Minutes 05-19-2022 Business Meeting

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9 department received in FY 2019-2020. She said this was funded with attrition savings, or savings from having vacant positions. Commissioner Hamilton said she was thinking about how savings from attrition could be put elsewhere. She said she will be looking at the other needs in the county. Bonnie Hammersley said part of the focus of this budget was retention and recruitment, professional development, and growth for employees. She said it is a good investment in the workforce, which will be pushed due to the number of significant vacancies in the county. Travis Myren said the countywide cost to return travel and training to FY 2019-2020 levels was $500,000. Commissioner Richards asked if it means the full department request was recommended when the budget document indicates "none" under department requests the manager is not recommending. Travis Myren said yes. Commissioner Richards said that the Street Outreach, Harm Reduction, and Deflection program (SOHRAD) used ARPA funding for 21-22 and they got funding from the Chapel Hill Town Council. She asked how SOHRAD would be funded in this budget. Travis Myren said it will continue to be funded with ARPA funds and municipal support. Commissioner Richards asked why there is misunderstanding on what the county is going to do with SOHRAD. Travis Myren said those programs are being moved to the Partnership to End Homelessness model. He said the costs will get shared among the county and participating municipalities. He said that the increase for municipal funding is due to the model change for SOHRAD. Commissioner Richards asked if the county's funding for SOHRAD decreased in the budget. Travis Myren said the county's ARPA funds would decrease. Commissioner Richards asked what will happen if the towns do not buy into this model. Travis Myren said staff will have a backup plan and that those discussions will continue. Commissioner Bedford said the Partnership met and it was clear that the municipalities will not be funding it in the FY23 budget, however Chapel Hill and Carrboro are going through community ARPA sessions to decide how to use their ARPA funding. She said that the committee proposed writing a letter to the electeds about the proposal to support the work. She said that it will not be in Chapel Hill's FY23 adopted budget, but there will be the opportunity for a budget amendment, if supported. She said there will need to be more communication and a backup plan. She said Hillsborough only has $2 million in ARPA funds and a $61 million water and sewer project. She said they will not have additional dollars. Commissioner Richards said it seems like it was a successful program, and it is alarming that no one has it in their budgets. Bonnie Hammersley said it is in the county's budget and she is continuing to have conversations with the town managers who make recommendations to the elected boards. She said the managers know about SOHRAD and what the needs are. She said they are confident they will be able to figure it out. She said not by the time the budget is adopted, but a budget amendment may come later. Commissioner Bedford said procedurally, the Partnership will need to start in November so they can fully communicate about budgeting. Commissioner Greene said it is appropriate for the SOHRAD program to be shared by the municipalities, and hopefully the towns will agree. Commissioner Hamilton said she appreciates having SMART goals and would like to see more context. She said some of the graphs show percentages without beginning numbers, and it would be helpful to have the full picture.