Orange County NC Website
6 <br /> 1 There are multiple challenges to attracting businesses to locate in Orange County. <br /> 2 o Challenges: <br /> 3 o Tax rate —a business that chooses to locate in Alamance County can save 2.7 <br /> 4 million dollars if they locate in Alamance versus Orange. <br /> 5 o Other regulations limiting access to certain land spaces <br /> 6 o Limits on buildings <br /> 7 o Need more products added to our offerings to potential job/businesses <br /> 8 o Separation of commercial and residential zoning intended to avoid over <br /> 9 development impacts business recruitment. Rural Buffer limitations — It is a tension <br /> 10 that we don't put more in the rural buffer. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 Public Health—Colleen Bridger <br /> 13 Challenge: <br /> 14 o We need more nurses! We are staffed as if we will never have turnover, maternity leave or <br /> 15 epidemics and we are dealing with all of these issues. We will attempt to address this in <br /> 16 this year's budget, but it is not a problem that can be addressed all at one time within a <br /> 17 single year. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 Social Services-Nancy Coston <br /> 20 • Automation implementation over the past several years has been a challenge and we have <br /> 21 another year before we get to a level playing field on our public assistance. <br /> 22 • Then we can move resources back to focus on services that address our goal of family stability. <br /> 23 <br /> 24 Housing-Audrey Spencer-Horsley <br /> 25 • We need to determine how the affordable housing programs are coordinated to support a <br /> 26 BOCC broader strategy to deal with those who are economically challenged and better serve <br /> 27 the community. <br /> 28 • Recently, when staff went to work with the Sheriff's department to better serve our populations <br /> 29 that don't have English as their primary language it seems this service is under-utilized within <br /> 30 the County. <br /> 31 • There are strong groups working on affordable housing, homelessness and other related <br /> 32 issues. How do we do a seamless affordable housing strategy so we can maximize our <br /> 33 resources? <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Public Affairs-Carla Banks <br /> 36 Public Affairs didn't exist when the goals and priorities document was created. There were lots of <br /> 37 accomplishments that were highlighted. Our primary objective is to bring more visibility and public <br /> 38 awareness to Orange County operations, services and programs. <br /> 39 Challenges: <br /> 40 o Understaffing - Trying to balance all the Public Affairs responsibilities with one staff person. <br /> 41 o Budget too low— need full time professional staff. <br /> 42 <br /> 43 Planning-Craig Benedict <br /> 44 Challenge <br /> 45 o Not sure if the population growth and county staff projections are realistic. We need more <br /> 46 realistic projections to make sure we are able to provide quality services for residents and <br /> 47 businesses. <br /> 48 <br />