Budget Work Session - Day Four

so much for joining us this Tuesday, June 2nd, for our fourth and potentially final budget work session for our 2026 27 budget cycle. Before we get into our agenda items, are there any adjustments to the agenda? Seeing none. Okay, then our first presentation today will be the library. And we have our library director. Uh, why does it say interum? Yeah, Dana. But I was like, oh, there you go. I was reading the APS. I was like, Stacy Bluth. [laughter]

Bye.

I'm not Stacy.

There you go. Oh, thank you. All right. Good morning, um, vice chair, alum, uh, commissioners, uh, county manager. Thank you so much for, uh, allowing me to speak with you this morning. Um, I wanted to share with you an overview of the Durham County Library System, where we are, um, the work that's happening right now, and how we're preparing for the future. Um, I have been your library director since January. Um, and I spend a lot of time learning and talking and listening. Um, and I'm really proud of the work that my staff here do every day. Um, and I hope that this presentation gives you a clear picture of what our strengths are and the direction we are moving forward. I don't have a problem if you want to ask me questions in the middle or we can wait till the end. Whatever um, is your pleasure maybe. There we go. Um, I always like to begin any presentation reminding everyone why the library is here. Um, our mission is to encourage diversity, connect the community, and lead in literacy. Our vision is inspiring lives and transforming Durham. Our mission and our vision guide everything that we do to expand access, reduce barriers, and empower lifelong learners. When discovery and literacy are at the center, our community becomes more resilient and more connected.

Just as a reminder, um we do have a very full and vibrant countywide system. We have the main library and four regionals, north, east, south, and southwest. Um and two branches, Stanford, El Warren, and Bragtown. Our reach extends far beyond our buildings through community engagement services, including our bookmobile. Together, these locations and services help us meet people where they are. Right now we have about 700,000 people visiting our libraries annually and 61% of our residents are card holders. Um wanted to just break down what we do every day. Um one of our main things that we do is programming, outreach and engagement. We offer an expansive range of programs and outreach services that include programming for children, for teens, for adults. We have small business services, maker and steam activities, mobile services like the bookmobile, and we also provide Spanish speaking services, family literacy support, humanities programming, Oasis services for older adults and shutins, um accessibility services, and strong community partnerships. The breadth ensures that we're reaching as many community members as possible. Just to to give you a little baseline of where we are, we offer about 7 thou 7,000 programs annually for about 160,000 people. Some of our biggest programs include our annual summer reading program which starts um on June 15th and runs through August 8th. Um and we just completed Library Fest in April of this year. Um the heart of the library of course is our collections. Um, we offer print and digital books, music, movies, audiobooks, a wide variety of subscription databases, and online learning resources. Behind the scenes, our staff work carefully to select, maintain, and preserve materials that reflect the needs and interest of Durham's diverse community. Two standout areas in our North Carolina collection are two standout areas are North

Carolina collection and the Selena Warren Wheeler collection at the Sanford Warren branch. both preserve vital pieces of local history and culture. Our staff are also available to help customers find their next read, whether it's through a display or by offering a reader advisory conversation. Much of the work that keeps our collection strong happens behind the scenes. Staff handle the selection and acquisition, cataloging, processing, ongoing evaluation, digital collection management, and inter library loan of every material that we have. These efforts ensure that our materials are current, accessible, and easy for our customers to discover, whether they're searching online or browsing shelves. Right now, we have about 600,000 physical items in our locations. I mean, we circulate 3.5 million items every year, and about a third of that is digital. We also have library operations, and that's where the heart of um things happen to keep the library um happening. We have our frontline staff at each location. Um but we have functions like HR and facilities, IT, budget, finance, administration, marketing, more all those things behind the scenes. Um we have a lot of building maintenance and technology to support um the strategic planning and the digital the data an the data analysis. Um these teams keep consistent, welcoming and effective services across the locations. Um, professional development is one of those things that's very important to me and a key component of what we do behind the scenes is to keep our staff up to date. Technology access is our last area of um, focus for the library. Um, we're one of the few places where anyone can access free technology. We offer public computers, productivity tools, Wi-Fi, circulating hotspots. We support digital literacy through technology training, maintain the website and the online catalog. We provide maker space and steam opportunities for all ages. Um, a major priority for us is bridging

bridging the digital divide, ensuring that all community members have the tools and the skills they need to thrive in the digital world. Um, annually we help about 55,000 people with their technology needs. Um, looking ahead to where we're going, um, we have a very strong library system, but we want to keep growing and improving. Very soon, we'll begin our comprehensive strategic plan process for the library. We'll be collecting input for stakeholders across the the community. We want to understand what our residents want and the need um what they want and need from their public library. It'll help us guide our priorities and help us map a clear and intentional path forward. Um, adjacent to that, one of the things that we're hoping to do in the very near future as our master facility plan so that we can look at our library system as a whole and determine is it meeting the needs of the community? Do we need additional facilities um in the future? Um, and what are those needs? Um, while we're working on a strategic plan, we're also strengthening what we do each and every day. Um, we want to make sure that we're reviewing all of our policies, our procedures, our practices to make sure we're consistent across the system, that we're efficient, um, and we're effective. We're working to make sure that we can measure outcomes more effectively. We want to be able to capture those stories of impact of how the library, um, improves the lives of our community. And then we also want to continually um, evaluate all that we do so that we can improve um, every every time. And then finally, we're doing a lot of investing in our staff. Um they're our greatest asset as you all know. Um we offer opportunities for the community to keep update to for the community to keep up to date with the rapidly changing world, which means our staff have to be ahead of that. Um and I'm committed to ongoing professional development and continuous learning for our staff. We want our team to be agile, prepared, confident as new challenges and opportunities arrive. The investment in staff not only strengthens our internal capacity, it directly improves the

experience for our customers. And finally, one of the things that um I want to make sure that we're focusing on is shaping the culture, our organizational culture in the library. We want to have a strong and positive organizational culture, one that's rooted in curiosity, intentionality, and respect. Um positivity. We want to make sure that we're having an impact um on our community, a good impact. um we're continually improving and that we have focus so we know where we're going. I'm working hard to build our capacity to tell our story, to share the tremendous impact the library has on individuals and to share and and on the community as a whole. Um in closing, um we have a strong foundation and an extraordinary team. We already provide tremendous value to the community, but we have the opportunity to become even stronger. I'm excited for where we're going. Um, and I'm grateful to be a part of it and um, I'm happy to take any questions that you have about the library.

Thank you, Director Dana. Uh, I appreciate you joining us. I know I put in the request to have our library presentation very last minute. So, thank you so much for coming here and putting together a presentation and all the work that you've been doing uh, across the library.

That's five months.

Yeah, five months are starting in June. Maybe maybe at the end of the week it'll be five months.

Well, I had some questions, but I'll bring it to the board. Commissioner Burton.

Thank you so much, Vice Chair Alam. Um, thank you for the presentation. The library is very near and dear to my heart. Um, when I first came to Durham many, many, many years ago, I worked at the Durham County Library and I worked there for about nine years.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. I was a um floater sub substitute and it was you know I would come in on the weekend when someone was out fill in that kind of thing. So anyway, um one of the things I had a question about is um I wonder how like students from DPS

are they able to access the library using their um power school number? I forget how we did it. It was the NC Slam thing like Yeah. I see I'm losing my memory already.

Absolutely. So the program is called SLAM. Um and it's uh I believe students um achieving literacy. Oh, I have to work on that. But the students are able to use their their library ID to uh or their their power school ID to use library resources. Um they can use them online as well as come in the library and check materials out. So, are you all keeping like data on that about how many um students from DPS are accessing the library through their power school number? Um I know with me when I was in the schools as a media coordinator, that was some of the challenge that I had was trying to get kids to say, "Hey, this is a resource for you that you don't have to go into the library and get a physical card. You can use it accessing your power school number." So, I was wondering if you all were keeping data around that.

We do have data around that. Um, I will say that theou that we have with Durham public schools was created in 2018 and probably needs to be revisited so that we can make sure that we're strengthening that partnership. um we need to be more intentional about the way that we go into the schools and talk with um the media coordinators and the teachers um to go to curriculum nights and things like that so we can make sure that students, teachers, um media specialists are aware of of the opportunity um with everything else that goes on in school. Sometimes things like that get lost. Um and we need to do a better job of being more intentional about going in. But we do have data and we do track that data. I don't have any of that data with me today, but

and the reason I asked that is because we want to make sure like the digital

divide

and we're trying to make sure kids are successful in their academics and I know it's a great resource. The library is such a huge resource, especially with all the digital um materials that they have access to and just trying to make sure that families know about it, they know about it, and we're getting the word out um because we don't want any child to not have access. So, um and you know, just let us know. You know, I'm the liazison to the board, and if you need me to assist, I'll be more than happy to do that. Um because we just want to make sure our young people have access to the Durham County Library.

Absolutely. Because it's so important to be able to do proper research and not just Google or chat GPT something to know whether the information that they're getting is accurate. Um so yeah, that's definitely why why they need to have that access.

Absolutely.

Say Commissioner Valentine then Commissioner Jacobs.

Vice Chair. Thank you. Uh Director Connors, welcome to Durham County. Thank you.

I've actually been down to your office uh once or twice, but they told me to to make an appointment. Just don't show up.

I'm out and about a lot. [laughter]

And I'm happy to report that they actually put me to work while I was there. So,

it was fun. Um also want you to know that you're at the steering wheels of absolutely the number one gem in our community.

Absolutely.

A lot of people are excited about you being here. Um mentioned 61% of our residents are card holders. I want you to know that I happen to be one and so is the rest of my family. Two questions that I have for you. Uh one is are there any maintenance needs that you identified that we might not know about and second uh you had mentioned the culture in your presentation. Maybe you can share a little about uh your understanding of the culture there at the library.

Sure. Um so maintenance needs we do have included in the uh manager's recommended

budget of around $400,000 um as part of a capital fund for maintenance in our libraries specifically in our regional libraries. Our four regional libraries are about 20 years old. Um and they're starting to share show some wear and tear. Um carpet needs to be replaced. There's a lot of furniture that needs to be replaced. Just a lot of that, you know, 20-year-old building maintenance. Um, General Services takes care of HVAC and roofs and things like that, but it's it's the stuff that our customers interact with on a daily basis that that needs maintenance. So, that $400,000 will go a long way toward um making those improvements and making the libraries um feel as welcoming as we want them to be.

Um,

so that question was uh you know, people talked to me.

Yes,

you can imagine, right?

Of course. And so aside from what was in the proposed budget, don't, you know, people are always saying, you know, can you take a look at that? Hey, come take a walk with me. Look, look at this.

And so, uh, just keep your your your your ears wide open.

Yes.

Right. About those maintenant needs because I I'll be checking.

I'll be checking all around the county. So, tell me about the culture.

So, the culture is great. Um, I've spent a lot of time speaking to our staff. I've spoken to uh about 70 of our staff. one-on-one. I set up opportunities for anyone who wanted to speak to me to speak to me. Um, and what I learned about our library is that our staff are very passionate. They are very proud of the work they do, the programs they offer. Um, they um are are um excited to to serve our community. Um, there's some anxiety among staff sometimes about spending long hours working on the desk uh with direct public um service. And it's it's making sure that our staff are well trained and that they have the supports that they need to be able to do that because that's really what we're here for is to to serve our community. Um and um in that frontward p facing public service. Um overall I think our

our um our culture is good. I know that for a year and a half without a permanent library director things kind of drifted away. So right now I'm working to make sure that we're all on the same page and moving forward at the at the same rate. um talking to a lot of people um offering that transparency that they all wanted um and the communication that everyone has asked me for um so I think we have a good culture with any organization's culture it becomes what it is unless you shape it so that's why I want to make sure that we're shaping that culture to be one of curiosity and focus um and positivity and respect um I'm not saying we don't have that culture I'm saying I just want to make sure that that that's where when when I'm talking to our staff that they're hearing it from me that that that's what um I want to see, but it takes all of us working together to get it there.

Well, Director Connors, I am excited uh for you and with you. And let me end by saying that even in a digital world, I prefer hardbound book. So, thank you.

Thank you,

Commissioner Jacobs. Before you go, manager,

I just wanted to make one comment. Um, Miss Connors, Director Connors talked about the repair renovations for the library and Keith and I just conferred. Uh, there is a desire to update the strategic um the, uh, master facilities plan and we'll bring that item to the board in July. Um, we will have lots of capital conversations um, in the summer and fall as we try to adopt and update our CIP plan. We have lots of opportunity, more than dollars, but so we we want to make sure that we have the sufficient time and updated information in many spaces, but this is a high priority and an area that most of our residents use. And so we want to

protect our gym.

Appreciate that.

Happy to hear it.

Thank you so much uh Director Connors for really all that you have accomplished in a very short time. Um, we have received very few emails complaining and that is I I would say is it is indicative because for several years we have been getting a lot of complaints about many different things and the fact that it's been virtually quiet especially from employees is really incredible. So, um, you are working wonders. Um, and, um, yeah, as Commissioner Balentine said, the our library system is the heart of our community. It's really, I believe, one of the institutions that is central for our democracy

in so many ways, especially now, um, and is a a real equalizer in our society. Um, so I was wondering I I have a several questions because you come to the system with experience in a lot of different places. Um, maybe you're not ready to share this yet, but I'm really I'll be really interested to hear kind of where you think the opportunities are for Durham County Library. um or where do you you know things that you've that you've done other places or that are kind of happening nationally best practices like just I don't know if you and and it's fine if you're not ready to discuss it yet but I'm really interested to hear about that.

Sure I can I can share a few things um as I've mentioned we we do need a strategic plan um because it's not it's not where I want the library to go it's where our our community wants the library to go and all of our stakeholders. So, as we create our

strategic plan, we'll be talking with with the community to make sure we understand where where they want us to go. Um, I could make decisions all day long, but um I want them to be the right decisions for Durham County, but there are things that we're working on right now that are important. Um um as I mentioned, programming is one of the things that we do really well. Um we don't have someone in our organization who oversees programming, who is who is the go-to person for programming. Um, and we have a position right now that's with our HR department being reclassified to become a program and events um, coordinator. Um, I'm not sure what the exact title will be. so that they can oversee all of our programming, make sure that we are um not duplicating effort, that we're focused um and that people have a place to go when they have questions about programs or about creating contracts for um speakers or whatever that may be because we don't have that central place right now. And so things are a little more um scattered. Um and so that's one of the things that I'm working on right now. Um otherwise um just a lot of of as I mentioned some things just to shore up to make sure our policies and procedures are where we need them to be. Um so that we are ready when that strategic plan is launched to know where we want to go and how we're going to get there. Um we need a really strong foundation to be able to do that. There are some other things I will tell you. You have asked about our techmobile. Um, and our techmobile, we received that in 2017 2018. Um, and my understanding of that is that it's been problematic since the day we got it because of a couple of different reasons. One, it requires a commercial driver's license to drive. Um, the other thing is it takes up, I think, eight parking spaces and it has to be on a very flat surface to be able to um, be used. The technology is a little aging. it hasn't actually been out of our our garage since um April of last year, not this

April, but April of last year. So, um we're we're looking at um possibly sending it. It's on its way, but thinking about how can we provide technology in different ways. And one of the things that that um I've been thinking about is with our Braggtown Library is the possibility of putting a a a 24-hour library in the parking lot. And what a 24-hour library is is it's a large vending machine about the size of a small trailer. Has 250 books on a rotation. Um you can pick up your holds there. You can return materials there. It operates as a hot spot. And then using our Braggtown library as um a place for for meetings, for programs, for technology um so that we can utilize that space um in a little bit more uh in a way that the community is asking for. We don't have a lot of program space in there right now. And um I think that's the biggest need at Braggtown. That's just an idea. That doesn't mean it's going to happen.

That sounds really That sounds really really cool. I love it. Um so when you talked about um 60 61% of residents having library cards. Um what is the benchmark for for that nationally percentage of a community?

Um it it depends on on each community. um we are required by um federal um guidelines to purge anybody out of our system who hasn't used our library in three years. So all 61% of those people have used our library within the last three years. Um benchmarks range anywhere from there communities that have 30% of their population who have library cards to 75 or 80%. Um I think that we are are above 50% and and doing really well. Um and um I don't know that there's a a national benchmark for that unless someone else knows that information.

I think it would be interesting to dig into that further. It's in the future

especially when we look at census data and demographics just to make sure that there aren't disparities around that. And also, you know, um I this again this is more for the future, but when we look at literacy and that's one of the missions, right? And we and I'm glad you talked about updating theou with DPS and I didn't even know about the SLAM program. So, that's really awesome.

But, you know, the reality is that um right now I think our third grade literacy um rate or reading scores are 41%. Mhm.

And we know how key that

that data point is. And so just thinking about what are ways that we, you know, the library can help be a part of that

partnership with Durham public schools and our entire community around moving the needle on literacy. And I know other library systems have also been very engaged with FAFSA applications and tutoring after school. Um and then you know of course the main library you're you're also dealing with unhoused residents. So a lot of social issues end up in your lap as well.

Absolutely. And um so I just again I'm not asking for answers but I just wanted to raise that and also what you know in the future your ideas about kind of the nexus there with urban ministries and ways that we can um because I know some libraries have social workers

um in in the libraries to help with that and especially as we implement our strategic framework work around ending functional homelessness. So again, I don't expect anything. I just I just wanted to um raise that. And you know, yesterday we were at the jail.

They they just had a big flood in their library and are really depleted on books, you know, so like

our our staff are meeting with them today to talk about.

Oh, fantastic. Okay. Awesome. Um my last question is um related to the staffing and I know um there have been a lot of issues around getting Sunday hours going. Do you feel like it will be possible in the future to be fully open on Sunday the way we were before CO?

Sure. We we we we can do that in the future. it will require additional staffing for us to be able to do that, but um I think that there's a a community demand for that.

Yeah, I would just say that to our board that hopefully we can look at that over the coming year in preparation for next year's budget because that is one issue that I'm still hearing about. Um because there are a lot of people that Sundays really are the only day they can get to the library because they're working um during the week. So, I think um again from an equity perspective, I think that's something that our board should

absolutely

try to tackle in partnership with you. Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Thank you. And I know Chair Lee is back, so I'll um just provide my questions and pass it back to him. Um, one of the reasons, you know, I wanted the to have this presentation with you is because, yeah, as everyone has mentioned in the past like almost five months that you've been here, there's been a significant amount of improvements. Um, and just the way that, you know, not just our patrons who are coming to the library, but our staff within the libraries have been feeling. And I wanted to give a moment for you to be able to highlight some of the efforts that you've put in to um lifting up our team because as Commissioner Jacobs mentioned, we have been getting a lot less emails [laughter] and also from just like one-on-one personal conversations with library

staff that like I've developed relationships with over the years, hearing from them how much less stressed they're feeling, um how they, you know, are happier to come into work because they love their jobs. Um, but you know, at sometimes there's been like difficulty, but now they're like, I feel like I'm being seen. I feel like I'm being heard. And really appreciate you coming in and taking that time and effort to have those one-on-one conversations and opening up your office to really learn from the team before just I know a lot of new leaders come in and they're just like, "This is how I'm going to do it. Just hear the changes." But you took the time to actually hear from everyone first. So wanted to give you a praise for that. I wanted to also add in questions along Commissioner Valentine's um point around the maintenance and facilities pieces. Wondering like on technology within the library since it's like so vital. Wondering because I know in the past there's been uh issues where they to like sometimes the 3D printers are down and like we don't have the funding to you know repair those machines. wondering do you have has all and like the recording booths in the libraries haven't been able to be have be maintained or like fixed and stuff. Do you feel like you have been able to get the resources to fix all those re?

So short answer is yes. Um we have a great partnership with um county isntt. Um they've been working very hard to replace all of our public access computers over the last month which has been really helpful. They've also been working to improve a lot of the AV um that we have in the main library for meeting rooms and things like that. They're also working on the recording studio. Um we've leveraged some funds that we have from the the friends of the library and the library foundation to replace all of our um 3D printers. Um and so we have a great new set of 3D printers that print at an extraordinarily much faster rate and um

um also reliance than than the last set have. So there's always opportunities for us to improve our IT because it changes almost constantly. Um but we've made a lot of strides since I've been here. Um we have um really been working hard with um IS&T. Um our IS&T manager who serves the library also attends all of my um administrative leadership team meetings um so that he's aware of what our issues are and he can report back to us on on what's going on with technology. So, I think we're in a good place now. Um, as we move forward, as things change, things are changing every single day with technology. There will probably be opportunities for us to move faster with things, but right now, um, we're in a we're in a really great place.

That's really good, dear, because I know over the past five years I've been on the board, um, we've been hearing a lot from folks like, "This doesn't work. This doesn't work." Um, so to hear that, you know, we're really getting into u making those repairs. Thank you for that. I also wanted to ask um something else that we hear quite a bit about is the community spaces especially within main library for you know outside organizations and community groups that want to use the library. How can we make it more accessible especially the auditorium space?

So the auditorium space is primarily used for um library events, county events um and our and our partners. um it's used a lot um which makes it difficult for other county um or other organizations within the county to to to have it available to them because we're using it a lot. We have programs in there um very often with with 100 200 people who attend our programs. We had a program on bats last week and we had well over a hundred people attend that program which is absolutely amazing and we have a lot of large author events and things like that. Um, so, um, you know, while I want it to be available to the

community, I want the the library events to come first because that's what our our our community looks for in the library are those those large events. Um, and um, our staff are proud of those events. Um, once we start using it for a lot of groups, then we also start losing parking ability. um our parking lot is limited and if we have another group with 200 people in there then we don't have the availability for our um our customers to park.

So that's a non

that makes no sense though. Um I appreciate it. I think you know the last comment I just make I know Commissioner Valentine mentioned that he likes a hard uh solid book to be able to read as a Kindle person. I actually didn't even know this till like middle of last year that there's an app called the Libby app.

Oh, absolutely.

Um, one of my friends told me about it. I was like, I've been paying for Kindle books when you can just rent them from the library for free. So, we have a couple of different I only read mine on the phone. Um [laughter] Um, but we have a couple of different apps. The Libby app is through Overdrive and we purchase um all the materials for our Durham County customers that are available. There's also two different programs through the Libby app um through the state of North Carolina for children's materials. There's one for younger children um um I think it's um five years and younger and then um six years and older um that children can also check out um books um to read with their parents online.

Thank you so much.

Uh Commissioner Burton.

Yeah, I just want to say this. I want to give a shout out to your business services librarian, Sierra. Um, she does amazing work. I did a business listening tour and she I mean all the resources that the business services librarian does, I mean just it's amazing. She does amazing work. So, I wanted to make sure I gave her a big shout out. And um also

to the friends of the Durham Library. I served on that board and the Durham County Library Foundation. They make the work of the Durham County Library possible and I sincerely mean it about because um Commissioner Jacobs and I talk about the literacy. So, I will get with you about how we can come up with how can we work with DPS to make sure kids know about the SLAM program and making sure they use all those resources um and get into their hands. So, thank you so much.

Absolutely. Thank you. Okay. Is there any other comments for the library? I apologize for being late, but thank you for presenting.

And I'll go back and watch. All right. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. All right. Next item on our agenda is the Animal Protection Society. Morning, commissioners. Dwayne Brenson, assistant county manager. We're here to talk this morning about something near and dear to a lot of our community members hearts, the uh animal shelter, animal protection society. We have um the interim executive director, Miss Stacy Bluth, here with us. We had a a recent transition at the animal shelter shelter and I recently uh connected with Miss Bluth and took a tour and had some conversations with her. Um working on some improvements over that way too. So I'm excited about her leadership and I'm excited to have her here today. Um so Miss Blof, if you want to take it over. I know you have a presentation ready. Okay. And let's let's turn the mic.

Hi, I'm Captain Manning with Animal Services Division. and I'm Captain Penner.

All right. Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for the invitation to be here. Um I want to acknowledge before I

get started um the partnership that we have with the county and the sheriff's office and these folks over here at animal services. I've been in this role for three months and have been so impressed by the collaboration and commitment to the animals and the people of Durham County. Um I also know that this is a difficult budget season for everyone. Um, and everybody has different priorities and completely understand that. And today I really just want to start a conversation leading to a little bit more transparency about what it means to be operating the only open admission shelter and hopefully start a longer term conversation um about how to do this best for the community. So for those of you who aren't familiar with us, APS is actually a nonprofit organization. Uh we have operated Durham County's only open admission shelter since 1990 and we do that in partnership with the county the sheriff's office in animal services. For those of you who are less familiar with what it means to be open admission, it means that we don't get to choose which animals come in our door. We take everything that comes in regardless of age, behavior, medical condition, space challenges, or cost of care. Yesterday we actually almost had five sheep. But thanks to our partnership with the animal services, they are back home safely. Um, so we get all sorts of different things coming in our doors. Um, very different than a model of a private rescue or a limited admission shelter. And on top of that, we don't just shelter the animals. We do all sorts of things like medical care, behavior support, adoptions, reunifications with people who have lost their animals, foster care, volunteer coordination, and community support services like lowcost spay and neuter, and also a food pantry. Increasingly, modern sheltering isn't just about crisis prevention. It's or about crisis, it's about prevention. So, helping families keep their pets at home

whenever possible. So, one example I can give of um of that is recently we had a young dog named Cooper who came to the shelter because his owners uh felt he was becoming destructive and maybe a safety risk. He was a five-month old puppy chewing on furniture. Those of you who have dogs probably remember that phase. Um and they were ready to surrender him. Um but we could tell that they really loved this dog and wanted to keep him. So, our behavior team was actually able to work with them, provide them with resources and some training tips, lots of enrichment choys and chew bones to take home. And then perhaps most importantly, we were able to connect them with another community partner. Cooper has now been in his house a year and is completely happy and the family adores him. Okay. Um, let's see. There. There we go. Um, I'm going to just uh put this slide up here just so you can kind of look at the numbers. It's a little infographic of some of our recent uh data from 2025. So today I want to start a conversation with you all um about how our budget has been working. APS as a nonprofit, you may be aware, has been subsidizing shelter operations through fundraising, grants, um, and charitable giving. It has allowed us to kind of plug the holes and fill organizational gaps, uh, without the full cost of what it costs to run the shelter in the county contract. The challenge right now is we're seeing increased demand, rising costs for care, and lots of operational complexity that have made it really difficult for us to sustain this responsibly. So today, in the spirit of transparency, um we want to just start this conversation about what it means to do this in today's age. So even with a very old facility for those of you who have visited it, we're trying to make the best of it and over

the past few months have made some significant progress. Um we've been focused heavily on operational improvements, compliance work, communication, accountability, and cross department communication. Um we're really super proud of the work our volunteers and our staff and our partners are doing together. One example of something we've been working hard on is our intake and biocurity process. So intake in a shelter is one of the highest risk areas because animals are coming in, you don't know if they're coming in sick um or what's going on with them. Um this these illnesses are often what you read about in the news. They're the things that lead to lots of euthanasia rates. They also lead to shelters being closed for weeks and months sometimes. Over the past few months, we have strengthened our vaccination protocols, our intake procedures, and sanitation systems significantly. We're also um investing in staff development, something we hadn't done in a while, making sure working with like the Department of Agriculture and other groups to make sure our staff are up to date on processes. It is showing huge results. Um I'm proud, knock on wood, if there is any here, um to let you know that for five months we have been parvo free in the shelter, which is huge for an open emission shelter. Parvo is a very um highly contagious uh disease that often results in a lot of euthanas. And so for five months, um we have been able to isolate any cases and have not any spread within the shelter. Uh we're also seeing a lot of progress with our community um engagement and support. We just had our walk for the animals event last weekend. I know I saw some folks in this room there. So, thank you for supporting us. We had over 350 people walk with their animals. Uh, which was really exciting. Another big accomplishment um this year is we have already from our animal services partners received over 150 neonatal

kittens. Um, kittens that are just a few days, few weeks old sometimes. Often these kittens um will be humanely euthanized because the cost of care is really intensive and we don't have roundthe-clock support. Um we are excited to share that we have um over the past two months trained over 75 community volunteers to be fosters for these all 150 of these kittens that come have come in our door um have been put into foster care within an hour of them arriving in the shelter. That is absolutely huge. So, we have a network that goes out. Um, and an example I can give of this that I think u might might make it more real is there was a woman named Kathy who was in our parking lot a few weeks ago crying. She had found she had a basket full of cute little kittens that she had found under her shed in her yard. And she told me um I saw her outside and asked her what was going on. And she told me she didn't want to give us the kittens because she had heard the shelter euthanizes everything that comes in the door. So, I was able to explain to her the process of how we're doing things. She handed over those kittens. Um, tears of sadness turned into tears of joy. Um, and she was, you know, thrilled to see that we were able to get those kittens out so quickly. She has actually since adopted two of the kittens. Um, we, our medical team works really closely to make sure they're vaccinated, they get spayed and neutered, and then they go out for adoption. Um, and it's stories like that that I love because it shows the building of trust in the community so people feel like they can come to us. Um, community demand is continuing to grow. Uh, last year we saw about an 8% increase in the number of animals coming through our doors. Uh, we're seeing uh, don't have the exact numbers yet for this year, but it's it's at least that, if not more. Uh we are seeing a lot of things contributing to this. Rising veterinarian costs. I don't know if

you've been to the veterinarian with your animals lately, but it's getting very expensive. Um increased medical complexity with animals. Uh we're seeing more behavior support needs, higher sanitation standards, which are very important and very appropriate, but it costs more to do that. Uh we're seeing lots of housing instability affecting the animals coming in. um lots of animals coming to us because of evictions and also breed and size restrictions in apartments and other housing. So people are turning to us for support. And then last, another factor we are seeing is that a lot of people who were working from home during the pandemic are now back in the workplace and now their dogs or cats are home alone for 10 or 12 hours and don't have the care that they need. And so what we're finding is, and it's very similar to what you just mentioned with the libraries presentation, we're not just a medical facility or a crisis response center, but we're also a social service organization for a lot of the folks coming in. Um, in term also in in terms of uh changes, not only is it increased demand, but it's also the cost of sheltering that's really increased. Um, we are competing with a lot of counties around us to get people who have experience in animal welfare. Our starting wages have been a lot lower. Um, so it's been more difficult for us to recruit and train people and keep them. Benefits are raising are rising. Sanitation costs are rising. Just this past month alone, our cost of cleaning our kennels um was up about 20% um just because of the cost of the goods to do so. And also of course we have an aging building which we are trying to make the best of and encouraging the staff to be proud to work there but there are a lot of costs associated with doing things in a less than ideal facility. Um APS continues as a nonprofit to be

committed to the mission and partnering with all of you. Um we will continue to provide direct financial support to for the shelter operations. Right now, we're funding a lot of key positions helping bridge operational gaps. Um, our hope is though that this the philanthrop um philanthropy will supplement the dollars that are being raised, right, and not just kind of cover the operational cost, which is what we're doing right now. Um, philanthropy is variable, right? It fluctuates and we want the county to have something stable in terms of operational costs. In terms of sustainability for us, what we are um thinking about with our budget is not um increasing, you know, creating new programs or anything like that, but it's really about trying to find a way to build a sustainable operational model. Um and we are deeply committed to that. Um and want your partnership in doing that. So, I'm going to stop there. I've got some cute photos up there of some of our recent animals that have come our way. Um, I invite all of you. I appreciated Dwayne coming out and seeing us, but if anybody else wants a tour of the shelter, wants to see more, learn more, adopt a baby kitten because we have many right now. Um, welcome you coming by.

You guys,

and I would like Captain Manning, I would like um if you can take a few minutes and talk about any trends that you have seen um with the calls or whatever maybe if you have some information you'd like to share too, we'd welcome that. Sure. Absolutely. Uh good morning everyone. F first thing I want to do is uh give a com a comment and basically a compliment to Miss Bluth. Uh I've been a part of animal services for just over five years and I can tell you in the last three months that I can positively identify such growth and and change and only strengthening our partnership. So I want to commend Miss Blue for that. Um I have seen a positive impact in um

transparency uh organizational skills and policy change, staff change, things of that nature. And biggest for us I guess is u communication. Um to have a successful partnership obviously communication is critical and vital. We've had some really healthy conversations. So, I am incredibly um excited at the direction that the APS is headed. Um some trends that we are noticing um and you have to take into focus and and understand that we only have one county shelter for all the city and county of Durham. Um to put it in perspective, I think Wake County has four. Um and I grant that we don't have quite the population that they did, but in the last 10 years, I think our population has grown by estimated 100,000 people. That's a lot. So to put that in perspective, animal services with essentially with the staffing levels that we're at now, I think nine nine officers or deputies on the road are averaging 1,000 calls a month or more. Last month it was almost 1,200 calls a month. That's a lot because with more people come more pets. So our call volume has skyrocketed. And what that means is their intake is going to skyrocket because there's the main place we go is our partnership with APS. So they're still in that uh inadequate facility that's aging and I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. We all know that and that's a positive thing but we're not quite there yet. Um so that creates a hardship on them as it does us as well. And um with that the biggest I think and literally this past week and this week uh is the declaration of potentially dangerous and dangerous dogs. Um because with more people and more pets there is more interaction with citizens. Some of those are unwelcomed interactions and that's unfortunate as well. That's the two probably the two biggest trends that that we are noticing and um and we have to talk about just like yesterday we had six sheep that got loose and granted we are not um a very rural county anymore but there are parts

um but we have to have a location to take those livestock animals and we're not really we have to be adaptable to that and so does the shelter and that takes a lot of coordination and cooperation and I think Miss Bluth has demonstrated that quite a bit. Um, but we had to get very creative in and how we address things of that nature and and make sure that we're within guidelines of the state a agriculture board as well as as well. I think the last comment I'll make very briefly um th this is a an organization of service that really thrives on volunteers and I know we know that but I really want to emphasize that point. Uh I one of the times uh I think the first time I met Miss Bluth and took the tour came back home and not too long after that my wife and kids signed up as volunteers at the shelter. They went through the training recently. So it's it's a seamless process. It's easy to do and it is a tremendous help to the Durham community to serve as a volunteer. Somehow my family didn't come home with a pet. I don't know how.

Send them by today, Dwayne. Send them by. But that it's it's a tremendous benefit to have those volunteers serving.

Thank you for this presentation and um I love animals and if I wasn't allergic to cats, I would have a cat. Um had cats when we I was little. So, um, animals are precious and we have to take care of them. And so, I appreciate all the work that you all do and the volunteers. And so, I think my question is more directed to ACM Brinson and County Manager Hager as to when are we going to get this new animal shelter built? Um, what stat where is the status? um when we went on a tour last year and you know I realized

that is a very old building um and we shouldn't have animals or the people who are helping the animals in that space. That building was built for a different time when people didn't have the view of animals that they need to be taken care of and stay healthy was the dog pound, right? and you just take the dogs to the pound and you know, okay, whatever happens happens. But now we know better. And so I'm just curious as to what is the status of Durham County getting a new animal shelter.

Um, Commissioner Burton, we have we've got an update and it's probably better done via email. I can send this to the board. We've so the animal shelter we have um gone through the design stages for that. Um it's it's it's a process we're working through. We the next steps we are um the board is going to have an architectural design contract at one of the upcoming board meetings. So we've been through that process. Uh that is coming to the board very very soon. um been working on the junction road site. It's raw land. So the design and construction of the animal shelter, it's expected to take about four years. So it's not something that's going to happen tomorrow, right? It it's been a lengthy process and we're working through it. Um but those are the biggest next steps that are coming to the board, right? It's on the Go ahead. I was going to say u the information that uh ACM Brenson is reading from is also in your board materials. We asked general services to give an update on the investments made uh in the animal um shelter's current location, but from the capital project perspective, we've been working on this

for the past couple of years. And that um item that Dwayne talked about, it outlines all of those details which started back in May 25 um with advanced planning and study and um moving forward um there was a a draft report issued in 2026. In February, there was a budget meeting um and um some updates about just sort of next steps. I think part of the the decision the board will make in some future conversations is whether or not is phased because um the challenge of the large animal um needs that we need to service compared to where we are right now in footprint has has caused a significant pricing increase. And so we are um we will bring those those items back to the board. But, uh, there's a lot of, um, site design work underway at Junction Road and and getting it ready for us to, uh, move forward with those those steps. So, as Dwayne said, uh, we are on plan um, with bringing it to the to the board. It is a much slower process that we'd like. I wish we could snap our fingers and it be done. Um, also within the meeting uh materials, you'll find just the investments we've made. Um, it's a listing that general services um shared. Uh, it may not have all of the dollar amounts there, but it it does show what's in process, what's been completed in 2026, as well as um things that have happened in 2025. And there's a companion document that's not included that we'll upload that will show the dollars

invested in in that space. There's a lot of coordination between office of sheriff, the animal protection services as well as general services to help um support the other family members that we all um value so much. And so I thank all of them for all of their efforts. Thank you for that. And the other question I had is um when we have dangerous animals um because I heard you all talk about that um are they rehabilitated or is it just assumed that okay there's nothing we can do for them and they're euthanized or put to sleep? Like it's what what occurs in those situations? you want?

Sure. I think that's a two-part two-part answer. Um, a lot of it depends on the location of the animal. So, if it's a citizen's private dog, say, for example, and it's declared potentially dangerous, as long as they meet the state standard guidelines and rules and and and don't violate those, then they're able to keep that pet at their home. They just have to have adequate shelter. Uh, it has to be secured. If it's off property, for example, it has to be muzzled. It has to have adequate signage, things of that nature. But if it's actually impounded or surrendered and then it becomes part of the shelter, I think that decision comes up to the shelter.

Yeah. So once that animal comes to the shelter, one of the things that we do is um spend as much time as possible gathering information, right? So we don't like to um you know, an animal comes in and say, "Okay, this is the outcome." But we have a staff who is trained to assess the animal um behaviorally and medically. and um we look at different options that we have with the resources we have. So of course if there is an opportunity um to have a better pathway for that dog whether it's to go temporarily to foster care and then adoption we will do that. Um if

sometimes that is not the case and we need to make the decision to do a humane euthanasia. Uh it depends on the resources the dog's case you know what's going on. Um we try to be as transparent as possible with the community and potential adopters. So, if we have a dog who has a history, we are very transparent with them about what they're um what they're adopting potentially and making sure that they're okay with that and that we're providing resources and support. And I know we have a dangerous dog appeal board. So, it goes through that procedure.

Yes, ma'am. the citizen anytime their dog is declared potentially or dangerous, they can appeal that within 3 days and I think there's 10 days to have it scheduled and then they can go through the appeal process there and then that board determines um if it's sustained or if it's overturned.

Thank you for that. It's good to know that we try to do whatever we can to make sure the pets are re rehabilitated and um are treated humanely. So, I appreciate that. Thank you so much for all that you do. You're alone.

Thank you. Thank you guys so much for all the work you do. Um, as someone who, as Commissioner uh Burton mentioned, loves animals. I am allergic to cats, but I still have had cats and continue to show up to the animal shelter much to my husband's dismay because he will get pictures of can I adopt. I still have a grudge against him because there was one cat, Hoover, that I wanted to adopt and he didn't say yes until the next day he said yes. And when I showed up to the shelter,

there was a mom and her son adopting him and it was tough. But um I just want to thank y'all for the important work cuz obviously we love all the cute and cuddly pieces of our animal shelter, but it's also a health public health service that y'all are providing uh to keep our community safe through the vaccination

clinics through the lowcost um spay and neuter. Um that's monthly or is it quarterly? The spay and neuter.

The spay and neuter. So, um, with animals in the community, we have several grants that allow us to do that. We partner with local veterinarians. It happens every month. We're usually doing anywhere from four to five events around. People can just go to our website and pick a slot and sign up.

That's great. Um,

and I'm really excited that, you know, we hopefully are moving forward and on track with this new shelter because I think all of us have been able to go on a tour of the shelter and, you know, not just for the animals, but even for the staff and the volunteers working in that space. Uh, it can be slippery floors, um, cold, super cold in the winter, super hot in the summer, especially since most of it is open air. And um I think having a new space will just be beneficial for everyone for that public health aspect. And I'm glad that it's going to be on near junction road because that's closer to my home. But also I feel like I think um Deputy Manning, you and I have discussed this maybe at one of the AWAC meetings of it's also closer to those pesky huskys off of Holloway Street that I know that you all have had multiple multiple complaints about that I have seen. I don't know if you guys have driven on 98. There is these like two or three huskys that are like wolf size that are just constantly running back and forth on Holloway on 98.

Um, so maybe being closer to the the shelter, being closer to there will help them. But to my questions, what so state mandates what is required for counties to provide related to animal welfare? And you know, I know that APS because you guys are able to fund raise and get a lot of resources from the community too, but you are also subsidizing a lot of the services that the county um

should be providing through state mandates. Um wondering like what kind of is like APS is doing because APS wants to and then also like what are the services that like are county services that APS is helping fill the gap for? Yeah, that's a great question. So, um I mentioned the Department of Agriculture earlier and that is um who does the regulations for our shelter. We actually just had them in for the first time um for an all day all staff training which was a big learning process for all of us. Um you may have seen um in past documents and I'm happy to share with it. Um we are um evaluated by the Department of Agriculture annually. They come in, they do an inspection. Uh the past couple times they have come, we have been on the verge of some fines. um mainly uh due to some things to do with the building, but more than that um there just compliance issues around uh making sure there's shade screens out on our outdoor playards. Making sure that animals have access to water at all times, even when their kennels are being cleaned, which doesn't sound so simple, but it's actually a little trickier um in practice, right? um making sure that things like towels and linens that we use for bedding are enclosed plastic containers that are disinfected every day. Um regulations about the types of things that we use to clean floors. So there are many regulations. Um I'm excited to share that we were falling short in the past, but we just did a courtesy visit which is basically where we invite them out to kind of go behind the scenes with us about a month ago and they saw they said they saw huge improvement in all of our processes. Um that is something we are committed to because that is like the basic cost of care for these animals. Um APS obviously does extra things like you were talking about for the community, but we are increasingly supplementing the costs of doing this right in terms of cleaning

supplies, storage bins for all the linens and things like that. So yeah, and I can send you all the regulations if you want. It's good nighttime reading. [laughter] And I see attorney Love Lace joined us because my wheels have been turning uh since yesterday because Commissioner Jacobs uh said something to me while we were out about uh animals and um individuals uh within the jail and like therapy options. I know there would be an expense of like transporting, but wondering could there potentially be any partnership with APS and Durm County Jail to provide like animal time for our individuals within the jail to because that is like a form of therapy and healing as well of could we bring animals to jail to Good morning. Um, commissioners, vice chair alarm, I'm gonna say we're kindred spirits. I'm usually one of the ones around the sheriff's office. Hey, Sheriff, what do you think of this idea? Chief, can't we do this? And what do you think of this idea? I, too, have seen online the videos of, you know, training therapy dogs and things like that. Um, it's an interesting idea and I'm going to do what I typically do. I'm going to take what your thought and ideas and share it with sheriff and with chief. Um, not something we've ever done before. I've seen other places do it. Um, the challenge would be of course the structure of our jail, the cap, the the number of individuals with the increase in population we've had, but we're always open to unique ideas whether we can do it now. house if that's something hey four or five years down the road it might be better um don't know but I would definitely share that idea with our jail command staff and with sheriff we welcome the ideas there's a lot of innovative stuff happening not only

within our jail in other jails in this state but also throughout the nation so there's a lot of good stuff out there so I'll share that idea with sheriff and with Chief Elby

great thank you because yeah I feel like it'd be mutually beneficial that I'm sure the animals would love all the extra cuddles and playtime as well as the services that they would be providing too.

Vice Chair Lum, that's something also we're looking at um doing with the youth home. We need to work with the attorney's office. Um Miss Bluth and I have talked about that uh back when when an when Angela Nun was here before she retired, we were looking at doing that for the kids in the youth home, too. So, that's an idea worth exploring uh that we'll continue to talk about and see if it will work. But I'm with you. I'm all for therapeutic activities. I like that idea.

I also think there's um an interesting opportunity for workforce development. So, um there are a lot of shelters around the country that are using um partnering with nonprofits like young people aging out of foster care, formerly incarcerated community members, um to provide lots of job training, um which benefits the shelter and the animals and also has that, you know, added benefit of the therapy, but also gives people real job skills um which is important.

Right. And then I have two final quick quick questions. Um what are the risks like if for public health-wise and communitywise if like the shelter is not able to keep up like current operations because of rising expenses and then also I know we hear constantly from the community and even myself like oftentimes people can only go and visit the shelter during the weekends. Um people are working and there's limited hours on the weekends of what would it take to provide more services on the weekend?

Yeah. So, that is a great question. Um, and definitely something that has come to my attention since I've started. Um, we would love um to be open more hours, expand our Saturday hours. We've talked

about this before. Being open on Sunday, the community needs us on the weekend. Um, when we talk about equity and access to services, that's really important. Being open later in the evening would be also very helpful for people who are working. Um, the issue right now is just a simple one of of budgets, right, and math. um and not being able to afford the staff for those extra hours. Uh but that is something we are committed to. So um if we have the money to do so, that is that is priority number one is getting us open more often.

Commissioner Jacobs,

thank you. Um this is really a great presentation and discussion. Um I really appreciate it. Um, and it's uh there's so many competing needs in our community. Um, but I do um, you know, I just want to lift up the partnership between animal services, you know, animal control, the office of the sheriff and the APS and the county is really a very unique partnership and also the support of the community because the amount of fundraising that the APS does um, as well as the number for volunteers. Um it is saving the county a lot of money because otherwise that would be coming out of our budget. Um we have, you know, there's several, you know, program areas where we partner with nonprofits. For instance, our Durham Center for Senior Life, our senior services are also provided by a nonprofit but in a county building. So, similar to APS being in a county building, um, but you are providing the service to our community and I do believe that there are a lot of things that the that a nonprofit or the

community can do better

than Durham County government. So, I'm glad I'm really grateful to APS um for the work that you do. Um, [clears throat] so and I also really appreciate the approach that both of you, you know, both of your entities have around you, you talked about this a holistic approach to animal welfare and animal services because, you know, we dropped our fees since County Commissioner. We used to have charge fees. We've eliminated that just like we've eliminated library fines because recognizing these barriers and also the importance that animals play in people's lives around social and emotional health. I mean pets are people's family members and when poverty is an issue there economic issues or things like that it should not be the reason that somebody can't have a pet. So I I just really want to lift up the approach that you all take. And um so one thing is I love what you just said about a pipeline for justice involved or disconnected youth or foster youth. And so, do you need an a connection to, for instance, our DSS director around foster youth and also our justice services director around um justice involved residents because I know Dwayne could help facilitate those connections and partnerships. Yeah.

Yes, that would be great.

Yeah. Okay, I will follow up with him. Um and um the issue and I and looking at the list of repairs, I just want to give a shout out to general services because they have accomplished and also to the county manager. I know when we were I think it was last year at the shelter and the county manager was like this is

we have got to do something about this and I really want to applaud you um manager Hager because when I look at that list a lot of repairs and improvements have taken place and Dwayne thank you for your help with that as well. [clears throat] So, that is huge.

And I I would like to say I just looked at this sheet. It's over $260,000 of investments that have occurred um since that period. And we've always invested in the shelter. It's a old facility and older facilities will always have um situations that need repair. But over the last I guess since last fiscal year, there has been an insurgence of

dollars. And I think it's it is the reality of this timeline around building the new uh animal shelter. I want to say though as somebody who first became aware of the animal need for a new shelter 14 years ago when I became a county commissioner. We have got to speed up that timeline. Um, so one of my questions is just I I know nobody has to answer this now, but I would really be interested in knowing how can we prioritize and expedite this. Um, I I also really concerned that we want to make sure and I'm sure rising costs are going to be an issue. Everything is going to be costing more, but it's really important that we get this right. We need to build a shelter that is going to last at least for the next 50 years. Like we can't be investing all of this time and money in something that is going to be obsolete when it opens its doors. And so I guess I know Perry isn't here, but um I'm just like I would like to know for instance when was the last time that

animal services and also APS actually was at the table with our staff or the people who were designing this. Have you all recently had any input or conversations? this has been a shared ownership um throughout the whole process because we wanted to cross the finish line. And so um we knew having stakeholder engagement from the office of the sheriff,

APS, as well as animal shelter staff was crucial to getting us to a point that the public would support um with the the newly designed um shelter. So I do feel as though um we have additional opportunity because our our planning is greater than our ability right now to implement and so we'll be back but I'll have them respond as well but I see by the head nods that my um remarks are in line with what happened.

Yes. Um so I've uh there's a monthly meeting that I've been attending and I've gotten up to speed on the project. It has been incredibly valuable to be at those meetings because the new shelter will be bigger which is exciting but also means that APS is going to have to to grow and plan for that. So having the advanced notice and being you know at the table for those conversations has been very helpful for us organizationally and a board of directors to think about how do we start planning now so that we can provide all the services that that building will allow us to which is exciting. Well, I'm glad to hear that. Are you guys involved in those meetings as well?

Uh, we have uh preliminary meetings. Yes. It's been a little bit for myself personally uh for those meetings, but I I'm it's my understanding that members of the sheriff's office have been a part of those. Yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

So, I'm really glad to hear that. Um and

yeah, so just any way I know what will this when will this come back to us to like be able to push it along the design process or whatever needs to come? the next steps we will come back to the board either in um I believe let me follow up with that question because we're very close for a followup and so and I I don't want to answer it on the fly but I do know it's within the next two months um because we had to go back and refine the design work because the of the project scope and our ability to move that level forward. So, um, we'll we'll be back, but I'll we'll have a a response by tomorrow.

Okay.

All right.

Yeah, it would be great if it could come back in July or August

just so that we're not we are not the barrier and um keeping it going. Um, I was wondering um also about how things are going with um TVNR um the or am I saying that right? Mhm.

Okay.

Um the ordinance that you know was is um around trying to control our community cats. Um do you guys do you have any kind of tracking data with that or any sense of how that is working?

I can speak briefly to that and maybe uh Captain Pinter can address it as well. Um for us uh we have seen honestly we have seen little change um from that. Um the ordinance is obviously in place and we're abiding by that and citizens are. I know that um there is an outside another nonprofit organization that does utilize that quite a bit. Um but they don't include us on that on that standpoint. So I don't know if that has affected the shelter at all in their intake, but we have seen very very little um I guess um any kind of hard data that would show us that it's it's

effective or it's not effective at this point.

I think um I would agree with that. Um it we don't have hard data yet. Uh we do get more citizens asking us questions about it. So we have partners that we link them up with. Um which is is good to know people are asking about it, becoming aware of it, but it really hasn't affected our day-to-day operations too much. But that's data we should be definitely analyzing and looking at.

Thank you. And I agree that um with you know having a 100,000 people um there's going to be more animals in our community 100,000 more people um and um it would be interesting you know as we move forward to look at the trend data and um even what are any kind of best practices that other shelters are using around on the country um that we might learn from. And I do appreciate that we try not to um we try to not um to not kill animals. I know that is a reality that that does happen and um but obviously that would be our goal to not be a no kill shelter, right? Ideally. Um but again, thank you so much for all that you're doing for our community. All right. Thank you all very much. Extremely important um program here. So, not hearing any other not seeing any other comments or Oh, go ahead.

Question. Um wondering now that we have people moving into RTP area and actually living there. Have you seen um an increase of like animal welfare services needed in that area since that's not been a place that we've had you know people's pets and stuff in RGB or not yet?

Um it's kind of little I don't think there's any hard data for that. I don't think it's been analyzed yet. Uh I think it could all be contributed to we have definitely seen a rise in call volume uh and it can be so that's a mixed blessing and and a curse and that could be contributed to maybe the recent development and RTP but also all there's I mean Durham is being developed all over all over the city and county. So I think it's a mixed mixture there that but we are definitely seeing a increase in call volume for sure.

Okay, go ahead. I did want to follow up on the we're probably watching the same videos online,

attorney lovely

um but it is really um inspiring in terms of I mean I've seen again this is from online but um uh programs that are focused on cats um if they actually live in the in detention centers or prisons and just um some and it would be interesting to look at the data on how it does improve behavior and teach um skills um things like that. Um and you know and then there's you know the model of you know therapy dogs who come to into other you know nursing homes or hospitals um who again it's more related to um therapeutic but the idea of having actual you know something like cats that people are responsible for that's a whole other dimension around learning responsibility and skills. Um but anyway, I think anything that we could do would be um probably beneficial. Uh we I think we all know the the data around how you know when you're when you're petting an animal, how it affects your you know heart rate, your you know it just helps calm you down and things like that. And just like the unconditional love that

animals have um is is really transformative. So that would be exciting and hopefully not four to five years.

All right. Thank you all very much. Was there any last words that we wanted to say? No. All right. Thank you all very much for this presentation. Okay. Next item on our agenda is the f uh yeah the future policy discussions. I'll hand it over to Manager Hagar.

I think it's just just one. Oh, wait. Commissioners um just want to share with you information on upcoming policy conversations. staff has uh shared with you lots of information in response to questions that you had about the budget. Um it was a uh tremendous effort uh to try to respond but there are some areas although we gave information that do require additional follow-up and some of the followup is a part of our standard uh work plan efforts. And so I have a list before you based on some of the topics that you shared and talked about. We've been emailing you responses as

soon just a a second ago, I just sent you one that you probably haven't had a chance to open. It was a question about the ARPA homeless services grant and our uh medical um street outreach efforts that's been um coordinated with Housing for New Hope and um our partners um with CPRC. So, it's uh it's lots of information we've tried to share, but we want to make sure in future conversations, we give it the appropriate time for additional dialogue. So, in looking at the list, um and we'll email this to you and there may be areas beyond what we have. Um I know it doesn't cover um all things in this in this current is it a plug?

Let's see. Is that working now?

Okay, I'll hold my head a certain way. [sighs] All right. In this current climate, there is so much change happening. Um last year or this current fiscal year was very tough u managing shifts in federal policies um some changes in state policies but it it required a different level of conversation with the board and as you may recall we started in um September of last fiscal year with board updates and those continued on a frequency that was uh a little bit more than we had done in the past. So, we will continue those uh updates quarterly, whether it's in writing with the standard updates that come from the board um the budget and management service department as well as uh our formal um conversations with the board with um detailed um fiscal deep dives all throughout the year. So, that

will continue. Uh in addition to that although we will cover broad overviews of the budget uh we'll have human services agencies um focused discussions even more with our budget um focused on um statutoily to support our social services and public health areas as well as many other areas that are federally and state funded. We will continue those dialogues with the board quarterly to make sure you know and are aware of the nuances that may impact our residents and if there are ways that we can change processes um to be responsive um with our county partners and other organizations as we navigate this shifting landscape. Um, with this document, there are links um to examples of what that looked like in previous conversations and uh for your review. Um we will have some conversations on our capital improvement plan which is ongoing. Uh and um much of this work has been on the way probably since last fiscal year with our CIP. And um but we're at a stage we need to make some final um decisions so that we can have our adopted um document complete. And so these are draft timelines. They may shift. I know our budget team is probably saying she did not make sure that date worked with us, but we we do have some items that we need to bring with to you that are some updates uh with the goal of trying to finalize this early fall um just because of where we are with other debt financing and our need to plan for next fiscal year. Um there will be ongoing conversations about transportation and we'll work in concert with the city. Right now we have a placeholder in August to come back to

to the board to share possibly what some of those future conversations are. Um we have a youth focus RFP framework and we'll give some updates prior to August. Um but the intent is for the placeholder that we put into the budget which was about $500,000 that well it was $500,000 that we um um shared the framework for that RFP and also what the um process will look like. We've had many lessons learned and very effective approaches from our prior RFP processes that have occurred um in these times. We want to make sure we we strike the right balance of where the our dollars will support community gaps. Um there is a bullet about the community the county department's inflow mapping to support housing security efforts. Um that's an area that um supports the strategic homeless initiative, but it's it will be focused on county departments um and what we're doing and how the inflow um processes are to give the board an update. We had conversations um I guess it was in May, late April, early May. And so there is some work that will happen um that we can share by August to share with the board those um efforts. Uh with economic development that's always a focus of the board and we do have conversations with our partner organizations. We gave to the board some benchmark data uh about how we compare to a couple of other jurisdictions, Meckllinmberg County and Wake County, how they support uh partner organizations. And so we are um looking to come back formally to the board in September with some updates in those areas. Um in September also we will al

have some conversations um with Alliance and other community partners as it relates to behavioral health updates as well as um some updates on our community intervention efforts and we've talked some um in the budget work session about our partner efforts with the city of Durham um and and I'm sure we may come I'm sure will come before September, but we wanted to formally have that as as a as a um time on the calendar. And then uh one of the final bullets but most important and it seems to be ongoing is just our efforts to look at organizational efficiency and effectiveness and how we are able to shift and streamline and and become responsive in this current fiscal climate. And so in October of 2026 and February of 2027, we have placeholders to come to share um efforts that are underway, process improvements that have occurred as well as um share some quarterly um benchmark information on the KPIs. There's been increased focus as you know on our KPIs and our performance measures and we have that placeholder. So that will occur in October. Now again this is not a full list. I'm sure you will have others. Just wanted to to share some of the policy conversations that are happening. There's so much going on. So, of course, our agendas will have other areas, but um just wanted to share those updates.

Commission Burton.

Yes, thank you so much. I really appreciate this that we're going to have these discussions about these various areas um particularly around economic

development and youth focus RFP um in the capital improvement plan because um I was looking over the email the responses I believe Commissioner Jacobs and Commissioner Valentine asked about um economic development the schools etc. because it really is helpful when we as commissioners go out into the community, we can give really good explanations to our residents as to where their tax dollars are going. Um, I know there's been a lot of discussion around um monies that we give to companies and economic development and why is this money going into these areas? And it's because we're trying to create a strong workforce here in Durham County. We're trying to make sure our economy is strong and these partners help us with that. So, I'm looking forward to these discussions. Um, so thank you for doing this.

Um, Commissioner Jacobs. [clears throat]

Yes, thank you. I I appreciate um this outline and um also just the fact that the [clears throat] first two items being um quarterly focuses being quarterly the financial um fiscal updates and human services landscape. Um, just knowing what we're facing, um, and the challenges. I think that is, um, I appreciate, manager Hager, that you are thinking ahead and knowing that we're really going to need to be staying on top of these things, not just for Durham County government, but really for for our whole community. Um, and um, you know, all all of the areas. I guess what I would ask I'm I'm sitting here thinking about some of the things that would fit into those frameworks

that I had or also requested and I'm so I'm thinking for number two on the human services. Um it would be great that like having Lincoln come and present also during that discussion would be good because they are part of our um system of care for our most vulnerable residents. And it may also be fitting to ask Duke regional board um or you know leadership to come and also present because they are part of again part of our kind of community healthc care um system. Um, and then related to the capital improvement plan, I'm wondering if that would also be time to get an update from DFI if there any updates on some of the county properties that they've been doing and even the um I'm not sure when the studies will be done around the DPS properties as well.

Well, I I It is finicky

the we'll make sure we have a comprehensive view of all of the areas. So although our goal is to try to finalize our CIP plan during that time frame, we do want to make sure we have a comprehensive list of all that's outstanding. And there have been conversations about having um coordinated CIPs between the the schools, the city and county for some areas. uh we may not resolve all of those areas, but for our work to move forward with our plan, we'll anchor that. But we also during this period between now and October hope to put a

master list of those um community discussions that need to occur such as what do we do with um public property that's available and how should those um properties be used whether it's in either of the entities because those conversations are happening and so I do feel that um By that time frame, we would have some updates from DFI as they partner with Durham Public Schools or some of their properties and and we'll definitely make that as a part of the conversation.

Great. Um, and I was interesting to see I had asked for an update on how much of the bond money had been spent. And I don't know if you know some of it may be encumbered or, you know, related to, for instance, the DSA project, but there was quite a bit of money uh that was still not spent in the in the 2025 uh I'm sorry, 2022 bond money. Um, so I think that's um also going to be really important for us to track that

and include that in in that conversation. What is going on? [laughter]

Okay. just

um but yeah

I I believe we you know we did respond and it's important to note although there may not be activity for a period there is work underway and so um we can get more of those detailed nuanced um

points so that we'll see that we're in process I do feel based on where we are we're spending the money in a way that

shows that we um borrowed the right amount

um because there have been periods when we've um borrowed an amount and it took us much longer to expend it. So I do feel that we will expend it within the seven-year time line um if not before. Uh but we can get more information at those areas. I think it reinforces that this year was not the right time to do a bond when we still

had not spent um all of the DPS funding. I mean, even the ones that are related to facilities and maintenance

um there were a lot of schools listed on that list.

So, it's yes, it is a timing issue, but again, we want to make sure if it's in the pipeline and it may not have been encumbered, it still could have been a good time frame

for us. It is also looking at when you ask to do a bond, have you fleshed out totally those projects so that u when you approve it, you know that the scope is nearly close to what you expect when you put the shovel in the ground and you start building. You don't want major surprises which can happen in this environment with cost um with tariffs etc. Um, but to the best that you can, you want to make sure you have those projects shovel ready. So, to your point, timing wise, uh, we need more in order to get ready for another, um, referendum.

Okay. Um, and then related to um the youth focus framework, I think it's going to be um that would be an opportunity to get an update. I'm thinking about the things the countyy's already investing in related to youth, making sure that that's part of our understanding of that issue. And so, one

is getting an update from the RISE Center because we've made a big investment in that. And then also um an update from the city county office on youth um as as a part of that discussion. Um and then the mapping, the inflow mapping I think is going to be super important. Um and again just things that are tangental to that are um you know the anything that we've learned from the update of our sequential intercept map that that's happening soon. That's a very crosscutting systems analysis. um the familiar faces initiative that again has been working on that. Um um and also obviously just an update on how the day center pilot is going, whatever data might be available then. Um, and then related to economic development, what comes to mind for me is the university games because we are sponsoring that $300,000. Uh, and just kind of talk from an economic development perspective. I think that would be be good. And then number eight, the behavioral health. Um, we got a one of the things that we got yesterday was the annual report for recovery international. Um it would be great for us to do a tour, a field trip like we did yesterday over to um related to this item to see the TW our 24hour crisis response center. Um, and I don't know if the 911 center uh study and um kind of that whole discussion expanding heart because that that really is the context for that is

around our behavioral health crisis system. Um, and then organizational effectiveness. I think the work I mean that is very exciting to me the work that you all are doing in that area. Um and I don't know this is not quite the same thing but just thinking about like our big driving cost centers like one is the jail costs. I feel like we really need to focus on that. uh especially hearing that we're more like $300 a day um and our jail costs and and the impact of the rising numbers at our detention center. Um, I'm really concerned about that, how what the effect it's going to have on Durham County government and also this the bigger issues around the Durham public schools budget and how we kind of, you know, Commissioner Burton has brought that up about how we try to start working together on approaching that budget differently. So, those are just some of the big things that come to mind that kind of fit in to this framework. It's this looks like a really good framework and we can plug a lot of other things into it. So, thank you so much.

You're welcome. And I will send the soft copy to the board um with the edits that we've heard this morning so we can work towards finalizing this within the next couple weeks.

Okay. Did anyone else Oh, hello. Okay, it works. Um,

I agree with everything that's been said. I more of my comments are related to the budget for this cycle, which is going to be after during the add and delete conversation, right? So, I'll save my comments and then

Yeah, I think mine are probably closer

to the add and delete

Yeah.

kind of piece. Um,

all right. So did uh Commissioner Burton, did you have anything on this? No. Um I do look forward to uh this um especially number seven uh the economic development. Um again, this may verge into the added elite, but really interested in the u you know what, I'll wait for the add and delete kind of piece there. All right.

I'm just I'm a little further away from the mic. Yeah, I I was just a little further with I think I was just turned facing the manager and that's why. But I'll lean in. We need a little bit more. So, all right. So, that's this. That is the future policy discussions. Should we go right into the

We can go right We can go right into the add and delete and then come back to the ordinance. I mean, that

Oh, ordinance. I'm sorry.

Yeah. No, but we can come.

Let's do Let's do the ordinance. I'm sorry.

Great. No worries.

Ordinance. Just want to note there are a few technical changes to the budget ordinance. Literally, it's three words that were taken out of the ordinance. I'm not going to show it to you because it's not really it's a section F portion of the ordinance that had been written where it gave the manager the ability to move money between funds with a report to the board without and it's related to uh um pay funding uh like COLA increases and things. We have never moved money between funds without a budget amendment going to the board. So, we simply took out that ability in the ordinance because it's not what we do anyway. We always between moving money between

funds is a budget amendment to the board. We just simply took out three words saying that it could because we don't do it. The other minor issue we are dealing with in the ordinance is related to stating commissioner pay for the chair and for commissioners because the state law advises us to do that and we looked at every other major county in in the state Meckllinburgg County and all it says is the chair makes this much commissioners make this much and this is how much for travel allowance and this is how much for your u um it's travel allowance and technology allowance that's there. It'll be one paragraph in the um in the ordinance stating that and that follows state law and that's it. And I want to thank Jonathan PA in our office who went to a class and heard from Carla Malanzi if you know that person's name at the school of government at UNC and then he picked up on that did a little research and found and relayed that to the manager. So that's it with the budget ordinance. No foundational change.

Okay. I mean that's that works and we'll see that language next week, right?

Yes. What we'll do, we'll send out the draft ordinance after today's conversations and then you can weigh in if there are any additional areas you would like to refine.

Okay. And when you send that to us, will you send us is it like going to actually be like all our amounts and stuff or just like the language um because I know we had conversations about this last year as well. Um of just what historically has been the difference between chair and commissioners and like that of a thing for like past years versus what it is now. more than

so it would just show the fiscal year uh salary and then no it would just

just the 2627 this is not it's an interesting question you're asking historically the budget

document we show the rest of the 300 pages

the budget document you receive is not absolutely required by law that's extra information the budget ordinance is the legal document that's only about eight pages long and that only shows 26 27 numbers. It will not have a comparison in that document of previous commissioner salaries because that's just not where you put that information,

but we can get that for you

if you want.

Okay.

All right.

Okay. Um the next um conversation is about our add and delete um list. And I do have before you based on previous conversations um potential adjustments uh to our budget um there have been discussions about potentially supporting um Durham public schools at a a higher level um with um some support from realigned dollars within Durham public schools. Um the intent was to help address the minimum wage or the livable wage amount. Um, this amount that we're proposing is $2,650,000 that would be matched by Durham Public Schools at the same amount through their internal realignments of $2,650,000 which could be used towards addressing the classified salaries uh amount. it would not get them to the level that's requested, but with both amounts, it would increase it by $1. Um the board's um conversation talked about throughout this whole

process of us looking at a long-term strategy and how we address the livable wage. Um there are different levels um throughout the community. uh the question becomes what can we afford and what can our taxpayers um what is their willingness to support. So this is a longer conversation. Um the next bullet there shows an amount um to restore the capital budget line item. Um, a few years ago we realigned an amount that we had increased uh to support some operating expenses and there is a million dollars to support Durham public schools um recommended um uh at this point as a point of discussion. Um this would support infrastruct um capital type um expenses. There is a remaining amount that is there um about um 650ome,000 to support our department of social services and public health areas because of all of the um reductions that they have faced. There are some program areas that need some support. In addition to some reductions, they um also had to uh uh handle a county local funded um reduction. And so, um, this does restore some of that because we do know with some of the policy shifts, there are dollars that are potentially needed, um, for, um, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and some other spaces that, um, and medical support that social services and public health are on the front line of doing. These total

realignments would um, result in a 4.2 2 million um increase to the budget that um is proposed at this juncture which would result in a half cent um property tax increase beyond what's recommended. And so the recommended budget had a 2 cent property tax increase. This would result in another half cent. So it would be a 2 and a half cent property tax increase recommended.

Okay, let's uh start with discussions about this. Thank you uh manager Hager. I really appreciate this. I appreciate the team and it looks like some creative work and some discussions have happened you know with DPS and with um social services, public health, everything. So I appreciate this. This is a really I think this is a really good start here. Uh Commissioner Burton and we'll go to Vice Chair Alum uh Commissioner Jacobs and then I'll speak afterwards as well.

Yes. Um thank you um Manager Hager for um sending this to us. Um I had a a few things a couple of things. So, the first thing I want to say, I just emailed um all of you the original budget that um the superintendent presented to um the school board. And in that original ask, it was for the expansion needs was he asked for 2, let's just round it, $2.8 million. Um that was in the original ask. It was $2,774,874 and that was the intention of getting because the classified staff is getting 3% which was put into the continuation

that would have gotten to a 5%. I don't know if we could

Could you say that? Could you say that those numbers again? I'm sorry.

It's right in that budget app. So in the continuation budget, they put in the 3% that the state was going to give. In the expansion part under classified pay increase, they put in 5% and that was going to cost $2,774,874. So when you added that amount to the 3% that would have been given a total of 5%. So I don't know if since we're at 265 2,650,000 if there's any way we could get to that number. That was the original ask if we could do that. I do appreciate the fact that the county manager has done this because when the numbers came back and you're looking at I did not realize this that 1,196 DPS employees make less than $1922. That's huge. And unfortunately because the state just starts the salaries out so low and we as a county, we as a community have been working so hard to catch people up, right? And we've done so much. I mean, even before I stepped on this board, Commissioner Jacobs, former Commissioner Carter, Burns, Cowton, etc. Other people who have been on this board trying to get this number to go up, right? And now we're at the

point where we're going to have to really come up with some planning with both bodies to figure out how do we get to this livable wage without always resorting to the property tax to do it. Um, so I'm a little like it's hard because you work with these people. I've worked with many of them and I did this work for many years to get people to more money and now it's it's getting tougher. the state is just putting more and more and more on us. So, um I don't know if we can get to that two points 2,774,874. The question I have is okay, if we contribute that much with the would people's salaries go up $1?

It would Okay. And then if DPS comes up with that amount, it should go up to 19. So, it won't go up to 19. It'll go up to 18. Okay.

Right. Yeah. Cuz cuz the ask was for um 10 million. Okay. And um based on feedback there is uh an amount that the county would come up to at 2.6 million and um Durham public schools would um give the same amount to come up to the um $18. Okay. And then with us coming back to talk about this next fiscal year. Um there are so many unknowns right now. The fact that they don't have a state budget um for the current fiscal year is puts them in a a challenged space. I'm hopeful based on the various

scenarios they will be at a better position in a few weeks if not months. and and so from from our perspective because they are nar navigating quite a few different areas we felt it best to do a measured approach at a level that they could match us as they look at their total operations and and that's what's presented based on board feedback and then also of course you always have to figure in the amount for the charters right So, um I think this is a good plan, but I I'm just asking that question because that was his that was the superintendent's original ask before the board voted differently. The school board voted differently. It was $2,774,874. And so I want to hear from my colleagues if we keep it here or if we could find it to get it to that number or would it make a difference?

Yeah,

it's only a 100,000 plus more than what we are what the county is proposing right now with the county proposal plus the promises from DPS. It's more than the 5% increase that the superintendent originally asked for directly from the county. They came back to the table and said we could find a couple of million dollars along with the 2.6 here that's proposing. If you go from $17 an hour roughly to $18 an hour, that's a 5.8% increase. So what I would say is that what is being proposed now from the manager per discussions with you all is higher than what the superintendent originally requested. It is not what the BOE is requesting the difference between those two documents but it is a medium somewhere in the middle higher than what the superintendent at 5% this would be higher than a 5% for classified it be

5.8 closer to 6% depending on what DPS brings to the table.

I just want to add just want to mention something there. So if that were the case with the 5.8 with this 5% 5.8 8 uh it gets it to 5.8 with the 2.6 million that the manager is

roughly depending on when a dollar

I get I get it I'm speaking just in general terms

that's u right at or just at about half of what the ask the like the board ask is for raises. So, if we get to the half right now, maybe we can have some discussions later about how we over some over some cycles to get the rest of the way up there. I'm just I just wanted to point that out.

Yes, I have a better understanding now. I was just trying to make sure.

I was just saying that in the ether just overall. Yeah.

Not directly to you.

Yeah. So, I have an understanding now that okay, come it's more than what he was originally asking for. So, okay, thank you so much. That's why we have these discussions, right?

And thank you for bringing up that reconciliation because there are lots of moving parts and so this does um confirm that we're in the right direction.

Right. Okay. Was that all for you, Commissioner Bertton?

Yeah, and like I said, just we're going to have to figure out a strategic plan on how we get people to this livable wage um in the long term. So thank you.

I would love for that to be like a future discuss on the future discussions pieces, you know, us together with the school board working through how do we get there over what cycles so that we actually have a plan as part of the a strategic plan?

Well, not our strategic plan, but a plan. Yeah. Yeah. Um, vice chair alone.

Yes. I know I talked to a bunch of staff this morning as well as the manager Hager. Um I think so from this so 2.65 is the county coming in and we're hoping the DPS has made a commitment to match the 2.65 and then with the state hopefully coming in to cover M's pay. That's another 1.7 million that they would reallocate um from their emails to classified pay that they'll no longer need to be using local funding for that. Um so this brings us up all of this to 1822 for the classified staff hopefully. And I guess I would like to know cuz you know DPS is coming to 2.65 65 following back up with them because in those conversations at the joint meeting, Teter did say 3 to four million that they had. Can they come up with that remaining 1.4 um that they said they potentially have? I I had exchanges with the superintendent um and they can meet our number and so we'll feel comfortable that what's being presented is an area that they can actually honor.

Okay. And so do we have an understanding then just for like transparency because I guess I would just like to know since they did they brought it to us that there was this potential 3 to four million like

well and we'll follow up about the 3 to 4 million. I will say that because they are facing lots of unknowns and have to do realignments because of some enrollment shifts that we may consider waiting to get all of those details. Um, with my conversations, it was one, can you

support the 2.6 six and we recognize you're still fleshing out your budget and may be looking at other areas and that that was a confirmation of yes. They also plan to give us the additional information because beyond this particular priority they have a lot of areas that we were not able to meet in our funding. So I know those remain priorities. So, we will um firm up when we can get those additional details and and bring those back to the board as an update and we'll work with them through our normal um joint meetings to um inform the board. That'd be really helpful because yeah, I think obviously like the 18 22 to 19 then jump as manager Hanker and I were talking this morning would be an additional 5 million which would be another half cent essentially or more for the county which is a lot for the county to carry on its own. So, but if I would really really like to see DPS, you know, with that 3 to 4 million that they said they have, come back to us with this information of can they put in that full 3 to 4 million. I I think we should really be pushing them since they've stated it that it is a possibility to bring that money forward. And also, I know I said to email yesterday, I'd like to see like their actuals on their spending. Um, as well as what is their executive level spending versus classified because I know on our level at the county like manager Hager had to do a lot of realignment because we were in typical budget situations to be like we have a lot of heavy um overhead spending at this area like we need to readjust and I would like to see DPS doing similar um readjustments within their budget. Because

if they can find these savings, which I believe that they should be able to from the funding that we have given them, can we close that additional 5 million with them coming up with more and then maybe just not the half cent from the county additional um not on top of the halfent you're already proposing now, but something. But um and I'll follow up. I know you're following up with um Mr. Teter and um Dr. Lewis already, but yes, that 1.4 million as well as their actuals in spending from the budgets that we the funding that we've given them in the past already. Has it been allocated and going to the areas that they've said that it's going to be going to from the county locally funding so that we can close that final final end? I I would just um reiterate that they may need more time to to flesh out all those nuances and we may not be able to reach it at this juncture through the fall that we have those follow-up conversations only because there are so many moving parts right now with the state budget as well as some of the federal So, and I I just want to make sure they're not in a situation that they can't absorb it and then it becomes a county um opportunity. And so, um I just just want to caution timing because we can always come back later. We've done that in the past. Um and so I I appreciate the sense of urgency because this is very important. um because uh these are the individuals that help to make sure our

children thrive and so that's important to our community.

Absolutely. And sorry chair that

it's also I mean and I know we talked about this this morning as well that it's difficult because like the county has increased our funding increased our funding and unfortunately we're in this state that DPS and I know Dr. Lewis and Mr. Teter have been making a lot of improvements and efforts, but we're at this point of, you know, mistrust with the management side of things that unfortunately our classified workers are getting the brunt of that punishment or fallback um because of that mismanagement. And I don't know if maybe Chair Lee um I know you and Chair Umstead have been working on theou agreement if there are things that we can shore up in there as well with our agreement of DPS of budget transparency within between the county and DPS and having more structured guidelines about I know we can't dictate what the money we give them goes towards but maybe in ourou we can have those alignments so that way we know know that the taxpayer dollars that we are putting forward are being used the way that they have been intended um to be used by that we are asking residents to pay more in their property taxes um to fund as well as providing our budget staff the information they need for us to rebuild that trust and relationship so that our classified staff aren't the ones who are suffering.

Go ahead.

Okay. What I will say, one of our first bullets and values that we have as far as board policy conversations um are quarterly briefings and budget performance updates. And with DPS as a part of our budget, we can commit to um making sure that we have a companion

document that gives um some highlights um in a greater detail for DPS. um when we give the board those updates and if the and other partner organizations that um have large um amounts although DPS is the largest I think that um that would not be um anything different that they're already sharing with their board but we can work towards a format with the superintendent so that that transparency is there and it becomes a part of our n natural cycle especially as we manage in this unique um environment that we find ourselves.

Okay. And I just um as you walk out vice chair um for the actuals to come in from DPS that actually takes a long time because of reimbursements that they do and movement. So um I I like the idea but just be aware that it takes a little while to get actuals from the school district. Um, Commissioner Jacobs.

Yeah, thank you. Um, I appreciate um the efforts that are being made here um on behalf of our staff and um I you know I also agree it is really heartbreaking um to hear from the classified staff and the way that people are struggling to survive. Um and uh so I I we know this is really really important. At the same time, we have to balance that with the fact that everyone in our there are a lot of people in our community that are also struggling in different ways and the impact that raising property taxes are having. Um, Commissioner Burton and I ran into we

were at Hillside for an amazing um the students uh presenting solutions to policy issues and problems in our community and uh a on our way out a um SRO from the office of the sheriff stopped us and very sincerely said to us, you know, I own a home here in Durham um but I am really struggling to support my family on the salary I make and then with the rising costs you know please don't raise my taxes anymore. Um so you know that's the challenge that we have. Um, you know, we we hear people say, "Oh, please do raise my taxes." But the reality is that we're having a shift in our country now. And cumulatively with all, you know, cost of gas, cost of food, um, things like that that people are really, um, you know, you see the data around people taking on record num amounts of credit card debt. You look at the macroeconomic factors. And so we do have to take this very seriously, raising um property taxes another half percent. Um I do support this um and ma mainly because for me personally I will only support this if Durham Public Schools is matching us in this. I and I I [clears throat] you know they have to put skin in the game and we have to jointly and collaboratively um be making tough decisions um based on demographic changes and the impact of state policies. you know, they are suffering because of policies around the vouchers and private schools um and [clears throat] charter schools. Um so,

you know, we are we are all in this together and that that also means that when we're making we're looking deep into our budget and departments are having to sacrifice and we're having to do things differently, we have to expect that from them. And also, this needs to be the number one priority right now for Durham public schools, raising the salaries of the classified staff. Um, and again, it's it's about priorities. So, I like Commissioner Alam, you know, I heard that three 3 to four million. We have been asking for weeks now for follow-up information. It is discouraging to me that even at this time that we still have not gotten definitive information. I know. But I I do I do want to make sure that before we adopt the budget that we have gotten something in writing from them. Well, I I did receive from the the superintendent their commitment and their ability to um match us with this 2.6 million. And we will also have the responses to the other questions later this week. Some of the questions at first glance may appear simple uh but they they do require a deeper dive and so uh we will we'll get those responses.

Okay. Thank you. Um and then you know I do understand the additional capital um you know the the need to really help with some of the technology that is aging out um and um I appreciate the support for social services and public health um you know even if these are

kind of set aside also to see as so that we can respond uh and the 50,000 to support reunification I will be really interested to hear directly from our DSS director and DSS staff what they have identified um as currently like what are the funds available. I'd like to better understand what is available to support family permanency and then how could this money be used because of course local funding you have a lot more flexibility. Um so at some point it would be great to hear that. Um and um so yeah, I support this approach and I I I wouldn't feel comfortable going above a half a cent personally because again what I said before. Um I do want I do have a few other questions about some other items. One was the cut for the DST funding. It's $2,000. Um there I would like to see the DOS budget stay at 100,000. You know they had asked for 150 and that is a fund that actually creates value. It is a good investment. Um we've seen we get our return on investment. So I would I would really not I because the budget has 98,000 and I understand where that's coming from but I would like to see that stay at 100. we can realign these dollars.

Um, and then I know that, you know, there were some things I had asked for reports and things on that we don't have yet, but um, and I know the Hay Tai Reborn

and they just sent theirs. So, we'll get we'll send that to the board.

Okay. Because I I do think it's important that we look at that. Um, especially when we have very limited funding. I'm concerned that there's only

$350,000 set aside for food security, which is, you know, h 100,000 less than this paid ty reborn for one nonprofit. And we again there we've we haven't gotten any, you know, I know we evidently just got the information, but I I haven't seen it yet. Um, but I this past year we allocated $465,000 for food security and I just think that that is going to be a real crisis. Um, I went to the Meals on Wheels gayla on Friday and I actually presented some comments on behalf of our board. Um, and right now the waiting list for Meals on Wheels is over 600 people. And so you think about our seniors, our most vulnerable residents. And and it's not just about the food, it's like the social contact that people get with meals on wheels. Um, I think there's some opportunities for us to do some things creatively and problem solving around that that I learned that night. And by the way, our I'm so proud of our staff. Rea, our food coordinator, she was one of the kind of keynote speakers. She did a fantastic job. And then um um Julio Samuel, one of our general services staff, his wife was also one of the keynote speakers talking about her family and her grandmother, how she had been helped and her family by Meals on Wheels. So we really uh I was very proud of our staff um um that night. But anyway, so I that is one thing I just wanted to flag as something I think we we really um and I know maybe the social services additional funding

will help

and and I will say that was the intent um with the dollars there. our social services team um in the budget over the years has supported gaps that may not be covered through federal state dollars and mills on wheels is one area in particular. We're also mindful with some of the federal grants that are winding down that were a part of the ARPA or infrastructure dollars that happened um at the state and federal level and even some of the dollars that we allocated. We recognize those gaps are there. And so, um, when we talk about how do we, um, support families, um, helping ensure that we can bridge when possible, um, those food insecurity gaps or housing insecurity gaps, the Department of Social Services as well as public health with the medical support are at the front line. And so, it's not enough, but it does support some of the 2% reductions that we had to make. Okay. Well, I'm glad to hear that this will be the this funding for public health and social services can be a potential way to help with that. Um and then um also I just want to highlight in terms of and thank you so much to the staff for the response to my questions. Um I wanted to highlight something that was really fascinating. Um the when I asked about the use of our microtransit program really fascinating that um most most of the usage is for Durham public schools. Um it showed that the majority of the trips that um are are um are

being used for um students to go to Riverside, Southern, Northern Lucas, and the School for Creative Studies. So I think this is really interesting I for us to dig into um in the fall is to get an update on this program and just to try to understand more of this dynamic that's happening and this is just this was fascinating to me because we started this as a way to try to kind of a bus desert in the north northern part of the county northeastern part of county where we don't have a lot of bus service and also like how to help people get to the jobs in Treyburn, you know, again to address economic opportunity because there are a lot of good paying jobs there for people that you don't have to have a lot of educational background for and instead it's it's it's really being used uh for kids to get to school which is great but that I don't know it just like what do what does this mean? I I don't really know. But, you know, I just think that that was I just wanted to highlight that was really really interesting. So again, um I do support this with the caveats of I would like to see um a commitment and also related to the conversation around how do we move forward working with DPS, I think one obvious change is from the data that staff shared, we have to get down to 20% benchmark for locally funded positions. Um we're at 24% now and you know Wake County, Meckllinmberg County there, you know, everyone else the highest is 20%. So, how do we achieve that being in line and also what Commissioner Burton raised about doing

something a forum with around um what's going on with our charter schools and because we can't just be asked trying to hold Durham public schools accountable. We can't just ask for transparency and accountability for them and not be doing it for all of the schools that are receiving Durham County funding. So, I look forward to us doing that as well.

Okay. All right. Um, thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Jacobs. Did you have one more thing? All right.

Um, I just wanted to bring this up. I had a um going back to the opioid um what was presented to us. I wanted to find out how is that how was it decided how much money community groups were given. Um Dr. Boon reached out to me about the funding. I think her organization is getting 61,000 and I know she requested more. So, and I know there was a discussion a few days ago um about it. So, I wanted to find out more how is money allocated towards these community groups to do the work around um you know opioid um things like that. I will um start and then I'll have um ACM Pierce to weigh in further. Uh there was a a a process developed for funding allocation similar to what we've done in other grant allocation processes such as um the ARPA funding. Uh a committee structure was established and um dollars allocated to priority projects. Before the RFP happened, there were several county related projects that were funded

based on um evidential um research and investments that had been made in the past. So, they were either new programs or expanded based on best practices and those have been in place. um the medical director um for the the detention center uh was added and that's a part of that base funding. There's funding also for community outreach that's coordinated through EMS again at the front line when they respond to opioid related incidents. And then there were a couple of others that I'm not quickly um able to recall ACM Pierce. I'm sure they will. Um, jurisdictions have used different approaches for strategy and funding. Some jurisdictions have used opioid dollars and um funded it totally through their county operations because they have the infrastructure there within their public health department and other places. And so that's where they felt from an efficacy perspective it was the best approach. Some have done blended approaches. Some have um allocated all of their opioid dollars um to a community partner. So I know the city of Durham allocated their funds to Lincoln Health because they are a community partner, work with Duke, have the evidence, have the staff, and that's another example. Um so it varies depending upon organizational strategy and um but most important um it's an approach all of it should be where do you get the greatest return on the investment and the blended approach is one that Durham County has has done. I I do believe we had close to um over $4 million

um over $6 million in ask above what we were able to fund. And so that also comes into the formula the the ask compared to our ability to support. And so I'll let um ACM peers pick up.

Manager Hager, you did a great job explaining that um process. And so and on your board you have a sitting um member of the advisory committee that came up with the recommendations. However, also the the committee looked at um evidence-based practices. Not saying that those that did not u receive uh the funding that they requested or adequate funding did not, but they looked at continuity of the services and and um other activities that occurred. And before uh the recommendations would even be um presented to you, there were the things that the um some of the activities and required um pieces uh per the um funding such as the administration piece the co-chairs of the uh committee presented I can't remember which uh presentation um which session um um I guess detailing what the process is And then I believe they're going to meet very soon to debrief uh the process that they did have um and come up with um some strategies and best practices and lessons learned. So, I'm not sure if that question is answered uh for you about what went into the um calculus of how the the amounts came to be, but they did they were already frontloaded some of the um county uh commitments with the funding already. So, um just limited resources and as the manager mentioned with really 1.5 million and we were able to identify additional funds

um for $6 million plus dollar request.

Gotcha. So, it's goes through a process of deciding who gets what how much based on a lot of factors. Okay. and I I can contact you more about it so I can learn more and I'll talk to Commissioner Jacobs about it, but I just wanted to make sure I addressed it. So, I appreciate that. Thank you so much.

Just as a heads up for commissioners, there will be an opioid ordinance coming to the board on June the 8th as well that you will approve, sort of listing out where those dollars are going. That opioid ordinance can always be adop changed during the year, but that's coming on the 8th as well. Thank you. Yeah, I just wanted to comment um there were over $6 million worth of requests for funding. Um I would say one one change is that this year because last year the only um nonprofit let's see the only nonprofits that received funding were the North Carolina Home Reduction Coalition and Recovery Innovations. This year it it's now a 6040 split. So for 40% to nonprofits, 60% to county government um related um programs. So this year um together for resilient youth try is being funded North Carolina harm reduction coalition bart which is a medicationass assisted treatment um provider um recovery innovations and also southlight southlight health durham they provide housing but there were many organizations that actually didn't receive any funding for instance Oxford House that provides housing, the Morse Clinic that is also an MAT provider, and there were a number of other ones. Um, I

think that this is also a policy decision that if we want to free up more funding to support um the community- based organizations, then it means that we will need to fund some of the other programs through the tax base. In other words, it'll imp So that that's a choice that's a policy choice um that I think this board needs to give direction um to the opioid advisory committee about um because and you know so that that is a I think that's a discussion that we should have um and I absolutely understand the frustration for organizations like try um you know who who does amazing work in the community um is just you know how how can we approach this going forward. Um and um you know I will say that in terms of recommended funding levels there was a preliminary uh recommendation from staff for $75,000 for Durham Tri. Um then the committee came back and they ended up doing a different process where they ended up with the 61,000. I forget the exact number. Um so those were the two numbers that were out there. I just want to share that. Um so they they were originally um but recommended by staff for 75,000. Um so but it it was very very difficult. Um and but you know there's no doubt they are a partner with um Narcan you know they do many things but in terms of this specific uh this specific award is related to harm reduction and distribution of Narcan um in the community um which they

are definitely a very important and key partner for that

and I appreciate all of this I'm learning about the opioid fund and things like that and all the processes. So, I appreciate all the information and we'll just go forward in figuring out, you know, giving direction and about um everything. So, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Okay. All right. I um I did have a question. So with these two new uh the proposed things that we have on here, what is that total for the uh for DPS?

Keith, um can you clarify the the um response to the question? What is the new DPS total with this additional $3.6 million? And you know what? I can look. Hold on.

Mike to I don't have the numbers in front of me. I don't have staff. It's

like

I just wanted to just clarify.

Sure.

I'm sure I mean

I could add it up here.

238 million.

No, I mean like for the like the addition

for this cycle,

not the total of what we send

we did 10.9 million in additional funding before this additional $3.65 million. So, it's roughly $14.5 million if I'm rounding.

Okay.

Of additional funding for DPS.

Additional. Yeah.

All right. Additional 3 six five. Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you for that. I I appreciate that. Um,

let's see here. You You know, I'm um I'm gonna pass. Um I was gonna uh I'm not really sure where the place is. But I think I'll just talk to you directly because I'm not entirely sure where places of as a uh add a remove or policy

okay

discussion. I'm not really I'm not sure where to place and I don't want to put it in the wrong wrong place. So I'm going to talk to you directly and then we can uh pro possibly discuss it on Monday there because I have a I have a thing I' I've been interested in. I'm just not sure where to place it. So, I'll skip that for right now. Okay.

Okay. And we can always talk about it.

Okay. Yeah. Just just a one-on-one.

Yes, sir.

All right. Um, but this discussion has been has been really really good and it looks like there are some things to uh consider, but I really want to um highlight that we are with this addition, we're actually moving closer to what DPS is asking for for their classified staff. Right? is is with with the work that DPS is going to do and with this additional 2.6 million that's going to move possibly a couple dollars closer. Um but on top of that we are committing to working on a plan to see how we can close that GLA that gap and that's not um I don't see that as us moving towards the 1922 that means so like our 1922 is moving you know like at some point at some rate it's moving but I really want to make sure that we are we catch up right at some point, whatever that may

mean. And I just I want to be able to um measure on that as we go, like each year as we get closer and closer, I want to see how that gap is closing. That's going to be really important um for people. Um but once we once we confirm where DPS is uh what they're doing on their side, making sure that we're confirming that they're doing the 2.6 six as well. I would really Yeah, I I'm I'm just saying that once it's there, I really want to communicate what that means salary-wise for the classified staff, where that actually lands. Um I think it's going to be important for us to communicate that out, what that actually looks like. Okay. Other than that, I I I appreciate the work that you all did to get that 2.6 six million and the other funding there is super important. So, thank you.

All right.

All right. We're clear.

And I just want to say also us thinking about where we want county employees to be, you know, raising, you know, going above the 1922 and thinking about that. Um because we want them to know that we value what they do and we want their salaries to increase so we can have conversations about that as well. moving up above the 1922. So, thank you all for all this hard work.

This is good. All right. Um,

yes.

Just real quick, there's a couple other things on the add delete list. So, just one to state that don't cost the county dollars. There's a OES grant that needs to be added in. That would be a plus $59,000 in revenue and a plus $59,000 in expenditure. just would be remiss without pointing that out that that's a small change to the budget. And after some clarifying discussions with uh public health about the dine program, it's not a reduction of 4.97 positions. It's a reduction of only four

positions. So there's going to be a 97 FTE change between the manager's recommended budget and the approved budget. Not a dollar change, just an FDA change. So just those are two technical changes that I feel I would feel guilty if I didn't let you know it's part of what's happening along with what you just decided on for DPS which is that half cent and a little funding for DSS and public health. Okay. So are we having a meeting on the 4th? No, we are going straight to the ordinance. All right, we're clear.

Thank you.

Okay. I want to thank the budget team um organizational effectiveness all of the county departments for your efforts. We have been working on this budget since September and it's been intense and I thank you for your commitment to Durm County and our taxpayers and although some tough decisions had to be made, I feel good about the process that we went through to get to this point. So, thank you. Thank you, manager.

Absolutely.

And thanks to our budget staff and to OE staff. There's a lot of work that went into this, so we appreciate it.

Right. All right. So, I think that brings us to the end of our agenda today, our budget work session. All hearts and minds clear.

All right. I consider us ajourned. Thank you.

All right.