THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
DURHAM, NORTH
CAROLINA
Monday, January 3, 2005
9:00 A.M. Worksession
AGENDA
1. Citizen
Comments
20
min.
The following citizens have
requested time on the agenda to speak to the Board about various issues:
1. Mr. Jack Steer
2. Mr. Mike Fishback
3. Mr. Ralph McKinney Jr.
4. Mr. Barker French
2. Report
on W. K. Kellogg Foundation
15
min.
Nearly two years ago, North Carolina Central
University and Duke University
received a substantial grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to improve the
academic achievement of low resource children in communities adjacent to the
two universities. Durham County
administrators and Social Services staff have been instrumental in
collaborating with other community entities to manage this endeavor. Dr. Beverly Washington Jones of North
Carolina Central University will provide the Board of County Commissioners with
an update on how the grants have played a key role in Durham’s efforts to close the achievement
gaps between low- and high-achievement students.
3. EMS
Salary Adjustment
15 min.
Emergency Medical Services was moved
from the Durham County Hospital Corporation to Durham County Government in July
1998. As the transfer needed to be
accomplished within a relatively short period, existing salary ranges were
incorporated into the County salary structure without equity comparison with
internal or external pay ranges, even though the existing ranges were not
competitive with surrounding agencies or internal departments. Since that time, benchmark comparisons have
indicated that the EMS department remains
significantly behind its competition in most salary categories, specifically the
technical classifications (EMT Intermediate and EMT Paramedic). Due to limited available funds, necessary
adjustments to these classifications have not been possible. Because of these inequities, EMS attrition rate remains high, and, to maintain service
levels and response times, overtime and Relief Staff expenses have continued to
rise. Annual vacancy rates have remained
in the 12-15 position range for the last several years. Attrition, although anticipated at some
level, is expensive. The first-year cost
for hiring, training, and equipping a new employee is $33,116.62. EMS has become a training ground for
employees to activate their North
Carolina certification, gain a short period of
experience, and then move to a neighboring community where the workload is
significantly less and the salary higher.
To compound the problem, Orange
County implemented a new countywide
salary structure in July 2004 that included significant range adjustments and
additional positions within its EMS
department. Currently, the starting
salary for Basic EMTs in Orange County is slightly higher than $27,000, which is the
same starting salary for Paramedics in Durham County. In addition, the starting salary for Orange
County Paramedics is $4,000 higher than in Durham.
The impact of these adjustments was immediate. Since July 2004, three Durham
County employees have been hired by Orange County
at the higher rates. Additionally,
existing salaries in the two technical categories in Durham have proven prohibitive in attracting
new, qualified applicants.
During the May 27, 2004 budget
worksession, this information was discussed with the Board. As of this date, a scheduled countywide
salary survey has not been completed, and vacancies within the EMS department continue to arise. As a result, the EMS Director has reviewed
the first five months’ expense budget activity and has identified available
funds to grant a 5% adjustment to affected job classes, effective January
2005. These available funds are the
result of less than anticipated expenses in several operating expense
categories and EMS’s ability to negotiate
lower prices in supply and equipment contracts.
In addition, funding for a communications system in the new Lincoln replacement
station will not be utilized this fiscal year due to construction delays. This request is for the Board to approve the
proposed adjustments for implementation in 12 pay periods at a cost of
$100,451.
4. 911
CIP Request
15
min.
County Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
Board receive the report and authorize a budget amendment for the capital
improvements that have been requested for the 2005 Fiscal Year.
5. Update on Results Based Accountability Initiative
15
min.
Results Based Accountability (RBA)
is an initiative to generate broad-based, positive, and accountable change within
both our government and our community.
RBA recognizes that no one entity, even one as large as County
government, can produce, on its own, substantial progress on any meaningful
outcome. Rather, it takes a community
engaged around priorities to affect change.
The County has been working with two national consultants who developed
a template for this process. RBA was
launched at the community-wide level by engaging citizens around priority
outcome areas and at the county government level through departmental
performance measures. In January 2003,
Commissioners were introduced to RBA and subsequently developed a preliminary
list of priorities in which to engage the community. After a fall retreat for Commissioners, the
County decided to collaborate with the City to gain broader participation and
support for this initiative. From this
partnership, the following shared priority outcomes were agreed upon for our
community:
1. Durham citizens are safe;
2. Durham enjoys a prosperous economy;
3. Durham citizens enjoy a healthy environment;
4. Durham's citizens enjoy a community that is
vibrant, rich in aesthetic beauty, and embraces and promotes its cultural
heritage;
5. Children are ready for and succeeding in
school;
6. Every citizen in Durham has access to
adequate, safe, and affordable housing;
7. Durham citizens are healthy; and
8. Durham citizens enjoy
sustainable, thriving neighborhoods with efficient and
well-maintained infrastructure.
These eight outcomes are the
structure of the community-wide RBA initiative, with committees formed to
develop indicators and strategies for making improvements in each specific
outcome area. The work products of each
of our outcome committees will feed into an annual Community Report Card to
inform the residents of Durham
of our efforts to make positive, accountable change.
Simultaneously, County Departments
were instructed to develop performance measurements for three to five of their
departmental programs. These performance
measurements were incorporated into the FY04-05 budget. County departments should be continuing to
track and monitor data for their programs in anticipation of reporting their
progress in the FY05-06 budget.
6. FY
2004 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Presentation (CAFR)
15 min.
7. Initial
Discussion of 2005 Legislative Agenda
45 min.
In preparation for the upcoming 2005
General Assembly Session that convenes in late January, staff has initiated the
legislative process by gathering ideas from County departments. In addition, staff has reviewed proposed
legislation from the City of Durham
with the goal of collaborating on issues of mutual interest. The County Commissioners
will be asked to share their legislative proposals with staff in this initial
discussion. Those items receiving
consensus will be researched and brought back to the Board in a subsequent
meeting for final approval of the 2005 Legislative Agenda.
County Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
Board discuss and direct staff regarding the 2005 Statewide Legislative Issues.
8. Policy
on Conveying Foreclosure Property to Nonprofit Corporations for the Development
of Affordable Housing
15
min.
The
County currently has approximately 75 parcels of property acquired through the
tax foreclosure process. These properties
are held for the benefit of all taxing units that have an interest in the
property (Liens). The majority of these
parcels are not marketable and the Liens exceed the value of the property. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 153A-378(3), the County is authorized to convey
property by private sale to any private entity that provides affordable housing
to persons of low or moderate income; therefore, the Policy has been drafted
which sets forth the procedures and standards for the conveyance of foreclosure
property. The Policy provides that an eligible
private entity must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that develops Affordable Owner-Occupied Housing. The term Affordable Owner-Occupied Housing is
defined as housing developed for home buyers with family incomes at or below
80% of the HUD published area median income for the Durham, North Carolina MSA.
The Policy requires that each
conveyance be made via Non-Warranty Deed with the condition that the property
be developed for Affordable Housing and sold within five years, with
construction beginning within three years.
If the condition is not met, all right, title, and interest to the
property will revert to the County. The property will be conveyed upon approval of the
Board at the purchase price of $10.00; at that time, all Liens on the property
will be deemed extinguished. Since all
liens are extinguished upon sale, it is recommended that the City of Durham be
made aware of the Policy and its potential affect on Liens held by the City on
these foreclosure properties.
9. Organizational
Issues
30
min.
The Board is requested to consider the
following items related to the internal operations of the Board of
Commissioners:
·
Board
of Commissioners Rules of Procedure
·
Public
Charge on Agenda
·
Code
of Ethics
·
Email
as a Public Record
10. Commissioner
Assignments to Boards and Commissions
10
min.
