THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
DURHAM, NORTH
CAROLINA
Monday, June 6, 2005
9:00 A.M. Regular Worksession and Budget Worksession
AGENDA
1. Citizen
Comments 10
min.
2.
Mr. Ralph McKinney Jr. has requested time on the agenda to speak to the Commissioners about various issues.
2. 2004
Annual Report of the Durham
Open Space and Trails Commission
15
min.
The DOST
Commission advises the Board of Commissioners
and the City Council on issues related to preservation of valuable open space,
as well as the development of trails facilities for pedestrians and
bicycles. The 2004 Annual Report
summarizes the activities of the Durham Open Space and Trails (DOST) Commission and is provided in conformance with
the Interlocal Cooperative Agreement.
Resource Person(s): Tom Stark, Chairman, Durham Open Space and
Trails Commission, and Frank Duke, Director, Planning Department
County Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
Board receive the presentation by the Durham Open Space and Trails Commission
and receive the Annual Report for 2004.
3. Report
from the Women’s Commission
15
min.
The Durham
County Women’s Commission has
requested to present a report to the Board on the Commission.
For
several months, the Durham County
Women’s Commission has made an intense effort to reorganize the commission in
order to fulfill the mission for which it was established. Thus far, the bylaws that govern the body
have been amended; it has engaged with the City of Durham and other community
agencies to present a domestic violence forum (November) and vigil (December);
and it is currently updating the DCWC website and
planning a Fall Women’s forum. The
Women’s Commission has continued to monitor its roster and make what it
believes to be appropriate decisions in order to maintain a viable body based
on those bylaws.
Presently,
there are nine official members – 7 African-American, 1 Caucasian, and 1 Other representative.
There are currently four openings for additional members, which
desperately need to be filled. The
Commission requests that all future members be chosen so that the entire Durham community of women
is represented.
County Manager’s
Recommendation:
The County
Manager recommends that
the Board receive the report and give directives, if deemed appropriate.
4. Tax Office Website—Use of Digital
Home Images
25
min.
The Tax Office is working with the
current software vendor to develop a website that will more thoroughly meet the
needs of Durham’s
citizens, businesses, and others. There
are currently almost 80,000 digital images (pictures) of improved properties in
Durham County. At this time, they are not a part of the Tax
Office’s website. The Tax Administrator
would like to provide further detail to the Board, discuss various options, and
obtain input regarding making these pictures available to the public on the
website.
5. Document
Management/Imaging Vendor Contract
30
min.
The
Department of Social Services is recommending OneSource
be awarded the contract for the Document Management/Imaging project. The Department, in partnership with the IT
and Purchasing Departments, has undergone an extensive process to determine countywide
requirements for this pilot and has conducted an extensive review of responses
to the RFP. Responses were received from
15 vendors. The review process included
onsite demonstrations and site visits to NC agencies using the proposed
applications in New Hanover, Randolph, and Johnston Counties, as well as extensive telephone
reference checks.
This project will improve the way
DSS manages and stores client records, will result in major space efficiencies
planned in the new Human Services Complex, and improve customer service. The project includes offsite storage and
technology so records can be viewed on computer screens. Because the project is designed to improve the
document management process, in addition
to scanning documents, it includes: electronic signatures on forms, on-line and
interactive forms, automatic routing of forms to a supervisor or other
designated persons for review and/or approval, scanning documents from clients
and providers, importing electronic documents from clients and providers, and
storing commonly used documents in a common area such as driver’s
license/picture id, birth certificate. Families will be able to share
information one time with our agency; the agency will save significantly
on the purchase of paper, file folders, and file cabinets, and the County will realize $3.5 million savings in the
required square footage in the new Human Services Complex with 20,000 square
feet less than DSS currently occupies.
The total cost is for an amount not to
exceed $647,741.17. The OneSource software acquisition and implementation totals an
amount not to exceed $506,153. Hardware
acquisition and implementation totals $141,608.71, of which $84,365.71 will be
purchased from existing state contracts.
Funding for this project totaling $500,000 was approved in the FY05 DSS Budget. An
additional $125,000 is budgeted in FY06 and remaining
funding will come from expected savings in the DSS administrative budget from
reduced need to purchase file cabinets, paper, printer toner, and file
folders. DSS will receive approximately
50% in reimbursement from this project through indirect cost allocation; therefore,
the cost to the County will not
exceed $323,871. No additional County funding is
required.
6. South
Regional Library Update 35
min.
The Board is requested to receive a report on the status of
the South Regional Library planned for the former Lowes Grove School
property and provide direction to staff as to how to proceed with the project.
The Lowes Grove property was
purchased in May 2004 for development of the South Regional Library. The plan at the time of purchase was to
demolish the existing buildings and construct a prototype regional library on
the southern portion of the property. A
future EMS station site was located north of
the library with access to Alston
Avenue.
There were no plans for the remainder of the property. However, design has not begun on the library
project due to unresolved issues related to site utilization and disposition of
existing buildings.
The report, which includes several attachments, provides
background information related to this project along with the recommendations
of a committee that reviewed two redevelopment proposals.
Resource Person(s): Glen Whisler, P.E., County
Engineer; Philip Cherry,
Library Director
7. Presentation
on Restructuring the County’s Audit
Function 35
min.
On the heels of the 2004 Human
Resources Audit, an Audit Assessment Task Team was assembled from across the
State for the purpose of evaluating the audit process and to make
recommendations on completing the benefits audit. In addition, recommendations were made by the
Audit Assessment Task Team for restructuring the County’s
audit function. The two principal
recommendations that came from the Audit Assessment Task Team were as follows:
1. A benchmarking survey should be
performed to assess the appropriate size and structure of the Internal Audit
Department.
2. Internal Audit should report to the
highest level within the County
organization (i.e. the County Manager
and the Board of County Commissioners)
with consideration given to establishing an Audit Review Committee that can
serve as a third party in receiving/reviewing audit reports and addressing
unresolved issues related to the audit process.
It was also recommended that if the County
was to establish an Audit Review Committee that the structures and recommended
practices be utilized from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA).
The staff work has been completed
for each of these recommendations and the Board is being asked to approve the
following items:
1. Resolution Authorizing the
Establishment of the Audit Oversight Committee for Durham County Government.
2. By-laws that govern the Audit
Oversight Committee.
3. A new audit policy.
4. A new Audit Charter
Lunch
8. FY
2005-06 Budget Discussions 3
hrs.
The Board will hear presentations and discuss the following Human
Services Departments’ budgets:
- Public
Health
- Department
of Social Services
- Mental
Health
In
addition, the Board will discuss Medicaid issues.
County Manager’s
Recommendation:
The County
Manager recommends that
the Board hear the presentations and provide direction, if deemed appropriate.
