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9 <br /> 1 and recruitment tool. She said that she shared the amendments with department directors, and <br /> 2 it caused some concern. She said they have not had it for a few years. <br /> 3 Commissioner Fowler said that when weighing the recruitment and retention with county <br /> 4 staff versus school staff, she said they are giving 3% raises, disability insurance, and parental <br /> 5 leave. She said that these are things the schools are trying to provide and that they currently <br /> 6 have no parental leave and no disability leave. She said this is not completely cutting it but <br /> 7 cutting it in half. <br /> 8 Commissioner Bedford asked if ARPA funds could be used for travel and training. <br /> 9 Bonnie Hammersley said it could not be used for discretionary travel and training. <br /> 10 Chair Price said she is concerned. She said they are responsible for 1,000 people who <br /> 11 work for the county. She said she has received a lot of training over the years and that it <br /> 12 provides education, networking, and it improves morale. She said that going to conferences and <br /> 13 trainings, people get ideas that could be implemented at Orange County. She said that staff <br /> 14 across departments need to keep up with the times. She said she feels it is their job to focus on <br /> 15 retaining the county staff and treating them properly. <br /> 16 Commissioner Bedford said she supported the amendment because she thinks that the <br /> 17 travel requiring hotel stays will decrease. She said that they can look next year for increased <br /> 18 demand. She said that children not having teachers is more important. <br /> 19 Commissioner Greene said this is a good versus a good. She said she places trust and <br /> 20 value in the County Manager and department heads. She said that they will not be able to hire <br /> 21 many teachers with $250,000 split between two school districts. She said that the amount would <br /> 22 be distributed across departments here and will be used. She said that she does not support <br /> 23 the amendment. She said she has to ask if this gets them the right bang for the buck. She said <br /> 24 that she trusts management and department heads. She said they could review it next year and <br /> 25 decrease it if it is not all spent. She thinks it is an important benefit to attract and retain <br /> 26 employees. <br /> 27 Commissioner Richards said it has been a hard time for all employers. She said she <br /> 28 cannot say teachers versus county employees, and she does not want to give that perception to <br /> 29 the employees. She said that once you split $250k between two districts there is not the same <br /> 30 impact when comparing it to all county employee training. She said that she is inclined to go <br /> 31 with manager's recommendation. <br /> 32 Commissioner Bedford, Commissioner Hamilton, and Commissioner Fowler were in <br /> 33 favor of amendment 22-23OP-006 which would increase school funding by $250,000 and <br /> 34 reduce travel and training for all county departments by $250,000. Chair Price, Commissioner <br /> 35 Greene, Commissioner McKee, and Commissioner Richards were opposed. <br /> 36 <br /> 37 <br />