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7 <br /> 1 Chair Rich no, the County cannot do that, due to the general assembly. She <br /> 2 said if the County goes back into lock down, students will not be able to get to the <br /> 3 library. <br /> 4 Commissioner Price said she does not understand how this funding will help. <br /> 5 Chair Rich said the funds could be used in many creative ways, such as lighting <br /> 6 up a bus and sending it in to a neighborhood. She said children without Internet access <br /> 7 are going to fall behind, and this funding is to help address the gap. She said the <br /> 8 County is responsible for these children's education. <br /> 9 Commissioner Bedford said she appreciated the concerns for the students, but <br /> 10 she does not think cutting the library fund is the best way to meet the need. She said <br /> 11 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) has a large fund balance that could be <br /> 12 tapped into. She said the rural schools do not have as much excess funding, but there <br /> 13 is some, as well as expected relief funding from the CARES Act. She said she would <br /> 14 leave the library funding alone, and use the $191,000 to set up a reserve, if necessary. <br /> 15 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if Chair Rich envisions using these funds for <br /> 16 things other than just technology, as there will be so many emergency needs that will <br /> 17 arise going forward. He said an emergency fund is a good idea. <br /> 18 Commissioner Dorosin echoed Commissioner Marcoplos and Commissioner <br /> 19 Bedford, and said he liked the conversation being started about this amendment. He <br /> 20 said the Southern Library will be coming on line in a couple of years, and there has to be <br /> 21 a conversation about the Chapel Hill library and the County libraries, as the user <br /> 22 numbers will likely shift greatly with the new library being available. He said he also <br /> 23 likes the idea of an emergency education fund in these unusual times, and agrees there <br /> 24 will be many needs, not just technology. He said the County has been giving money to <br /> 25 the Chapel Hill library, which has been closed for the past three months, and asked if <br /> 26 there are any savings to be realized there. <br /> 27 Commissioner Greene said an equitable fund is needed now, but may not be <br /> 28 needed in a couple of years. She said she would not be in favor of cutting library <br /> 29 funding now, and there should be ongoing discussions in the fall. <br /> 30 Chair Rich said the Board has no agreement with Chapel Hill regarding the <br /> 31 library now, because the agreement ran out in 2015. She said the library was going to <br /> 32 ask the BOCC for more money this budget season, and that is why she started doing <br /> 33 some research on this issue. She said it is important to understand circulation numbers, <br /> 34 rather than active member numbers. She said the Board gives a lot of money to the <br /> 35 library (over$500,000), and has no say in how it is spent, and there is no interoperability <br /> 36 between the County and the City libraries. She said the Chapel Hill library is a great <br /> 37 resource for those in the southern part of the County, but an education fund that is <br /> 38 managed by the County is needed to serve all children. She said the Board must deliver <br /> 39 a sound basic education to every child in the County, and right now the Board is failing <br /> 40 to do so. <br /> 41 Commissioner McKee said the agreement that continued on after 2015 was by <br /> 42 default. He said the members of the Chapel Hill Board and Orange County Board of <br /> 43 Commissioners need to sit down and figure out what should Orange County pay. He <br /> 44 said he would rather do this by negotiation, and not by budget amendment. <br /> 45 Commissioner Greene said she was last involved in discussions in 2015, from <br /> 46 the Chapel Hill side, and she thought the conclusion at that time was to have seamless <br /> 47 integration between the library systems. She said she is surprised that this has not <br /> 48 happened. She said the problem with broadband is acute, but that is a separate issue <br /> 49 from the library. <br /> 50 Commissioner Price said there has been some interoperability. She said she <br /> 51 feels that this amendment is not spelled out enough for her. She said she does support <br /> 52 an emergency fund for education, but if students can have access to the library, there <br /> 53 are many resources available. She said the BOCC should talk with the school boards to <br /> 54 determine how best to meet their emergency needs, but using library funds is not the <br />