Orange County NC Website
<br /> <br /> Commissioner Gordon said it would be great to have the pros and cons of each <br />proposal. <br /> Chair Jacobs said the Board will see the 800 mhz option in their CIP discussion in <br />March, and then there will be a presentation in two months regarding the various permutations <br />and the possibility of the 700mhz systems. <br /> Jim Groves said this is correct. <br /> Chair Jacobs asked if there is any possibility of using the phone fee for the 700 mhz or <br />to have the municipalities attributed to the system. <br /> Jim Groves said Chapel Hill and Carrboro are interested in partnerships. <br /> Chair Jacobs asked if this information regarding partnerships could be included in the <br />future discussions. <br /> <br />4. Draft Emergency Services Strategic Plan <br /> Clarence Grier said this is more of an operational strategic plan than a capital strategic <br />plan. <br /> Jim Groves said this plan was developed to provide some stability in the organization <br />and to set a professional path for where things need to be. <br /> Jim Groves said this was developed with leadership, employees, and subject matter <br />experts from other organizations, the university, and state emergency management. <br /> He said two of the big issues that were identified were: lack of communication between <br />and among divisions, and poor work/life balance (too much overtime). <br /> Jim Groves said a big focus was to concentrate on the goals included in the Board of <br />County Commissioners’ plan and to lend good customer support and community support to <br />Orange County. <br /> He said the vision statement is “A Prepared, Coordinated, and Integrated Emergency <br />Services System.” He said each division developed a mission statement in support of that <br />vision. He noted that the graphics on page 7 include the words heard in the study, and the big <br />words are the big concerns. <br /> He said, within the plan there are strategic goals and objectives, as well as the <br />approach. He said this has also been taken down the task level, although that has not been <br />included in the plan. <br /> Jim Groves said there is a lot of community support included, as well as employee <br />support and stability to make the organization more resilient. <br /> He said within the organization, there are a lot of single points of failure, and those <br />points can be technology, or people who have no backup. He said there is a goal of building <br />institutional knowledge within the organization, so that if someone leaves, things can continue to <br />move forward. <br /> Jim Groves said the last part the plan is the ETHOS, which is what drives the strategic <br />plan and the organization. He said this shows the core values and principles. He said the new <br />culture is to build, coach, and mentor employees. <br /> Jim Groves said the implementation will be tracked with charts that show milestones and <br />timelines. He said this will allow progress to be clearly seen. He said this will be reviewed <br />annually and modified every 5 years to keep it from being stagnant. He said if the Board of <br />County Commissioners has any feedback on this draft plan, he is happy to incorporate it. <br /> Chair Jacobs expressed appreciation for the work that was put into the creation of this <br />plan. <br /> Commissioner Price said she was really impressed with this plan. <br /> Commissioner McKee said this is the mission critical component of Orange County <br />government. He appreciates the work has been done, and the feedback he has heard has been <br />very positive. <br /> <br />