Orange County NC Website
27 <br /> 1 Bonnie Hammersley said yes. She said there does need to be a decision for the rest of <br /> 2 the year within the next couple of weeks because they will be out of money by the new year. She <br /> 3 said they knew going into this that it was not sustainable, but they were meeting the need of the <br /> 4 residents during the pandemic and the need continues. She said this program has not even had <br /> 5 a million in it prior to COVID. <br /> 6 Commissioner McKee said he has no issue figuring out what to do with it for this year. He <br /> 7 said that there is a limited amount of ARPA funds and when they are gone, they are gone. He <br /> 8 said it will fall back on the county to find other avenues of funding the program. He said the <br /> 9 applications are still climbing even though we are coming out of COVID, perhaps not due to the <br /> 10 effects of it. He said it is concerning to him that Chapel Hill residents are representing around half <br /> 11 of people receiving assistance, but Chapel Hill is not willing to provide funding. He said he does <br /> 12 not want to put the county in a position on having to back away from the program at a future point. <br /> 13 He said he would not want to back away from keeping people in their homes. <br /> 14 Commissioner Richards said in 2019, everyone came together and did a consolidated <br /> 15 program—before COVID. She asked what brought them together then. <br /> 16 Corey Root said the program was confusing for residents and services providers for <br /> 17 applications. <br /> 18 Commissioner Richards asked what the funding was total for all programs in 2019. <br /> 19 Bonnie Hammersley said the change was that it was moved to the county to administer. <br /> 20 She said she is assuming there is an expectation that the county will cover the increased needs. <br /> 21 Commissioner Richards asked if it is because it is being viewed as a safety net. <br /> 22 Bonnie Hammersley said probably. She said it is something that Orange County would <br /> 23 do. <br /> 24 Commissioner Richards asked if Option 3, at some level, would be in line with what was <br /> 25 available pre-COVID. <br /> 26 Corey Root said it would be much more generous. <br /> 27 Chair Price asked if Chapel Hill is going to do anything they were doing pre-COVID <br /> 28 regarding housing. <br /> 29 Corey Root said no. <br /> 30 Commissioner Greene said that COVID has turned the world upside down. She said the <br /> 31 need that was already there was made worse. She said that jobs that people can get are not <br /> 32 enough to pay the rent. She said she would like to be able to fund Option 1, but can't support <br /> 33 anything less than Option 2, because it at least reaches the 30% AMI. She said it is also only half <br /> 34 of the remaining ARPA money. She said she is very frustrated with Chapel Hill, but the Board <br /> 35 can't take it out on residents of the county. <br /> 36 Chair Price asked if they would use ARPA money this year, what will happen next fiscal <br /> 37 year. <br /> 38 Bonnie Hammersley said for this year, the remaining ARPA funding would be around what <br /> 39 is needed. <br /> 40 Chair Price said she is concerned with folks that are historically struggling and those who <br /> 41 are unable to transition to higher paid jobs. She asked if the jurisdictions are still working together <br /> 42 on CDBG. She said she would still think they would want to share in this. <br /> 43 Commissioner Bedford said she does not know what Chapel Hill is doing with their ARPA <br /> 44 money, so she does not want to judge yet. She said during COVID, a lot of people left cities and <br /> 45 came to Orange County, and that drove up rents. She said there are many other factors that drive <br /> 46 up housing costs as well. She said this money is supposed to bridge assistance through the <br /> 47 pandemic. She said she thinks the Board should move forward with Option 2, just in case other <br /> 48 emergency projects need funds. She said the manager will have time to look during budget <br /> 49 planning. <br /> 50 Bonnie Hammersley said spending is keeping on track with other years at this time. She <br /> 51 said they are looking for some one-time expenses related to foster care. <br />