Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
7 <br /> <br />Commissioner McKee offered a friendly amendment to say, “Be it therefore resolved 1 <br />that the Orange County Board of Commissioners supports efforts to reduce the availability of 2 <br />violent movies, games, and other media, and supports efforts to address mental health issues 3 <br />through additional funding of services on the state and federal level.” 4 <br />Commissioner Rich said she would not accept this wording, but asked Commissioner 5 <br />McKee if he would like to break this wording down into separate items. She said she does not 6 <br />see game or media violence as part of the spirit of this resolution. 7 <br />Commissioner McKee said they fundamentally disagree about this, but he is willing to 8 <br />drop the first part of his proposal, and asked if Commissioner Rich would accept the wording 9 <br />about mental health services. 10 <br />Commissioner Rich said she does think this wording belongs in this resolution, as the 11 <br />resolution solely seeks to support youth lead protests against gun violence. 12 <br />Commissioner McKee said he cannot support this resolution. 13 <br />Commissioner Rich said mental health issues are completely different than gun 14 <br />violence. 15 <br />Commissioner McKee clarified that the resolution is aimed at simply supporting the 16 <br />youth effort. 17 <br />Commissioner Rich said yes, that is the spirit of the resolution. 18 <br />Commissioner McKee said he would support the resolution with reservations, and at 19 <br />some point, he would like the Board to have a discussion as to whether or not it supports violent 20 <br />movies and games, as he believes this media plays into the mental health of children. 21 <br /> 22 <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS 23 <br /> 24 <br />5. Public Hearings 25 <br />NONE 26 <br /> 27 <br />6. Regular Agenda 28 <br /> 29 <br />a. Request to Utilize Social Justice Funds for Emergency Assistance Payments 30 <br />The Board considered allocating $125,000 from the Social Justice Fund for emergency 31 <br />assistance payments for Orange County residents. 32 <br /> 33 <br />BACKGROUND: 34 <br />The Department of Social Services (DSS) supports individuals and families experiencing 35 <br />financial crises through emergency payments for rent, utilities, deposits and other essentials. 36 <br />Although federal and state sources provide some of this support, the County provides most of 37 <br />these funds. 38 <br /> 39 <br />As of the end of January, the County had served over 800 Orange County residents and at the 40 <br />current rate would serve nearly 1,400 during fiscal year 2017-18. In fiscal year 2016-17 these 41 <br />funds served 1,240 clients. Although some of the increase in emergency assistance this year is 42 <br />explained by demand, much is related to rising housing costs. In previous years, a greater 43 <br />percentage of funds was spent on utilities but now a greater percentage is spent on rents, 44 <br />deposits and related costs. 45 <br /> 46 <br />From July through January of the current fiscal year, DSS has made $120,919 worth of rent 47 <br />payments on behalf of 325 households as compared to $94,812 during all of the previous year. 48 <br />In addition to rent, the County has also spent $93,546 on electric bills and $19,680 on water 49 <br />bills thus far this fiscal year. 50