Minutes 11-10-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6 Commissioner Burroughs said she has worked for non-profits for years, and she said there are foundations that only pay for services. She said she feels this is also all that the County should fund. She said non-profits are set up to meet needs, and many times needs change. She said she is not interested in giving outside agencies capital funding. Commissioner Pelissier agreed with Commissioner Burroughs. She said she asked the Board to discuss this item because, during the budget season, there was a non—profit that met with every elected official individually for capital funding. She said she did not like these one on one discussions, but felt the Board should discuss openly. She said offering funding for capital needs would open too many floodgates, and governing bodies do help with operational funds for many of the non-profits in their area. Commissioner Jacobs said he is not as averse to doing a capital project if the County is paid back in a fairly short time. He said he would be willing to consider this on a case-by-case basis. Bonnie Hammersley said staff has been looking for information on OE, and in FY 1998- 99 there was a line item for contributions to capital campaigns, such as the Red Cross. She said OE was a different project. Commissioner Pelissier said there should be a policy instead of ad hoc decisions. She said many agencies would request funding, if offered. Chair McKee said he had the same concern, and his preference is to have a policy that the County does not fund capital projects for outside agencies. Commissioner Price agreed that there should be some kind of policy. Commissioner Burroughs said she talked with Margaret Samuels at OE, and that her recollection was that OE had been a part of Orange County government years ago, and was spun off. Commissioner Jacobs said sometimes there are exceptions to the rules. Chair McKee said policies can be changed or amended. Commissioner Rich asked if the County has ever had any policies that included exceptions. Bonnie Hammersley said not currently, but this is certainly possible. Commissioner Rich said OE and PFAP seem to be existing exceptions. Commissioner Jacobs said the definition of an exemption could be when a non-profit starts as a part of Orange County government, and then spins off. Chair McKee said the Board does not vote at work sessions, but he hears a consensus to bring this back as a proposed policy. Commissioner Rich asked if staff could do some benchmarking research with other governing bodies. Bonnie Hammersley said staff would draft a policy of what is funded, with exceptions noted. Chair McKee said the discussion can now turn to the slide funding formulas. He asked if there is a Board preference on how to look at funding. Commissioner Rich asked if the current policy is 1%. Bonnie Hammersley said that is only the practice, not the policy. Bonnie Hammersley said this year funding was tied to Board goals, and the funding coincidentally ended at around 1%. She reviewed the various funding scale options available to the Board. Chair McKee said the simplest option is to stay with a percentage of the budget, with the option to find additional funds elsewhere in the budget. Commissioner Rich said the Board had discussed wanting to increase funding to non- profits during the budget process, and asked if this would fit into a 1% model. Chair McKee said each year that he has been on the Board, monies have been given to non-profits from the excess fund balance.