Agenda - 03-02-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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7 1 Annette Moore said she would welcome BOCC participation, and encouraged the Board 2 to share ideas and facts now, as opposed to on the back end of the process. 3 Chair Price asked if the Board should devote part of a work session to help develop 4 ideas and action items. She said the Board wants to engage in a meaningful way. 5 Annette Moore said this is a policy that will set the tone for the rest of the County, and 6 things are going to be done differently from now on. She said this plan needs to be embedded 7 in County government, by doing whatever is necessary. She said this should be part of 8 everyone's work plan. 9 Chair Price said if there are ideas for how the Board can actively participate to please 10 share them. 11 Commissioner Hamilton said she would like to see a draft of what is coming up. She 12 said she cannot picture what GARE is about, how it works, etc. She said this is an important 13 process, and she wants to give meaningful feedback, so there is action. She said she needs 14 more information. She said statistics are useful, but it is important to know what underlies those 15 statistics locally, statewide and nationally, if not world-driven. She said the everyday implicit 16 biases need to be addressed. She said the big metrics may not capture that. She said she 17 wants to do the work and wants to do it well. 18 Annette Moore agreed, and said that is why GARE is drafting this tool to get this 19 information to the Commissioners and community for further discussion, and to determine gaps 20 and steps of action. She said it is important to determine how to use County funds to address 21 this issue, and how do the State and the Federal Government need to be involved. 22 Commissioner Dorosin said he is unsure how much specificity is appropriate now, but he 23 would like to see interdepartmental cooperation. He asked if criminal justice metrics will be 24 included, along with possible policy changes. 25 Annette Moore said the team has been talking about interdepartmental actions, and how 26 everyone can work together. She said these problems cannot be solved in silos, and there 27 must be a multidisciplinary approach is important. She said there is a capacity issue here, and 28 building capacity is one of the problems. She said building capacity for equity will take 29 additional resources. 30 Commissioner McKee said it will be important to determine how committed the County is 31 to reducing spending in some favored programs to fund this effort without raising taxes. He said 32 this will cost some funding, over a decent amount of time. He said if this is going to be done, it 33 needs to be done right. He said the BOCC will have to make hard decisions about decreasing 34 spending in order to increase progress in this area. 35 Annette Moore said it is less defunding but rather the reallocation of funding. She said 36 the BOCC will have determine if it will allow the data to determine where funding should go. 37 Commissioner McKee agreed, and said it will mean the reduction of funding in certain 38 areas. He said a lot people, especially low-income people, feel they are being driven out of 39 Orange County due to the high cost of taxes and living. 40 Commissioner Bedford said the County does not have a strategic plan, and asked if it is 41 possible to prioritize things without one. She said this is a parking lot issue. 42 Chair Price responded to Commissioner Fowler's comment in the chat, and said the 43 County is tracking data related to the small business loans. 44 Chair Price said the elephant in the room is racism and implicit bias around all issues of 45 disparity. She said if the County can get at this cause, and if the lowest in society can be raised 46 up, then everybody is raised up. She said racism touches all areas, and is a problem that has 47 existed for hundreds of years. She said if tackling racism is a priority, then the County can 48 begin addressing issues across the Board. 49 Commissioner Fowler said her comments in the chat are ideas for the GARE team to 50 consider. 51