Orange County NC Website
35 <br /> 1 Lydian Altman asked if there is support for spreading departmental updates across the <br /> 2 year and a planning an in-service or training for the Board as Commissioner Bedford mentioned <br /> 3 before. <br /> 4 Commissioner Richards said she likes the idea of planning in-services. She said this <br /> 5 Board really wants full information, so that might be the answer, even if it isn't mandatory. She <br /> 6 said it could also be open to the public for those who want to learn more about county <br /> 7 departments and operations. <br /> 8 Commissioner Fowler said she would prefer this to be part of a work session instead of <br /> 9 staff wasting time and only one commissioner coming. <br /> 10 Lydian Altman said she's hearing support for this, but the Board can revisit spreading out <br /> 11 departmental updates at another time. She read from the breakout notes and asked how much <br /> 12 earlier the Board would like to receive agenda packets for adequate preparation. <br /> 13 Commissioner Hamilton said at least a couple of days earlier would be helpful. <br /> 14 Commissioner Richards said even if they couldn't get slides earlier, having background <br /> 15 information earlier would be helpful. <br /> 16 Chair Price said it would be great to agenda packets earlier, but she knows from staff <br /> 17 that there are a lot of pieces that come into play about how soon they are able to be sent out. <br /> 18 Lydian Altman said the culture of this Board is they like to be well-informed. <br /> 19 Commissioner Bedford said she was happy to push to get packets on Thursdays, but <br /> 20 she doesn't really look at them until Sunday night, so it wouldn't matter to her, but she is in <br /> 21 support if it would help others. <br /> 22 Commissioner Greene said the earlier the agenda gets to them, the more last minute <br /> 23 changes there may be from staff because things are happening in real time. <br /> 24 Commissioner Hamilton said knowing what happens at Chair/Vice-Chair agenda review <br /> 25 would give the rest of the Board a heads up about what they will see in the published agenda <br /> 26 packet. <br /> 27 Chair Price and Commissioner Bedford said that is doable, but she also added that there <br /> 28 are sometimes changes between when the Chair and Vice-Chair approve an agenda and <br /> 29 publication. <br /> 30 Commissioner Hamilton suggested that an online posting of petitions, resolutions, and <br /> 31 rolling calendar to help efficiently get information out. <br /> 32 Lydian Altman asked if this would be internal to the Board or publicly accessible also. <br /> 33 Commissioner Hamilton said it could be publically facing, but would be a tool for the <br /> 34 Board. <br /> 35 Chair Price said she thinks all of that can be done. <br /> 36 Commissioner Hamilton also suggested the Board limit time on non-decision making <br /> 37 issues like proclamations. Commissioner Hamilton said if they spend too much time on these <br /> 38 types of items at the beginning, they are not as fresh by the end of the meeting for decision- <br /> 39 making. She also suggested limiting the time for speakers on these items to two minutes. <br /> 40 Commissioner Bedford said Chapel Hill really limits their proclamations now if there isn't <br /> 41 someone present to receive it. She agreed the agenda needs to be tightened up. She said she <br /> 42 also doesn't think they need to do all of the proclamations they do for special days. <br /> 43 Chair Price said she has concerns about tightening it too much because the Board <br /> 44 represents the community and if the community wants to request a proclamation, the Board <br /> 45 should respond to them appropriately. She said she thinks the Board should be accommodating <br /> 46 if it's important to someone in the community. <br /> 47 Lydian Altman said she thinks there is a way to honor that sentiment, but still streamline <br /> 48 the process. <br /> 49 Commissioner Richards said limiting comment on these items, or having a <br /> 50 Commissioner use their comment period for the item if they are sponsoring it are other ideas for <br /> 51 streamlining. <br />