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2023-02-16 Agenda Review NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 35 AGENDA REVIEW, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 PAGE 644 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met February 16, 2023 for Agenda Review at 4:01 p.m. in the Harrell Conference Room at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present: Chair Bill Rivenbark; Vice-Chair LeAnn Pierce; Commissioner Deb Hays; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. Members absent: Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr. Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; County Attorney Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell. Chair Rivenbark called the Agenda Review meeting to order and announced that the purpose of the meeting is to review and discuss the agenda items for the February 20, 2023 Regular Meeting with discussions as noted: Consent Agenda Item #5: Adoption of a Resolution to Support the North Carolina Department of Public Safety's Efforts to Increase Division of Juvenile Justice Staff Salaries. In response to Board questions, Assistant County Manager Tufanna Bradley stated that the request is for state employees. The County is only advocating on behalf of the Division of Juvenile Justice staff for a pay increase from the state. There is no supplement from the County. County Manager Coudriet stated that the request came from Judge Corpening. Consent Agenda Item #7: Adoption of Amendment to the New Hanover County Code of Ordinances Chapter 17, Civil Emergencies, Article II, Department of Emergency Management. In response to Board questions, Emergency Management Director Steven Still stated that the ordinance only applies to the unincorporated County. The ordinance amendment removes Emergency Management as the lead agency in a search and rescue mission and makes it a coordinating agency. For a major search and rescue event, Emergency Management will assume incident command which is a joint command with the Sheriff’s Office and Fire and Rescue. Regular Item #9: Adoption of Budget Amendments. In response to Board questions regarding budget amendments (B/A) 23-049 and 23-056, staff provided the following information:  B/A 23-049: The Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) provides a stipend set by federal standards. The stipend has increased from $3.15 per hour to $4.00 per hour. The FGP members are volunteers who go into the school system to mentor at-risk youth. There are 46 FGP members as part of the program, two of which are ineligible for the stipend. The stipend is only paid out for hours the members are providing services, whether in school or as part of an afterschool program. On average, members serve at least twenty hours a week. The stipend is tax free and does not count against other subsidies. For this grant, the County is required to provide a 30% match of the overall budget for the program.  B/A 23-056: Funds for the $120,587 must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026. Of the funds, $25,000 is for a consultant to look at the services the library is providing to the Hispanic community, $40,000 is to supplement Hispanic collections, $45,000 is for a diversity audit to make sure the collection reflects what is in the community, and $10,000 is for staff development. Regular Item #12: Consideration of Resolution and Bylaws Establishing the New Hanover County Hispanic/Latino Commission. In response to Board questions, Chief Diversity and Equity Officer Linda Thompson stated that the Commission is something that has been a couple of years in the making. As of the 2020 Census, 6.2% of the County’s population is Hispanic. In 2021 the Hispanic population grew an additional 1.5%. The Hispanic population is the second fastest growing minority community in both the state and the county. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Chair Rivenbark adjourned the meeting at 4:16 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kymberleigh G. Crowell Clerk to the Board Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting. The entire proceedings are available online at www.nhcgov.com.