Orange County NC Website
22 <br /> Coordinator, and the Housing Access Coordinator); the remaining positions and program <br /> funding is grant funded (pass through dollars from HUD and other sources). <br /> As the group's discussion ensured, it was revealed there were different understandings of how <br /> OCPEH functions. Bonnie Hammersley noted her understanding that OCPEH was independent <br /> of the County. For example, as County Manager, Bonnie Hammersley said she is in the same <br /> boat as other managers and hasn't seen the draft budget. Damon Seils, however, noted the <br /> Governance Charter did not delineate such independence and his understanding is that the <br /> Partnership is a coalition essentially administrating programs on behalf of the County. Margaret <br /> Hauth noted that OCPEH was modelled after the Visitor's Bureau and was meant to be <br /> independent. Loyrn Clark remembered that as well. They are OCPEH employees; an <br /> organization within an organization. Bonnie Hammersley made the point that employees of <br /> OCPEH couldn't be employees of four jurisdictions; none of the growth has been due to the <br /> work of County. <br /> Loryn Clark added OCPEH started with a Chapel Hill employee, then took on a different level. <br /> There has been a disconnect when programs started to grow. We've missed having the <br /> conversation, digging deeper into roles and responsibilities and who should do what. <br /> OCPEH moving into direct service work, beyond the coordination work serving as the <br /> Continuum of Care (CoC) is a major departure of what we've done. Corey Root noted that there <br /> has been an issue with finding service providers to do the direct service work identified in the <br /> Homeless System Gaps. At one point in 2017, OCPEH had funding in hand for a Street Outreach <br /> program and could not find a service provider partner to do this work. In 2020 when COVID <br /> funding became available again for Street Outreach it was jointly sponsored by Orange County <br /> Housing and Criminal Justice Resource Department. <br /> 3. Considering how to fund IFC cooperatively— MOU or another approach <br /> The group began the conversation about this item with a review of the current state of <br /> payments to IFC: <br /> - County pays IFC quarterly <br /> - Hillsborough hasn't committed yet; waiting on an audit <br /> - Chapel Hill pays quarterly. Currently is waiting for a report and then IFC can submit <br /> an invoice <br /> - Carrboro is waiting for a budget request <br /> Jenn Weaver noted that she feels conflicted about funding IFC. IFC fills an important role for the <br /> County, but it's hard to justify for Hillsborough. She isn't sure if it's the best use of <br /> Page 3 <br />