REVISED
(Adjustments to Item No. 11 and
Addition?11a)
THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
DURHAM, NORTH
CAROLINA
Monday, February 7, 2005
9:00 A.M. Worksession
AGENDA
1. AW
North Carolina Inc.?Introduction of New President
The Board will have the pleasure of
being introduced to the new President of AW North Carolina Inc., Mr. Kanji
Asai.
Mr. Asai will make brief
introductory remarks and answer any questions Board members may have.
2. Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) Annual Update
Triangle
Transit Authority General Manager John Claflin would like to present the TTA
Annual Update to the County
Commissioners.
County Manager?s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
Commissioners receive the Annual
Update from Triangle Transit Authority.
3. Durham Workforce Development Board Annual Report
Director
Alan DeLisle, Office of Economic and Employment Development, would like to
present the Durham Workforce Development Board Annual Report to the Board of
County Commissioners.
County Manager?s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
Commissioners receive the Durham
Workforce Development Board Annual Report.
4. Advertising of Tax Liens
5. Amendment
to Total Billings
Contract
The Tax Administration Department
entered into a contract with Total Billings Inc. for the printing, mailing, and
design of all bills and notices. The
Board of County Commissioners
approved the contract on June 28, 2004 for $79,000 for the actual printing,
design, and mailing of the notices and $100,000 for postage. The original calculation of the contract
amount was based on an estimate of notices anticipated for mailing for the
year. Due to the following, an amendment
to the contract is needed: The
department increased the number of notices sent to Total Billings Inc. for
printing this year such as Debt Setoff letters, an increase in the number of
enforcement notices mailed, implementation of the Doc View program to retrieve
images of the notices on One/Tax, the use of E-check through the Internet, and an
increase in the number of inserts placed within the notices that affected the
weight of the envelope.
The Tax Department anticipates that
the amount needed to complete the 04-05 fiscal year for mailing services is $35,000
and $58,000 for postage.
6. Presentation
from Correct Care Solutions?Update on Medical Services at the Detention
Facility and the Youth Home
Over the past three years, the
Health Department experienced growing difficulty in recruiting and maintaining
adequate staffing for the Jail Health Program.
Inmates with increasingly complex health conditions are frequently
housed in the Durham County Detention Facility.
Consequently, health care costs for jail inmates have increased at an
alarming rate. The Health Department
proposed contracting with a correctional health care company to control costs
while providing high-quality medical care in the Jail Health Program.
Following Board approval last
summer, a contract was signed with Correct Care Solutions (CCS) to provide
medical services for the populations housed at both the Durham County Detention
Facility and the Youth Home. CCS is to
be commended for its ability to implement services on September 1, less than
six weeks from the time of Board approval.
To date, the program has operated as
agreed-upon. The infirmary is open;
staff is present 24 hours/day, 7 days/week; and the number of emergency room
visits, hospital admissions, and other visits for external referrals is
significantly lower. Regular
communication between staff in the Sheriff?s Department, the Youth Home, the
Health Department, and CCS helps to address issues as they arise. The executive management of CCS has prepared
a presentation to update the Board of County Commissioners
on the status and costs of jail health care services since the implementation
of their service delivery model.
The Board of Health has received
this presentation.
7. Community
Assistance Data Base
The Department of Social Services
(DSS), Information Technology (IT) Department, and community partners have
developed a Community Assistance Data Base (CADB) that allows DSS staff and
partner agencies that provide emergency assistance to coordinate and share
information to improve services for families.
The development of this system is part of the County?s Work First Plan. It is a web-based application developed by IT
staff that is accessible to DSS staff and community partner agencies. By working together to design the system, the
system is also serving as Durham?s
Homeless Management Information System, saving the community up to $1 million
that other NC communities have spent to meet federal requirements. Working together, partner agencies applied
for HUD grant funding to purchase a needed security device (F5 Firepass) and
were recently awarded $60,000. This
device will allow non-County partners secure access to our server and will reap
dividends for other County departments. The
presentation will provide an overview of the CADB, including a demonstration of
the system. The development and
implementation of this system has been a true partnership meeting the needs of
each agency and has enabled us to work smarter in service to Durham?s most vulnerable families.
County Manager?s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
Board receive the presentation and ask any questions deemed necessary.
8. Telecommunications
System Upgrade
The Board of County Commissioners is requested to receive a presentation
on the County?s telecommunications system upgrade. Staff is proposing to upgrade Voice
Communications from Centrex to Voice-over?IP and to upgrade Durham County?s
Data Infrastructure. This new system is
projected to cost $1,410,000. It is
anticipated that the funds for this project can be borrowed and financed over a
48-month period at a rate of 4% with an annual payment of $384,958. The efficiency created by this upgrade is
expected to provide operational savings in excess of the annual debt
service. The
pro-forma compares the budgeted operational expenses for FY2005 to the
projected operational expenses after the upgrade to produce the savings.
It is expected that the process for
obtaining financing for the project will take up to
90 days; as such, staff is requesting that an appropriation from fund balance
for $1,410,000 be approved so that the equipment can be ordered. Once the financing is approved and closed,
the project will be funded by the loan and the fund balance appropriation
reversed.
This project was bid through RFP
04-028 on 04/08/04 and closed on 05/13/04. Verizon?s proposal was selected as the
best solution based on criteria including price, support, and technology. Since that time, staff has been working with
Verizon to conduct a detailed analysis of the telecommunication requirements of
each County site.
If the Board directs staff to move
forward, the Board will be requested to award the Telecommunications System bid
to Verizon and authorize the County
Manager to execute the
contract with Verizon. In addition, a
budget appropriation, a capital project amendment, and a Reimbursement
Resolution will be prepared for approval during the February 14, 2005 Board
meeting.
9. Community Health Trust Fund
The Finance Departmentwould like to present the performance of the Community Health
Trust Fund for the calendar year
ending December 31, 2004.
10. Mental
Health Report: Substance Abuse Treatment
Analysis and Planning for Durham
County
In May 2004, the Technical
Assistance Collaborative Inc. (TAC) submitted an analysis of substance abuse
services in Durham
County. This report addressed the challenges to
creating a seamless continuum of addiction treatment and identified
deficiencies in the Durham
County system that
existed at the time of the study. Some
of these deficiencies included issues related to underdeveloped and fragmented
core services and residential programs (particularly for adolescents), the
inability to track treatment services, underdeveloped relationships with the
self-help community, inadequate numbers of qualified substance abuse
professionals, and insufficient training opportunities for people who work with
individuals with addictions.
Since the completion of that report,
The Durham Center has made substantial progress in addressing many of the
recommendations identified in the TAC document.
These efforts include filling The Durham Center?s Medical Director
position with a nationally recognized ASAM certified physician, implementing
The Durham Center Access program, developing additional residential treatment
options, and creating a dialog for cooperative efforts with faith-based
agencies, law enforcement, medical establishments, social agencies, and health
care providers. Numerous Requests for
Proposals (RFPs) are also currently being developed to enhance significantly
the substance abuse service delivery system in Durham County.
An important endeavor will be the
development of a Recovery Institute that will ultimately function as an
independent entity within Durham
County. This agency will be empowered with the
responsibility of advocating for changes necessary to achieve a nurturing
environment for recovery services. The
Recovery Institute will include representation from all major stakeholders and
will be structured to promote a countywide enthusiasm for addressing substance
abuse issues. The Recovery Institute
will also champion such causes as addressing social inequity, embracing ethnic
and cultural sensitivity, reducing the stigma of addictive illness, and identifying
and promoting best practices.
An array of comprehensive services
is also being developed that will feature a variety of innovative
community-based treatment options, service planning, and delivery built upon
the strengths and resources of the consumer and family, a highly organized and
integrated support system, and interagency/community collaboration at the
system level. Another innovative and
important initiative will be the development of treatment opportunities for
individuals with co-occurring disorders.
These include high-risk individuals who suffer from both a serious
emotional handicap and an addictive disorder.
Additional information regarding these services is included in the report
appendix.
The continuum of care shall be
developed in accordance with ASAM Levels of treatment and will be evaluated by
The Durham Center?s Quality Improvement Section and Contracts Management Team
to ensure that services are provided in accordance with best practice standards
and evidenced-based treatment models.
The Durham
Center, as the local
management entity (LME) and the County agency responsible for alcohol and drug
addiction services, is positioned to be the catalyst for achieving the goals
outlined in the report. This document
describes a plan for implementing the TAC findings and redesigning the
substance abuse service delivery system in Durham County.
County Manager?s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
Board receive the presentation and advise the staff if any additional
information is necessary.
11. Bringing
Income Maintenance Salaries Up to Market Rate
DSS is experiencing a 30-35% annual turnover rate in Income
Maintenance (IM) positions. A 2004-05 HR
benchmark study indicates the IM positions are 9% behind the market (Orange and Wake
Counties). These positions provide critical services
that have seen a dramatic increase in demand, particularly in Medicaid and Food
Stamps. Caseloads and vacancy rates are
high; staff retention is increasingly difficult. Resolution
of this issue is particularly important in the Income Maintenance area, where
the pressure of working in an ?entitlement" environment that serves tens of
thousands of Durham
County residents is
intense and the pace is non-stop. Unlike
other program areas, the impact of excessive workloads in entitlement programs
cannot be ?managed" by reducing services, delaying benefits, or asking
individuals to ?come back another day". DSS
is making this request outside of the normal budget cycle because the turnover
crisis is severely impacting service delivery, accuracy, and processing
times. This request is consistent with
the planned HR benchmark study that will further document the crisis in Income
Maintenance positions:
1.
Amend the Education and Experience Requirements so those individuals with a
Bachelor?s degree in Human Services, Health, Public Administration, or related
field are fully qualified.
2.
Increase the Hiring Rate from $24,811 to $27,044.
3.
Provide a 5% salary
adjustments for existing IM staff (including supervisors and program managers) to maintain
current salary relationships.
Because Income Maintenance positions
are funded with 50% of federal revenue, the cost to the County for the last
four months of FY05 is
$31,701 which will be paid
from an existing source?the Medicaid At-Risk Case Management cost settlement
fund. In this fiscal year, there will be
no increased cost to the County. The
annualized cost to the County would be $95,104. Please see
the attachment for more details.
11a.ERP Project
The Finance
Department would like to enter into a contract with SAP Public Service Inc. to
develop instructional material for the training of Durham County
employees in the operations of the new financial system. Funding for this contract will be in an
amount not to exceed $39,100 and from funds currently budgeted in the Finance Department.
This contract is essential for the timely implementation of the new
system.
12. Closed
Session (To be held during lunch)
Pursuant to G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(5)
& (6), the Board is requested to adjourn to Closed Session to instruct
staff concerning the position to be taken on the terms of possible acquisition
of 247 S. Mangum Street owned by U-Haul Real Estate Company and 306 S. Roxboro
Street owned by Scarborough and Hargett Funeral Home; and to consider a
personnel matter.
