Agenda - 04-20-2021; 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

20 1 Commissioner McKee said it is important to identify five priorities tonight, so the County 2 can notify the delegation. He said the other items are concerns, but the Board should focus on 3 five items. He suggested broadband as one of the five items. 4 Chair Price said the work group wanted a base to bring to the Board for discussion. 5 Commissioner McKee said he understood why so many were presented. 6 Commissioner Dorosin said he appreciated having the full list. He said he supports 7 prioritizing broadband, minimum wage, racial equity and criminal justice, Leandro remedial 8 action plan, and add OWASA. 9 Commissioner Fowler said she would like to add mental health. 10 Commissioner McKee agreed. 11 Commissioner Dorosin asked Commissioner Fowler if the Board wants to stick to five 12 items, which one would she pull out. 13 Commissioner Fowler asked if Commissioner Dorosin could explain more about the 14 OWASA issue. 15 Commissioner Dorosin said OWASA needs the authority to have flexible billing 16 practices, which has been heightened by the economic issues around the pandemic. 17 Chair Price said Representative Verla Insko already has a bill related to this in the 18 works. 19 Chair Price said she supports adding mental health. She said she would like to consider 20 adding evictions information. She said it becomes important for preventing homelessness, as 21 an eviction, in one's history, can prevent someone from getting housing. 22 Commissioner Hamilton said she thinks a list of five to eight priorities is fine, and it does 23 not have to be five. 24 Commissioner Hamilton asked if this document has a real impact. She said she does 25 not want to get caught up in prioritizing, if the agenda does not have an impact on the 26 delegation's activities. She said she sees this as an exercise in voicing Orange County's 27 priorities. 28 Commissioner Greene said the agenda has an impact as a voice for the residents of 29 Orange County. She said it is more than a statement of values and interests. 30 Commissioner Greene said the OWASA item is very concrete and she would not 31 devalue it since there is already a bill in the works. She said she would support adding it to the 32 priority list to show full support of the existing bill. She said she could support a list of 6 top 33 priorities. 34 Commissioner McKee said choosing priorities helps the Board focus on where the seven 35 of them want to go as a Board. He said the list does have an impact on the legislators. He said 36 he is ok with going with six priority items, although he does not expect the OWASA bill to be 37 successful. 38 Commissioner Bedford said she supports the 6 priorities. She said it is important to add 39 mental health, due to the pandemic and MCO disengagement. She said there is bipartisan 40 effort to increase innovation waivers, and it is important to have this reconsidered as the waitlist 41 for services are growing. 42 Chair Price reviewed the final priority list to send to the delegation: broadband and 43 digital infrastructure, minimum wage increase to at least $15 an hour, full funding of Leandro 44 remedial action plan, racial equity and criminal justice, mental health item on page 2, and 45 OWASA (#28). She asked if evictions can be included. 46 The Board decided no. 47 Commissioner Dorosin he would still like to change the language on the voting items. 48 Chair Price asked him to do so. 49 Commissioner McKee asked if the Board agreed to send the list to the delegation prior 50 to the breakfast. 51 The Board agreed by consensus.