Work Session Minutes of the Town of Cary, NC

June 12, 2007

4:30 p.m.

Cary Town Hall, Room 10035, 316 N. Academy St., Cary

Present: Mayor Ernie McAlister, Mayor Pro Tem Jack Smith, Council Members Marla Dorrel, Ervin Portman, Jennifer Robinson, Julie Robison and Nels Roseland

Mayor McAlister began the meeting at 4:35 p.m.

Mayor McAlister stated that the three appointed staff should provide the council with their self-evaluations prior to Thursday evening, June 14, 2007.

Non profit discussion:

Mayor McAlister stated the new process is an attempt to de-politicize the process.

ACTION: Mr. Portman moved to fund Kids Voting in the amount of $5,000 out of the difference between the total amount set aside for non profits of $120,000, and the total amount proposed to spend on non profits of $109,000 (the difference in what’s allowed and what was proposed to be spent). Mr. Roseland provided the second.

Mr. Portman stated the Town has given Kids Voting $5,000 a year for the past few years. He thinks the decline in voter turnout should be a concern to all governing bodies; he added the program is educational to new voters and provides healthy reinforcement to existing voters.

Mrs. Robinson wants to ensure that the Cary officials are on the Kids Voting ballot and that it’s available at all Cary polling places. She suggested that even if there are not enough Kids Voting Volunteers to staff each precinct, that at least they could drop off ballots.

Mr. Roseland stated $5,000 is not enough money to expect it will address every precinct and one-stop voting. He agreed with Mr. Portman’s assessment about the importance of civics education.

Ms. Dorrel stated Kids Voting does not just drop off ballots unless they have enough volunteers to work the precinct, because they do not want to add to the duties of the official election workers. She believes they are putting the ballots and materials in the schools this year. Mrs. Robinson stated she understood that they’re putting these materials in the high schools. She thinks it would be great if they did this for all the schools and allow the teachers to distribute them so the children may cast their ballots in the schools. She stated if they are going to receive Cary funds, then they should make an effort to provide the Cary kids with the ballots.

Mayor McAlister stated he’s heard two things: (1) to make sure that Cary races are included on the ballot and (2) to make sure that Cary children get the ballots. He stated the council should have faith that this organization will meet these goals to the best of their ability.

Ms. Dorrel stated the council has adopted instant runoff voting for the October election, and Kids Voting will have to have a different kind of ballot. She stated this is another reason to fund this organization.

Mrs. Robison asked Town Clerk Sue Rowland to explain the justification for not funding this organization. Mrs. Rowland stated the primary reason is that elections is not a municipal function and did not support the Town’s mission statement, statement of values and goals and initiatives, and when looking at the non profits as a whole, other organizations were more aligned with the Town’s goals. She stated it seems that the county and the Wake County Board of Elections would be the primary organization to fund this organization. She further added that the staff committee used a standard form to rate the non profit organizations, and the group met and made the recommendations that were presented to council.

Mrs. Robison stated it seems that when all the groups were rated this organization was not as aligned with the mission of the Town as was other groups. Mrs. Rowland concurred. Mrs. Robison asked if staff thinks the program adds value to Cary citizens in general. Mrs. Rowland believes the organization does a good job. Mrs. Robison stated it is appropriate to ask this group to provide information next year on how many of our polling stations had the ballots, how many Cary kids voted, etc. She stated it’s good to have measures for staff as they evaluate these requests.

Mayor Pro Tem Smith is concerned with the council changing the process that was established. He stated that there are some decisions that he personally does not agree with, but he respects the process. He stated he personally does not think the Town should augment social services that are a county or state responsibility, but we’re doing that with the non-profit funding. He stated the proposed funding is less than the cap that the council established; he stated if Kids Voting would push us over that cap, then he would suggest that we tweak other contributions to stay within that cap.

Mr. Portman stated the process is good, and staff has done a good job. He stated this council review does not take away from the staff’s good work; rather, it’s a tweak of 4% of the amount and only represents one item due to a slight difference of opinion of whether it’s germane to Cary citizens and the Town’s culture.

ACTION: Vote was called for on the motion to fund Kids Voting in the amount of $5,000, and council granted unanimous approval.

Mrs. Robison questioned $7,000 for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh (homeless/transitional housing), and she asked if this pertains to the Town’s CDBG program. She asked why we would fund an organization whose mission is so similar to the mission of the Carying Place, which is another organization that receives Town funding. Mr. Philip Smith of the planning department stated as part of the Town’s requirements to get the CDBG grant, the Town must address homelessness as a total package to show how we meet the needs of the community. He stated in addition to getting the CDBG we also get an entitlement amount of an emergency services grant of $80,000 (for this current year). He stated rather than creating homeless facilities in Cary where there is little demand, it is more appropriate to keep the shelters in Raleigh where social services that support them are located. He stated Cary has a requirement and responsibility to assist. He stated the plan calls for support circles, a concept where families volunteer to assist homeless families in transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing status. He stated it is similar to the Carying Place, but it is a more faith based volunteer effort. He stated monies from the Town will help pay some of the expenses with homeless family transition (rent, clothing, etc.).

Mrs. Robinson stated it sounds like the area pools resources to help with the at-large community problem of homelessness. Mr. Smith concurred and added that the Town of Cary is a member of the Wake County Continuum of Care, which is an association of all homeless providers in Wake County.  

Mrs. Robison asked if this organization was the only one that applied to Cary for non profit money. Mr. Smith stated they are the only organization that applied for funds from Cary. Mrs. Robison asked if it’s required that the Town work with faith based organizations. Mr. Smith replied negatively, but he stated that faith based organizations are some of the leading service providers in the homeless field.

Mr. Roseland questioned why the staff group only recommended to fund Crimestoppers $3,500 instead of the full $5,000 that the organization requested. Police Chief Scott Cunningham stated this organization was more successful in fundraising this year as compared to past years. Budget Director Scott Fogleman will provide council additional information about the rationale for the requested funding.

The council gave staff direction to use the entire pool of non profit available funding in future years.  

Mrs. Robinson stated the Cary Community Foundation has $50,000 they will grant this summer. She urged non profits to learn more.

Mrs. Robison asked what happens with the non profit balance not used in this year’s budget. Mr. Coleman stated it is money not appropriated.

Process issues:

Mr. Portman stated the budget is an excellent document that articulates goals for each department. He suggested that for the FY 2009 budget the council accept the responsibility of articulating a series of goals and objectives that represents council’s collective vision for the Town and begin the budget process with those goals and objectives.

Mrs. Robinson stated the council recently went through this exercise with the mission statement and statement of values process.

Mr. Coleman stated after the 2006 council/staff retreat the council had several meetings to discuss quality of life and how to measure progress toward achieving progress. He stated in the FY 2008 budget staff has summarized those discussions into quality of life guiding principles, and through the year the staff will revamp the goals and initiatives and work measures to relate more to the quality of life guiding principles. He thinks Mr. Portman is talking about the council looking at the context of our environment (i.e., growth, financial position, etc.) as an exercise to give staff guidance during the budget process.

Mayor McAlister stated the retreat date in the past couple of years has occurred later to have more current budget information, and for council it serves as the kickoff to the budget season. He suggested to have a more formalized session at the retreat for council to give staff meaningful input on council’s expectations about the general fiscal situation.

Mrs. Robison doesn’t think the council finished the quality of life process with Steve Straus.

Mr. Roseland suggested a homework assignment for council prior to the next retreat to allow council to select their three main concerns or issues. He stated this could be used to assist staff with the budget process.

Mr. Portman stated he is trying to burden the council with the process of coming together and discussing their views and respecting each other enough to agree on three to six main goals as a Town. He stated the county commissioners have gone through a similar process, which resulted in goals.

Mayor Pro Tem Smith wants to more deeply explore tradeoffs and unintended consequences as a result of decisions before the council.

Mr. Portman stated if traffic is a key issue of the council, then staff would focus on how to alleviate traffic. He clarified that the council would not come up with solutions, because this is the job of the and staff. He stated this type of process may provide a structure for council to challenge the staff outside the normal meeting process and could result in more feedback from council.

Mayor McAlister stated staff’s direction is given by council in the normal course of business. He sees Mr. Portman’s suggestion as a formalization of the process that takes place in the normal business of the Town. He thinks it may have merit as long as the council recognizes that it doesn’t change the nature of the business of the town.

Mr. Roseland is frustrated that a $382 million budget is presented to council in early May. He wants to be prepared to respond and give feedback, and to do this he would like the budget by April 1.

Ms. Dorrel asked about the internal budgeting process. Mr. Coleman stated staff begins the budget process in November or December before the next fiscal year. Ms. Dorrel stated the council needs to recognize staff’s timing if they’re proposing a council strategic planning process.

Mayor McAlister stated several years ago the council had a series of operational work sessions prior to the budget work. He says there’s no need to do this annually, but as a new council member he gained a lot of insight. He stated there may be value in enhancing the budget information at the retreat.

Ms. Dorrel reminded the council that a lot of the budget is based on previously approved plans.

Ms. Dorrel left the meeting at 5:36 p.m. The council did not vote to excuse her from the meeting.

Mayor McAlister stated the council can continue to work to refine Mr. Portman’s suggestion.

Mrs. Robison suggested a work session in late fall to kickoff the budget process so that council works more jointly with staff and understands the process and the big issues.

Mayor McAlister doesn’t want the council to take the place of staff in formulating the budget or managing the budget throughout the year.

Mr. Coleman stated it’s clear that there is an opportunity for discussions with council about the budget in the timeframe of late fall to mid-January. He stated this would provide the context or environment for which the budget will be prepared for the coming year, and would set out financial information, growth information, staffing parameters, regulatory changes, etc. The council concurred.

Mayor McAlister stated there is a budget public hearing at the June 14 council meeting, and council will take action on the budget at the June 28 meeting.

Mayor McAlister adjourned the meeting at 5:41 p.m.