Agenda - 03-18-2025; 8-a - Minutes

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13 1 2. History and Status of Contracted Services (Permitting, Fire Marshal, Tax Collection) 2 3 The Town of Hillsborough (Town) and Orange County (County) have historically worked together 4 in a number of service areas to provide cooperative services to residents of the Town. By 5 contracting with the Town to provide certain services, the County is able to take advantage of 6 certain economies of scale to deliver the services at an overall lower cost to residents. The 7 purpose of this item is to remind both boards of the various contractual arrangements between 8 the Town and County, raise awareness of future renewal timelines, and provide a forum to discuss 9 the sufficiency of current contracts and other options for future collaboration. 10 11 The attached "Matrix of Town/County Agreements" includes a summary of the existing 12 agreements and copies of the current agreements associated with: Fire Marshal services, Animal 13 Control, Stormwater Fee billing & collections, Building Permits & Inspections, Solid Waste & 14 Recycling and Erosion Control. In addition to those agreements, the County has long provided 15 property tax billing and collection services on behalf of the Town. Finally, in 2022 the Town 16 repealed its Minimum Housing Code and authorized Orange County to enforce the County's 17 minimum housing standards within Town limits, but there is no specific contract for those services. 18 North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 160D-202(f) allows for the County to perform this service 19 upon the request of the Town, so no formal agreement may be required. 20 21 The Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary, and staff will be available at the 22 meeting. 23 24 Matt Efird, Assistant Town Manager, reviewed the following chart: 25 Tn of H0511oroupjs-Or-ge County Contraciea Senices Servlee P-waded Ftf c Jive Date Crit Term EndR.Mainft Re (,pn,ce saridf F,re Mat Oal Sena ces 7!12621 613012026 35•yea r terms remaining 589,200 plus county retention of lees 1-S20.M Ani mal Control 7/902024 6130!2025 Annual renewal M.272 Stoimwater Fee Biqjing S Collepliun 7112016 630+202$ 'Upon Millen agieement of the Parlies" 3%of co0evwris-522.500 m FY24 Building Permits Inspections 5±512015 1213112026 15•ear term remainln,Extended 12/31116 and 1213123 C�nty fel al ns permit fees Emsmn Conrml 301F12012 WA Vntil town petgions...-for its own"4Pcal Program" bounty reialns Permit fees Mmimum Housing Cou 3 010120 2 2 _ N.+A WA N1n•no mitten,? eement adopted 26 Solid Waste&Recycling 12/302018 NIA In effect unlit terminated by mitten agreement County retains Solid Waste Programs fee,Toern pays upping lie for lanmm use 27 28 Matt Efird said that the town repealed its Minimum Housing Code in 2022 with the thought 29 that Orange County would take over that service. He said there has not been any formal 30 agreement between the town and county to do so. He said that the authorization is in state statute 31 for the county to take over the service, so now administration needs to work out how those 32 services will be provided. He said that the town has a code enforcement contractor, and some 33 elements of minimum housing code will be introduced to town board to consider for enforcement. 34 Mayor Bell asked about fees that may need to increase depending on the scope of the 35 services. He asked if those fees are reviewed annually. He asked how potential changes to 36 scope are handled. 37 Matt Efird said the cost varies by contract but the one that has the most cost to the town 38 is the fire marshal service. He said there is a provision in the agreement for an annual review of 39 the cost. He said there is an ongoing check on cost escalation, and they know what to expect. 40 He said fees are the other way the county recovers costs. He said the county sets fees for the 41 services that they administer. He said that the county recovers the cost of those services. He said 42 each contract allows for review and adjustment. 43 Kathleen Ferguson asked for clarification on non-recurring vehicle expenses. 44 Matt Efird said part of it was start up costs, but after those one-time costs they were putting 45 away funds each year so there was not another huge bump in the contract.