Minutes 06-04-2020 Virtual Budget Public Hearing

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Budget Amendments and Resolution of Intent to Adopt June 9 BOCC REGULAR MEETING DATE FY2020-21 Operating and CIP Budget Adoption June 16 FY2020-21 RECOMMENDED BUDGET BUDGET AND AMENDMENT AVAILABILITY ❑ Clerk to Board of Commissioners ❑ County Finance &Administrative Services Office ❑ Orange County Website - http://orangecountync.gov Commissioner Marcoplos clarified his amendments. He said the BOCC has memberships in 4 organizations, which he wanted to put up for discussion: the pros and cons of each. Commissioner Dorosin said his amendment to the CIP has generated more emails than the others, and his intent was primarily to move the Durham Tech project out of the 6-10 parking lot and move it up in the CIP. He said he is on the Durham Tech Board, and it has become clearer to him that this is critical to the Orange County Campus. He said the need for community colleges, in the wake of the pandemic, will increase. He said the BOCC has had too limited a focus on K-12 funding in Orange County for so long, and needs to re-focus on the later years of education as well. Commissioner Dorosin said the other point he wanted to make was that he did not want to add costs to the budget, without offsetting cuts, which he has proposed. He said he is not wedded to cutting these particular projects, and is open for discussion. He said his priority is to get the Durham Tech project done. Commissioner Price said she agreed with Commissioner Dorosin. She said one of the differences in Commissioner Dorosin's proposal and hers, was the use of lands legacy or conservation easement funds, which she did not mean to include. She said she is also not wedded to cutting the particular projects she proposed, and is open for discussion PUBLIC COMMENT: Deborah Barrett said she is a clinical social worker, and there are so many needs in this community, and one of those is mental health. She said there is a program called the Pro Bono Counseling Network, which was set up locally to provide counseling services to those who could not otherwise afford them. She said the Network lost its institutional home last year, but the needs remain great, if not greater than before. She said the Network needs funding for one part time staff person who can match the client to the service. She said she is asking the BOCC for funding to help get the Network back on its feet. Shelley Danser said was the Program Coordinator for the Pro Bono Counseling Network, and is a licensed clinical social worker. She said during the 5 years she worked at the Pro Bono Counseling Network, she came to see how effective and efficient the program is. She said she helped match clients with good therapists, all of which included a number of pro bono counseling sessions. She said the program stopped functioning because the institutional home did not hire a new coordinator after she vacated the position. She said there are many therapists wanting to offer pro bono services, and the community already knows these services. She said Covid-19 has only exacerbated the need for this service. She asked the BOCC to offer ideas and funding to get this program back up and running.