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Business Meeting

Orange County · Board of County Commissioners
Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Regular meeting Contracts and procurementPublic facilitiesAppointments and personnelBroadband and technologyHealth and human servicesTax rate and revaluationBudget and appropriationsElections and districtsEthics and transparencyIntergovernmental agreementsTransit

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Orange County's commissioners opened their August 25 meeting with the oath of office for Commissioner Rani Dasi, and directed on the consent agenda that the crisis diversion facility under construction be named for Jamezetta Bedford. The formal resolution honoring Bedford, who died on June 21, came back to the board a week later.

The one item of regular business was how the county advertises its land for sale. Until now it did the legal minimum, a notice in The Herald Sun. The new process adds a listing on the MLS, county social media, the community newsletter, a sign at the property and the asset management webpage, with the winning bidder covering the costs: $200 to $3,500 for legal ads, $500 for the MLS listing and $1,200 for an appraisal. The tax collector reported a 99.33 percent current-year collection rate for FY 2025-26. Consent also carried the sale of a 1.24-acre placeholder lot on Mollie Court, four bus shelters for Hillsborough, and dissolution of the broadband task force whose work produced the county's $10 million fiber contract with Lumos.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Rani Dasi took the oath of office from District Court Judge Joal Hall Broun and sat for the rest of the meeting, filling the seat left by Jamezetta Bedford. Everything on the agenda passed unanimously.

The tax collector's annual settlement showed Orange County collected 99.33 percent of the current year's levy for the year ended June 30, 2026: 99.38 percent on real property, 97.16 percent on personal property and 99.91 percent on registered motor vehicles collected by the state. Collections manager Valerie Curry said 93 percent of the revenue arrives by January 5 and that the county is in the top ten statewide. The board approved the settlement, issued the order to collect for 2026-2027, and wrote off 2016 property tax debts past the ten-year collection limit along with uncollectable 2020 ambulance bills.

On the regular agenda the board adopted a new way of advertising county land for sale. Until now the county did the legal minimum, a notice in The Herald Sun. Under the new process staff will also post to county social media and the community newsletter, list the property on the MLS, put a sign on the land, and have it appraised, with the winning bidder covering those costs: $200 to $3,500 for advertising, $500 for the MLS listing and $1,200 for the appraisal. Asset Management is reviewing all 170 county-owned properties with Planning to give the board a surplus list. The board added Economic Development to the departments that must be consulted before a sale, at Commissioner Carter's request.

The consent agenda ran to 19 items and carried with a correction to the June 4 budget work session minutes, where a motion to raise taxes by 0.47 cents to fund education had been recorded wrongly. Among them: dissolving the county's Broadband Task Force, four bus shelters from Brasco International, a three-year NEOGOV contract at $553,290.78, a $213,588 Proofpoint email security renewal through Carahsoft, boilers at the Richard E. Whitted Complex and a computer room air conditioning unit at the West Campus office building, both from Brady Trane, animal control contracts with Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, and the sale of 1.24 acres in Hillsborough.

How the votes went

Four recorded votes, all unanimous with all seven commissioners present. The tax collector's settlement and the order to collect passed on a motion by McKee seconded by Dasi. The new real property sale process passed on a motion by Vice-Chair Fowler seconded by Greene, amended to add Economic Development to the departments consulted. The consent agenda passed on a motion by McKee seconded by Fowler, with a correction to the June 4 minutes. Adjournment was moved by Carter and seconded by Dasi.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

3 members of the public spoke.

  1. William Madden repeated his concern that a girls-only EMS summer program may not comply with the county's non-discrimination policy, and said the explanation he had been given was inadequate.
  2. Kari Hamel asked for public detail on any change to the student funding formula for the two school districts, for a review of whether they have enough money to answer public records requests on time, and for steps to raise the teacher supplement for student-facing staff.
  3. Delores Bailey of EMPOWERment, Inc. welcomed Commissioner Dasi, said she owns 73 rental units across Orange County, and told the board she would return to speak on that.

Three people spoke on matters not on the agenda. No public hearings were held.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Jump to an item (14 on this agenda)
  1. OathOath of Office — Commissioner Rani Dasi
  2. 2Public Comments (Limited to One Hour)
  3. 3Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members
  4. 4.aTax Collector's Annual Settlement for Fiscal Year 2025-26
  5. 6.aUpdated Process for the Sale of Orange County-Owned Real Property
  6. 8Consent Agenda
  7. 8.eSunsetting of the Orange County Broadband Task Force
  8. 8.hNaming of the Orange County Crisis Diversion Facility
  9. 8.iApproval to Purchase Four (4) Bus Shelters
  10. 8.lApproval of Sale of 1.24 Acre Property, Hillsborough
  11. 8.mFY 2026-27 Animal Control Services Contracts
  12. 8.nAmendment to Lumos Agreement
  13. 12Information Items
  14. 13Closed Session

Agenda items (14)

Resolution · 3Contract or award · 3Procedural · 2Discussion item · 2Appointment · 1Consent agenda · 1Staff or committee report · 1Closed session · 1
  1. Oath Oath of Office — Commissioner Rani Dasi
    Appointment Appointments and personnelElections and districts
    A district court judge administers the oath to the commissioner appointed on 28 July to the vacant District 1 seat. She serves until 7 December and is on the November ballot for the full term.
  2. 2 Public Comments (Limited to One Hour)
    Procedural
    Up to an hour, three minutes a speaker, on matters not on the printed agenda.
  3. 3 Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members
    Procedural
    Three minutes per commissioner.
  4. 4.a Tax Collector's Annual Settlement for Fiscal Year 2025-26
    Resolution Budget and appropriationsTax rate and revaluation
    The tax collector's annual settlement, the formal close-out of the year's collections.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved unanimously, with the order to collect for 2026-2027 issued and the write-offs directed.
  5. 6.a Updated Process for the Sale of Orange County-Owned Real Property
    Discussion item Contracts and procurementEthics and transparencyPublic facilities
    A revised process for how the county disposes of land and buildings it owns. The only item on the regular agenda.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved unanimously, with Economic Development added to the departments consulted on potential uses.
  1. 8.e Sunsetting of the Orange County Broadband Task Force
    Resolution Appointments and personnelBroadband and technology
    Winding up the Broadband Task Force.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved on the consent agenda.
  2. 8.h Naming of the Orange County Crisis Diversion Facility
    Discussion item Health and human servicesPublic facilities
    Naming the county's Crisis Diversion Facility. A resolution commending the late Commissioner Bedford and naming the facility for her comes back on the 1 September agenda.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved on the consent agenda.
  3. 8.i Approval to Purchase Four (4) Bus Shelters
    Contract or award Contracts and procurementTransit
    Buying four bus shelters.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved on the consent agenda.
  4. 8.l Approval of Sale of 1.24 Acre Property, Hillsborough
    Resolution Contracts and procurementPublic facilities
    Sale of a 1.24-acre county parcel in Hillsborough.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved on the consent agenda.
  5. 8.m FY 2026-27 Animal Control Services Contracts
    Contract or award Contracts and procurementHealth and human servicesIntergovernmental agreements
    Animal control service contracts with Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough for the 2026-27 year.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved on the consent agenda.
  6. 8.n Amendment to Lumos Agreement
    Contract or award Broadband and technology
    Adjusting the final service locations and milestones in the county's agreement with Lumos, its broadband partner.
    From the minutes: From the minutes: approved on the consent agenda.
  7. 12 Information Items
    Staff or committee report Tax rate and revaluation
    Three tax collector's reports, including in-rem foreclosure progress, and the tax assessor's releases and refunds under $100.
  8. 13 Closed Session
    Closed session
    Closed session.

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

Other recent meetings of this board