NC govwatch

← All meetings

Business Meeting

Orange County · Board of County Commissioners
Monday, December 2, 2024

Regular meeting Appointments and personnelElections and districtsHousing and affordabilityIntergovernmental agreementsTax rate and revaluationTransitBudget and appropriationsHealth and human servicesHomelessness and shelterLitigation and settlementsPolice and public safetyPublic facilitiesState legislative agenda

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 6.aOrange County Global Agreement for Capital Approved unanimously

Another 1 item passed on the consent agenda, which is a single motion covering routine business. See the list.

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County's commissioners organized for a new term on December 2, 2024. Four members took the oath of office, Jamezetta Bedford was re-elected chair and Jean Hamilton elected vice-chair, and the board named its delegates to the state and national county associations.

The only regular item was the Global Agreement for Capital, the document each member government must sign under the transit tax governance the board adopted with GoTriangle in June 2023.

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

The board approved the Global Agreement for Capital unanimously and authorized the county manager to sign it. The agreement is required of every member under the Comprehensive Participation Agreement that came out of the 2023 transit tax governance rewrite, which gave each member a voting seat on the staff working group. Signing lets the county request capital funds from GoTriangle. Commissioners asked why a software platform counts as capital; the transportation director explained that operating money does not carry over between years and capital does, so unfinished work was reclassified. The county manager added that everything in the plan can be called capital because none of it is debt-financed. One commissioner noted the agreement refers in one place to the 'City of Orange' rather than the county. Another asked about the 17-year term and was told the annual work plan comes back every year.

Bedford was re-elected chair and Hamilton elected vice-chair, both on seven votes. State Representatives Allen Buansi and Renée Price and District Court Judge Joal Broun administered the oaths. Commissioners agreed by consensus on voting delegates: Portie-Ascott for the state association and Carter for the national one, with Greene and Hamilton as alternates.

The consent agenda authorized the construction manager at risk delivery method for the county's crisis diversion facility, approved addendums to the on-call engineering contract with WSP for transportation services, and bought backup radio equipment for the primary 911 answering point. It also released property and motor vehicle taxes for four taxpayers each and allowed eleven late exemption applications for the 2024 tax year. The county attorney reported the Senate had overridden the Governor's veto of the bill carrying planning and elections law changes, and said he would report back on what it means for Orange County. The board went into closed session for over an hour on Crouch v. Orange County and adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

How the votes went

Chair and vice-chair each elected on seven votes. The Global Agreement for Capital, the consent agenda, reconvening from closed session and adjournment all carried unanimously. Voting delegates were settled by consensus.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

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

Agenda items (12)

Staff or committee report · 4Procedural · 3Appointment · 2Contract or award · 1Consent agenda · 1Closed session · 1
  1. 0 Oaths of Office for Board Members
    Procedural Appointments and personnel
    State Representative Allen Buansi swore in Commissioner-elect Marilyn Carter, State Representative Renée Price swore in Commissioner Amy Fowler, and District Court Judge Joal Broun swore in Commissioners Jean Hamilton and Phyllis Portie-Ascott.
  2. a Election of Board of Commissioners' Chair and Vice-Chair
    Appointment Appointments and personnelElections and districts
    Jamezetta Bedford was re-elected chair and Jean Hamilton elected vice-chair, each on seven votes.
    Bedford re-elected chair, Hamilton elected vice-chair
  3. b Designation of Voting Delegates and Alternates for NCACC and NACo Meetings
    Appointment Appointments and personnelIntergovernmental agreements
    By consensus, Commissioner Portie-Ascott is the county's voting delegate to the NC Association of County Commissioners and Commissioner Carter to the National Association of Counties, with Commissioner Greene and Vice-Chair Hamilton as alternates.
  4. 2 Public Comments
    Procedural
    None on matters off the printed agenda.
  5. 3 Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members
    Staff or committee report
    Reports from commissioners.
  6. 6.a Orange County Global Agreement for Capital
    Contract or award Budget and appropriationsIntergovernmental agreementsTransit
    The board approved the Global Agreement for Capital and authorized the county manager to sign. Every member government must sign one under the Comprehensive Participation Agreement created by the transit tax governance the board and GoTriangle adopted in June 2023 with the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO, which also gave each member a voting seat on the staff working group. Signing lets the county draw capital funds from GoTriangle. Commissioners questioned classifying a software platform as capital and were told operating money does not carry between years while capital does, and that nothing in the plan is debt-financed. The agreement runs 17 years, with an annual work plan approved each…
    Approved unanimously
  1. 9 County Manager's Report
    Staff or committee report Homelessness and shelterHousing and affordability
    The low-barrier housing work group begins in January, opening with a community forum held with Alliance Health. The chair asked that the item also go to Justice United.
  2. 10 County Attorney's Report
    Staff or committee report Elections and districtsState legislative agenda
    The county attorney reported the state Senate had voted to override the Governor's veto of the bill carrying planning and elections law changes. He said he would examine the elections provisions and report back on their effect in Orange County.
  3. 12 Information Items
    Staff or committee report Housing and affordabilityTax rate and revaluation
    The tax collector's numerical analysis, enforced collections measure and foreclosure history; the tax assessor's report on releases and refunds under $100; and a memorandum on forming a focused work group on low-barrier housing.
  4. 13 Closed Session
    Closed session Litigation and settlements
    The board went into closed session at 8:14 p.m. under G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) to consult its attorney and receive information on Crouch v. Orange County, and to approve closed session minutes. It reconvened at 9:25 p.m.
    Reconvened unanimously at 9:25 p.m.
  5. 14 Adjournment
    Procedural
    Adjourned unanimously at 9:25 p.m.

Other recent meetings of this board