Minutes 05-12-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

4 FY2016-17 recommended budget ORANGE COUNTY MISSION STATEMENT Orange County exists to provide governmental services requested by our Residents or mandated by the State of North Carolina. To provide these quality services efficiently, we must; • Serve the Residents of Orange County— Our Residents Come First; • Depend on the energy, skills, and dedication of all our employees and volunteers; • Treat all our Residents and Employees with fairness, respect, and understanding. Orange County Residents Come First Commissioner Jacobs asked if staff tracks the percentage of State funding that is given to the schools. Paul Laughton, Orange County Finance and Administrative Services, said staff has the data and would get it to the Board. Commissioner Jacobs said the Public Education Forum does a diagram showing which counties have the highest total effort in funding public education. He said Orange County is always first or second. He asked if this information could be shared with the public. He said the County has a demonstrated history of doing all that it can to increase funding to public schools, while the State is consistently cutting funding. He said sometimes that public is misinformed, and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is as frustrated as the public regarding the State's actions. 3. Public Comment Neil Stutzer said he is the Chair of the Hillsborough Arts Council, which is an outside agency asking for funding. He said the Arts Council is seeking to maintain its part-time program coordinator and have asked for assistance in funding this position. He reviewed the ways in which the Arts Council was active in many elements of the community over the past year and also itemized future goals. Susan Romaine is Chair of the Orange County Living Wage Employers (OCLW). She said Orange County government was one of the first living wage certifications, and in the last few months other entities have been certified in Orange County. She said this trend is indicated in the handout she presented. She said the OCLW is a volunteer organization. She acknowledged that some entities can offer the living wage and some cannot. She said OCLW promotes the issue positively, while passing no judgment on those employers who cannot offer the living wage. She said OCLW celebrates its participants via the web, brochures, etc. John Barron is a steering committee member for the OCLW, and there are nine volunteers in the organization. He said it has been a good year with 59 employers certified and $500,000 in increased wages. He said there are some limitations in being a volunteer group. He said it would be very helpful to have somebody to enter data into a computer system, in order to share with other people. He said OCLW is making an outside agency funding request for an administrative assistant. Marianne Jones said she is also a part of the OCLW and Auto Logic, an auto maintenance department in Carrboro, employs her. She said her company has been paying a living wage for 30 years, also paying full benefits to all of their employees. She said this helps employees with their life/work balance. Robert Dowling said he is the Executive Director of the Community Home Trust, and he thanked the Manager for her help last year with the interlocal agreement, as well as the Board of County Commissioners' longstanding support for affordable housing. He said affordable housing is an ongoing need. He thanked the BOCC for placing the issue on the upcoming bond and for showing commitment to the need through the County budget year after year.