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THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA Monday, May 5, 2003 9:00 A.M.
Worksession AGENDA 1. Citizen Comments—Community Project
Proposal (Use of Oakley Center) The
following citizens have requested time on the agenda to speak to the County
Commissioners regarding the community project being proposed (use of Oakley
Center) by the partnership of the community development organization from
Greater St. Paul Baptist Church and the Durham Community Home of Recovery: Police Chief Steven Chalmers Dr. William Hazel Height Roland Staton Melvin Whitley Carrissa Dixon Reginald Stephens Thomas B. Bass Jr. Dr. Lavonia Allison James W. Smith Regina George-Bowden Howard Clement III Sharon Lovette Laura Dixon Peter Baker 2. Citizen Comments—Domestic Partner Benefits The
following citizens have requested time on the agenda to speak to the County
Commissioners regarding domestic partner benefits: Attorney Matt Stiegler Mandy Carter Reverend Mary E. Grigolia Cynthia D. Brown 3. Report from El Centro Hispano on the
Community-Wide Human Resources Forum to Address the Health and Well-Being of
the Latino Population The Latino population in Durham has grown by 300 percent in
the last ten years. This is one of the
largest growths in the country. Durham
County is faced with the challenge to provide bilingual services to its
consumers. El Centro Hispano has been
working with a group of representatives from various health and human service
agencies (public and private) to increase the access and utilization of
healthcare services by the Latino community in Durham. On April 3,
2003, a forum was held at the Durham County Library to look at increasing the
health of Durham County residents.
Invited to the forum were: County Commissioners, members of the health and
human services agencies, professors and representatives from various
universities and technical schools, and community members. Small group discussions were held to look at
strategies and ideas for increasing the capacity of these agencies to serve the
Latino community.
This presentation
will: ·
summarize the forum; ·
summarize any changes that have
taken place to date; ·
summarize the future plans for these
actions of the group that worked to put together the forum; and ·
ask for support from the County
Commissioners on working together to achieve these objectives for the
community. Resource
Person(s): Leslie deRosset, Program Coordinator, El Centro Hispano;
Ivan Parra, Executive Director for the Latino Community Development Center; and
Angelina Schiavone, Executive Director for El Centro Hispano County
Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that
the Board receive the presentation. 4. Renewal of Workforce Investment Act
Interlocal Agreement The 1998
Workforce Investment Act requires the establishment of a designated local
workforce investment area and a local board to administer the workforce
development funds from the Department of Labor. Historically, the City of Durham and Durham County have jointly
appointed members of this board, and the City has been responsible for
overseeing the administration of funding. The City of
Durham and Durham County have drafted an updated interlocal agreement to serve
as a designated local workforce investment area, to establish a local workforce
investment board, and to administer the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. This
local board is known as the Greater Durham Workforce Development Board and
oversees programs under the Workforce Investment Act, expenditure of
Welfare-to-Work grant funds, North Carolina Employment and Training grants, and
other programs that may be referred to the Board for implementation by the City
and County. This
Interlocal Agreement has been reviewed by the County Attorney’s Office, the
County Manager’s Office, and the Department of Social Services. The Durham City Council approved this
Interlocal Agreement at its April 21, 2003 meeting. Resource
Person(s): Alan DeLisle, Director of the City of Durham’s Office of
Economic and Employment Development; Steve Smith, Chair of the Greater Durham
Workforce Development Board; and Dan Hudgins, Director of the Department of
Social Services County
Manager’s Recommendation: Review the interlocal agreement and
provide direction to staff. Place this
item on the May 12, 2003 Regular Session consent agenda for approval. 5. Farmland Protection Board Revised
Ordinance and Update The Board of
County Commissioners created the Durham County Farmland Protection Board in May
1996. The advisory board oversees
farmland protection efforts in Durham County.
The revisions to the Durham County Farmland Protection Program Ordinance
offer several changes to the existing ordinance intended to improve the
operations of the program and the effectiveness of the board. The revisions have been prepared over the
past year in a joint effort between Farmland board members, the County
Attorney’s office, and Open Space program staff. Resource
Person(s): Wayne Cash, Chair, Durham County Farmland Protection
Board, and Lowell Siler, Deputy County Attorney County
Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that
the Board consider the proposed changes and place the item on the Board of
Commissioners’ May 27, 2003 Regular Session consent agenda. 6. City-County Planning Commission Annual Report The City-County Planning Commission
is required to submit an annual report to the elected leaders. The 2002 Annual Report fulfills that
requirement. The Planning Commission
and the Joint City County Planning Committee reviewed the report. The Planning Department recommends
that the Board receive the report and hear a brief presentation by a commission
representative. Resource Person(s): Frank
Duke, Director of City/County Planning County
Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager’s recommendation is
that the Board receive the report and provide the Commission with any feedback
deemed appropriate. 7. Application of the Discovery Penalty
on Real Property This item is
presented to discuss the application of the discovery penalty on real property. North
Carolina General Statute 105-303(b) establishes the opportunity for a county to
be a permanent listing county. Durham
County is a permanent listing county and thereby the assessor is “responsible
for listing all real property on the abstracts and tax records each year in the
name of the owner of record as of the day as of which property is to be listed"
[NCGS 105-303(b)(1)]. This is a huge
responsibility—one that takes many control measures to ensure that all work is
done correctly. However, inevitably
some parcels will “slip through the cracks" and an improvement may not be
listed until a year later and, in some cases, multiple years may go by. For the most part, the Tax Office relies on
the Building Inspections Department to give this office permits. From these permits are found the new
construction, remodels, and additions for both residential and commercial
properties. People do not typically
“knock down the doors" to notify this office that they built a new home or an
addition, but the statute in section (b)(2) states “such persons shall furnish
the assessor with the information concerning improvements on and separate
rights in real property." Thus they are
required to inform this office of new home construction, remodeling, additions,
or other changes to their real property.
The only time an individual or business is penalized is when the permit
is lost between our office and inspections. The Tax
Administrator historically has not penalized real property. The property for all applicable years has
been discovered, but the Tax Administrator has taken the stance that the
citizen notified the Tax office by applying for the required permit and not
charged the penalty. The Tax
Administrator would like to discuss this matter with the Board of County
Commissioners to determine how these matters will be handled in Durham County. Resource Person(s): Kenneth L.
Joyner, Tax Administrator County
Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager’s recommendation is
that the Board receive the report from the Tax Administrator. 8. Substantial Equivalency On March 3,
2003, Human Resources presented the Board of County Commissioners with
preliminary information regarding the application for Substantial Equivalency
in the area of Employee Relations (Discipline, Dismissal, Grievances, and
Appeals). The
attachment provides additional information resulting from further research and
conversations with the Office of State Personnel. Resource
Person(s): Jackye Knight and Elaine Hyman County Manager’s
Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board discuss this
item and provide Human Resources with further instructions. 9. Review of Budget Calendar The Manager
has organized the calendar for budget hearings consistent with the dates and
times approved by the Board. The
hearing dates are May 20 (1:00 p.m. - The Budget
Public Hearing is currently scheduled for June 9; however, since much of the
Board’s review will be concluded by that date, the Manager believes an earlier
date for a public hearing should be considered. Rescheduling the public hearing for the May 27, 2003 Board
meeting would provide sufficient time to appropriately notify the public
regarding the change of hearing date. Resource
Person(s): Mike Ruffin, County Manager, and Pam Meyer, Director of
Budget and Management Services County
Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager requests that
the Board review the calendar of hearing dates and appointments, and advise the
Manager if additional hearings with any other departments or agencies are
desired. Change the date for the budget
hearing from June 9 to May 27, 2003. |
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