commissioners to fully fund their budget. Karen Dunn is with Club Nova, and she thanked the Board of County Commissioners for all of their support and funding. She said this is one of the stronger club houses in the world, and this is because of the support from Orange County. She said the club house model is an intentional community for people with serious mental illness. She said the model is based on 36 international standards created by members and staff of the worldwide community. She said people with mental illness have the same needs, hopes and aspirations as everyone else, and the club house model offers all of those opportunities and provides a critical safety net that saves lives. She thanked the Board again for their support. Elvira Mebane lives in Efland, and she speaks on behalf of the Orange County Schools and asks the Board to fund their budget. She said one reason is the fact that the schools will have to fund the social worker positions this year, and these positions are needed. She said her grandson may need this service. She said he does not have a teacher assistant in his classroom this year, and he has had some regression in his learning. She asked the Board to fully fund what OCS has requested. She also asked the Board to please look carefully at funding activities in the rural areas, specifically the Efland- Cheeks Center expansion.