Minutes 06-11-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

and the topic of increases has not been discussed for at least 20 or 30 years. He said it is time to have a discussion, and noted the options provided by the Manager. He said this topic should be reviewed on an annual basis by the Board. He said option 2 suggests a per diem rate for meetings. He said within this option there are sub options: the first considers 33 meetings, which includes regular meetings and regular work sessions; the second considers 51 meetings, which includes all meetings. Commissioner Price asked if the per diem would be in addition to the flat salary. Chair McKee said yes. Commissioner Price asked if the salary would stay the same. Chair McKee said everything is open for discussion. Bonnie Hammersley said option 1 addressed increasing the salary by a percentage or a flat rate. She said option 2 is a meeting per diem, meaning there would be a cost per meeting with the two tier options as just referenced by Chair McKee. She said option 3 is a less administrative option. She said the Board would receive an allowance with the same two tiers available as in option 2. Commissioner Price asked if option 2 was contingent upon Commissioners attending meetings. Bonnie Hammersley said yes. Commissioner Rich asked if it is known how many meetings the Board has in comparison to other governmental entities. Bonnie Hammersley said she gathered the information on the green sheet from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC), and it did not include anything regarding quantity of meetings. Commissioner Dorosin said right now the Board has salary and travel allowance and he would be interested to know how much of the travel allowance is used. He said he has never used his travel allowance and suggested rolling it into the salary when it goes unused. Chair McKee said this is already the case. He said it will show up once monthly on the pay stub as "travel allowance". Commissioner Pelissier said that when the County was conducting a manager search she heard that many applicants chose not to apply due to Orange County's reputation for having a large number of meetings. Commissioner Jacobs said the Board should compare itself to its immediate neighbors. Chair McKee agreed. He suggested keeping any decisions simple and straightforward. Commissioner Burroughs echoed Chair McKee and added it is important to maintain transparency. She said she supports option one. Chair McKee said this is a difficult conversation to have as there will be some amount of pushback. He added this conversation has not been had in so many years and knows the number of hours the Board spends attending meetings, reviewing materials, etc. He said he has no predetermined conclusions but feels the Board must have the conversation. Bonnie Hammersley said this will be an addition to the budget and reviewed the total costs for each option. She said the first tier in option 2 would be $23,100; the second tier in option 2 would be $35,700; the first tier in option 3 would be $21,000; and the second tier in option 3 would be $ 33,000. She said these are cumulative totals and would be an addition to the recommended budget. Commissioner Jacobs asked Commissioner Burroughs if she desired only one category or if she would be comfortable with specified separate categories. Commissioner Burroughs said the Board should have one or two numbers at most. She said the Board should pick a number that rings true, and move forward.