Agenda - 12-15-2015 - 6a - Minutes

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18 1 Commissioner Jacobs expressed thanks for the clear and in depth analysis. He said he 2 had given John Roberts a 1998 BOCC document which shows Orange County has been a 3 leader in this area for a long time. 4 Commissioner Jacobs said the key component of any Master Aging Plan is aging in 5 place, and that requires in home healthcare. He said these providers may not be the most 6 educated people but they provide an invaluable service. He said if living wage policies are 7 applied to non-profits it will only be for the funds that are connected to the County, not the non- 8 profit's entire budget. 9 Commissioner Dorosin urged the Board to pursue this policy. He said the two metrics 10 come out one cent a part. He said service contracts should be included in the policy. He said 11 the question about non-profits needs to be more nuanced and giving grants is different from 12 contracts. He asked if it is known how the Board's colleagues, such as the ABC Commission, 13 OWASA, and the Sportsplex, are handling this issue. He asked if staff could follow up and get 14 status reports. 15 Commissioner Dorosin said the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) has a $2 16 million surplus and is the one elected body that is not paying a living wage. He said the County 17 should be working encouraging CHCCS to pursue paying a living wage. 18 Commissioner Rich said OWASA was certified as a living wage employer. 19 Commissioner Rich said she does not think monies to pay a living wage should come 20 from a reserve fund. 21 Commissioner Dorosin said all public employees should receive medical benefits, 22 retirement, etc. 23 Chair McKee said it should be noted that even with the living wage one does not have 24 much more than subsistence income. He said considering the cost of living in Orange County, 25 a $12.76 per hour wage allows one to just get by. He said is very supportive of this but has 26 extreme reservations about carving out exemptions. 27 Commissioner Price said as the Board proceeds with this issue it would be good to see 28 what the living wage would need to be if the cost of living allowance (COLA) goes up. She said 29 perhaps incremental analysis would be useful. 30 Travis Myren said staff could prepare a historic analysis of how fair rental markets have 31 increased over time and at what rate they may be expected to increase in the future. 32 Travis Myren said the federal poverty rate calculation would have produced an hourly 33 rate of$12.53. He said the County was already at an hourly rate of$12.76 and chose to 34 remain there. 35 Commissioner Rich said this issue is discussed every year during the budget process 36 and suggested taking that information and working it into the analysis. 37 Commissioner Jacobs asked if Travis Myren could track Orange County's living wage in 38 his historical analysis. 39 40 PUBLIC COMMENT: 41 Mark Marcoplos said he agreed with Chair McKee that the living wage is a subsistence 42 wage and when one's income drops down below the living wage, one must start using social 43 services. He said it is important to consider all the elements of the equation. 44 45 b. Update on the Campaign for a New "Welcome" to Orange County Interstate Sign 46 The Board considered receiving an update on the campaign for a new "Welcome to 47 Orange County" interstate sign, providing any comments or questions to staff and 48 acknowledging that staff will move forward with the campaign. 49 Laurie Paolicelli, Orange County Community Relations and Tourism Department 50 Director, said this sign project is really a symbol of how the County sees itself and how the